The stage is set for a District 8 showdown Friday night between Hopkinsville and Christian County after the Tigers rolled to a 10-0 district baseball win over visiting Heritage Christian Academy on Tuesday night.
Deuce Embrey tossed a one-hitter and the Tigers improved to 5-2 in the district standings. Hoptown is a half-game behind Christian County in the chase for the top seed in the district tournament later this month. Hoptown also is now a game ahead of University Heights Academy for second place, although the Blazers own the tiebreaker with the Tigers should they end up tied at the end of the season.
On Tuesday, Embrey struck out six batters and didn’t allow a walk through five innings. The eighth-grader only allowed a single to HCA’s Cadyn Travis to lead off the fourth inning.
Meanwhile, HCA starter Collin Outland struggled, giving up seven walks and hitting three batters in an inning-and-two-thirds work.
Hoptown (12-10) scored two runs in the bottom of the first using three walks, a hit batter and an error.
In the second, the Tigers sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs to chase Outland from the game and take a 9-0 lead.
Travis entered and got out of a jam before getting through the third inning unscathed. However, Hoptown struck for another run in the bottom of the fourth as JB Payne was hit by a pitch, stole second base and moved to third on a base hit by Dylan Sweeney. Chase Fort’s sacrifice fly scored Payne.
Embrey struck out two of the final three batters he faced to end the game in the fifth.
Fort led the Tigers with a single and two RBI on the night. Gavin Powell had a double and scored two runs for Hopkinsville.
HCA slipped to 6-13 on the season and 0-7 in District 8. The Warriors are locked in as the No. 5 seed in the district tournament and will face No. 4-seed Fort Campbell in the play-in game.
The Tigers’ game Friday at Christian County will air at 5:45 p.m. on 95.3 The Farm. A Colonels’ win would give them the top seed in the tournament. A Hopkinsville win combined with UHA beating Fort Campbell and HCA next week would force a three-way tie for first place and the top seed would be decided by tiebreaker.
The District 8 baseball and softball meetings are scheduled for Thursday morning at HCA.
Score by Innings:
Heritage Christian 000 00 – 0 1 3
Hopkinsville 270 1x – 10 3 0
WP – Embrey
LP – Outland
Leading Hitters: HCA – Travis (1B); HHS – Sweeney (1B), Fort (1B), Powell (2B).
Photos by Ella Colley