A Dubois County throwing error on a hard-hit infield single allowed Hoptown to score the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning as the Hoppers took a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Bombers Thursday night at Christian County High School.
With runners on first and second, Noah Brown scorched a grounder down the right side leaving Bomber first baseman Mason White no chance to get back to the bag for the out. White then elected to try and get Riley Garczynski on the force at second but threw the ball into left field allowing B.J. Banyon to round third and score the walk-off winning run.
The winning score came after Bombers pitching, which had been very good through the night, opened the bottom of the 9th by giving up a pair of walks.
Solid pitching controlled the game from the very beginning of the contest. Hopper starter Colby Downard went seven innings, giving up one run on five hits, striking out eight while walking none. Bombers starter David Ellison was just as good, giving up one run on eight hits, striking out four while walking one.
The Hoppers broke the ice in the bottom of the 4th, and once again it was a Bomber miscue that set up the run. Alex Gonzales reached base on a Dubois County error and then scored on a base hit from Landon Choboy to put the Hoppers up 1-0.
The 1-0 lead held up until the top of the 6th when the Bombers converted two singles and a wild pitch into the tying run.
Landon Choboy continued his torrid hitting for the Hoppers, going 3-3 with an RBI. Noah Brown had three hits and Jake Parr added two for Hoptown.
