For the second night in a row Owensboro Catholic shocked the crowd with a walk-off RBI. This time around it was Houston Flynn who cracked the ball into left field to give the Aces the 2-1 victory. With this win Owensboro Catholic advanced to the Final Four where they will play McCracken County on June 14.
Just like in their first-round game against Corbin, Owensboro Catholic went down in the opening inning. A lead-off single and a ground out put Hopkinsville in scoring position at second base. The next batter hit a hard grounder that earned Hopkinsville a double and their sole run of the game. Two quick outs took the game into the bottom of the inning, and defenses took over from there.
Barrett Evans led the Aces defense on the mound, and he finished the game with 3 strikeouts while allowing just 2 hits. Across the next four scoreless innings, two of them were three up and three down scenarios for both pitchers. The other innings were filled with big plays by the Aces to hold back Hopkinsville. They had a few double plays, and Eli Blair once again made an impressive catch deep in left field. Blair tracked a fly ball back to the fence and made the catch before crashing into the padded wall. OCHS head coach Jody Hamilton praised his defense as it was just minor mistakes that allowed Hopkinsville to get their run in, he said. The entire team made plays and they continue to get the job done, he said.
“Barrett was tremendous,” he said. “You take away one pitch in the first inning and they don’t score. Here’s the thing, the only ball that Parker bobbled was that first one. We throw it there then we have a quick double play, and they don’t get a run. He played tremendous at third base, and Eli once again comes through out there. You just can’t say enough about the whole team. It’s not just one person, it’s the entire group. They just keep doing it.”
At the plate, Owensboro Catholic couldn’t find the tying run until late in the sixth inning due to Tigers pitcher JJ Thompson. Thompson racked up 9 strikeouts across the 6.2 innings he threw. He made life difficult for OC’s batters, but Hamilton said the team believed in one another and encouraged everyone to battle for every hit. Hamilton said it was hard to get frustrated when going up against a dominant pitcher such as Thompson, but relief came over him after Thompson’s 120th pitch in the final inning led to a double and him being replaced on the mound.
“The boys all believe in each other,” he said. “We’re a close-knit bunch, so we just battle. You can’t get frustrated when a guy is that dominant. You just got to keep battling. If you get frustrated with it then you’ll walk back to the dugout with a strikeout again. You just got to keep battling and hopefully things work out. His 120th pitch was that double, so they had to take him out. Then two pitches later we win the game. We needed him out of there. We almost didn’t get him out of there in time. The thing is, if we don’t score there then we go to the eighth.”
They finally got the hit they were looking for when Brady Atwell hit a bomb out to right field for a solo home run in the sixth inning. This crucial hit tied the game at 1-1 and set up the late drama in the final inning. It was three up and down as Catholic quickly shut down Hopkinsville. The pressure mounted quickly however, as they grounded out and then struck out on their first two batters. Blair then let a ball go by before hitting a line drive double to put himself into scoring position. It was then that the Tigers’ relief pitcher took the mound, and Flynn was up to bat to face a fresh arm.
He was caught looking for a first strike before he barreled the ball on a live drive to left field. The ball bounced in between the left fielder and third base to allow Blair to score the game-winning run. The dugout cleared out and the Aces dogpiled on Flynn to celebrate their spot in the Final Four. With late-game winners becoming a staple for OCHS baseball in the postseason, Hamilton said as long as they keep playing hard, they can continue to be successful. He may not know what God has in store for him and his team, but they can at least help shape their future with grit.
“Over and over again we’ve had things happen,” he said. “I text them all the time that I have no idea what God’s plan is for us. As long as we keep doing the things we’re doing, playing hard, getting after it and going for it, then we’ll make that plan for him.”
For their semifinal game Owensboro Catholic will play McCracken County (32-9) on June 14 at Kentucky Proud Park. When asked about the challenge waiting for them Friday, Hamilton had one thing to say:
“They’ve been here 10 straight times, does that say enough?”
