The Hoptown Hoppers completed a season sweep of Owensboro with a 5-4 win over the RiverDawgs Saturday in a matchup featuring Ohio Valley League Division leaders.
Michael Conn had two hits and two RBIs to back the pitching of Drew McGowan as the Hoppers won for the eighth time in nine games.
McGowan (2-1) pitched six innings, scattering eight hits and striking out six. Two of the three runs he allowed were earned. It’s his second straight outing of pitching six innings. His ERA is 3.00 in his last two starts.
Hoptown scored twice in the second inning when Cade Burkey drew a bases loaded walk and Conn hit a sacrifice fly to left.
Owensboro got a run back in the third inning, but McGowan ended the threat with a strikeout.
With the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Cameron Hill plated a run with a swinging bunt down the third base line to extend the Hopper lead to 3-1.
Owensboro tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth inning on four singles and a Hopper error.
Hoptown took the lead in the home half of the sixth inning when Burkey singled and scored on a hit-and-run double by Conn. The Hoppers pushed their advantage to 5-3 when Conn scored on a wild pitch.
Chandler Kendall pitched two innings of scoreless relief. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last five appearances and lowered his ERA to 2.39.
Brennan Crooms allowed a run in the ninth but notched a game-ending strikeout. The save was his eighth of the season, which broke the Hopper team record of seven set by Gavin Alvarez in 2016.
The Hoppers improved to 25-12 on the season – the first time they reached 25 regular season wins in three seasons. They still have a chance at posting the best record in the OVL, which means homefield advantage in the playoffs. Henderson (20-12) has five games left on their schedule, while Hoptown has two. If both the Hoppers and Flash win out, the Hoppers would get homefield because of the winning percentage tie-breaker. Owensboro is 22-14.
The Hoppers return to action Monday at home against Fulton in a make-up game before ending the regular season at home Tuesday against Madisonville.
