UHA and Todd County Central hooked up for a baseball doubleheader on Saturday in Elkton, with the Blazers claiming the morning game 9-8 and the Rebels bouncing back with an 8-2 decision in the second.
Saturday’s action leaves the Blazers, winners of six of their last eight, at 11-16 overall ahead of a visit from Crittenden County on Monday. Todd Central moves to 16-9 overall with a 13th-District matchup at Russellville scheduled for Tuesday.
In the first game, UHA put up a pair of runs in the top of the first, and Todd Central wasted a lead-off triple by Preston Rager in its first at-bat. It was Jacob Brandon’s turn to triple to start the Rebels’ 2nd, before coming home on a sacrifice bunt by Jameson Hunt.
Cole Glover added the Blazers’ third run with an RBI double in the top of the 3rd, but Todd Central surged in front in the bottom of the frame. Two runs came in on ground outs after two walks to start the inning and Hunt gave the Rebels a 4-3 advantage with an RBI single.
Brandon started on the mound for Todd Central but was replaced by Will Kearns after only recording one out. Kearns got into some 2-out trouble in the top of the 4th with three consecutive RBI singles by UHA’s Matthew Leeper, Luke Welch, and Ian Tyler. Welch came home on a wild pitch to cap the 4-run rally and give the Blazers a 7-4 lead.
Two more runs in the top of the 5th gave the Blazers a 5-run lead, but the Rebels trimmed it to 9-6 with a pair of scores in the bottom. An RBI single by Bicksler and a run driven in for Brandon sliced the margin to one, but a bases-loaded strikeout kept the Rebels at bay in the 6th.
Needing a run to tie in their final at-bat, the Rebels drew two walks and put runners on the corners with two outs and Tanner Farmer coming to the plate. With a 1-1 count, Farmer gave Tyler’s offering a ride, but Leeper ran it down in center field to end the game.
Eston Glover started on the mound and worked the first five and a third for the Blazers, allowing 8 earned runs on 6 hits with 8 walks and 6 strikeouts. Tyler got the last 5 outs, scattering 2 hits with 3 walks and a strikeout.
Kearns took the loss for the Rebels, surrendering 7 earned runs on 9 hits with a pair of walks and 7 strikeouts. Farmer worked the last two and two-thirds, striking out 4 and walking one.
Seth Hancock had 3 hits for the Blazers, followed by Leeper and Tyler with 2 each.
Ethan Bicksler and Farmer were both 2/5 at the plate for Todd Central, with Hunt going 2/2 with a pair of RBI.
Two 1st-inning runs on RBI singles by Farmer and Brandon gave the Rebels an early lead in the second game. Jase Paul Hampton was dominant on the mound, holding the Blazers scoreless over the first five frames.
A run came in on an error in the bottom of the 5th to give the Rebels a 3-0 advantage, but UHA answered with a Tyler RBI single and a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit to a run.
Todd Central put the game away with 5 runs in their half of the 6th, with a hit by pitch and a Blazer error getting things started. Bicksler and Brandon followed with RBI singles before 2 runs crossed on errors for the final score.
Hampton earned his team-high 5th win of the season on the mound, allowing a run on 3 hits with a pair of walks and 5 strikeouts. Brandon got one out in the 6th and gave up a run on a hit with a walk and a strikeout. Preston Rager pitched the last one and two-thirds with a walk and 3 strikeouts.
Hancock went the distance on the mound for the Blazers, yielding 8 runs, only 2 earned, on 8 hits with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts. Tyler had two hits and an RBI and John DeArmond drove in a run.
Bicksler was 3/4 at the plate with an RBI, and Farmer had a pair of hits and a run driven in. Brandon finished 2/3 with 2 RBI.
