Photo by Scott Brown
It was a tail of two games for the Hoptown Hoppers. In the first of their double header with the Paducah Chiefs, the offense was stagnant and head coach Brock Moss was forced to use five arms in just seven innings.
The Hoppers got behind early, giving up a nine-spot in the third inning and in such a short game, weren’t able to make up the ground. Cody Hartness fired a 3-run homer in the sixth but the Hoppers ultimately fell short, dropping the first game 14-4.
In their second game, however, Moss sent undefeated and OVL All-Star starting pitcher Brian Coffey to the mound.
Coffey didn’t disappoint, giving up just two hits and one run while going the full seven innings. He fanned eight Chiefs without walking a single batter.
One of the two hits Coffey gave up was a dinger in the third inning to put Paducah on the board first.
Blake Jackson, who hardly saw any action in the first game, had a strong answer.
Tied for the OVL lead in home runs, Jackson showed the Chiefs exactly why when he hit the Hoppers’ first grand slam of the season in the bottom of the third.
Leading 4-1, Hoptown never looked back. In fact, Jackson hit a solo-shot in his next at bat in the fifth inning.
His homers were followed by three more Hopper runs in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
Jackson’s monster performance moves him to a sole first place lead in the OVL HR standings as well RBI.
The Hoppers’ double header Thursday night was just the first of three consecutive. Hoptown (15-11) will be on the road Friday night in Henderson (15-13) before they return to Colonel Field to host Owensboro (19-8) on Saturday. First pitch for both outings is scheduled for 5 P.M.
