Midway through the game Saturday, it appeared that the Heritage Christian Academy Warriors were on the verge of another KHSAA baseball win as they led Union County 4-3. Then the bottom fell out of the bucket for the Warriors.
Union County scored 14 runs in their final three at-bats as the Braves rolled to a 17-7 win at Heritage Christian.
The Braves came out swinging and took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
HCA cut into the lead in the bottom of the third. J.J. Thompson ripped a one-out triple and then scored when Trenton Hayes singled to right. A possible big inning for the Warriors was snuffed out though when Hayes was thrown out by the Braves trying to stretch the hit into a double.
A home run by Beau Hopper in the top of the 4th moved the lead back out to two runs for the Braves at 3-1.
HCA made their move to get into the lead in the bottom half of the inning. After a couple of walks to lead off the inning, Carter Glover drove in a run with a single. Walker Ashby then connected for a two-run double to put the Warriors into the lead at 4-3.
Union’s Waylon Wheatly got the Braves out of a potentially devastating big inning by striking out two of the next three hitters.
From there it was all Union County. The Braves scored three in the fifth, two in the sixth, and then ripped the game open with a nine-run seventh, which included seven hits for the Braves.
The Warriors would add three runs in the bottom of the seventh but it was nowhere near what they needed as the Braves picked up the ten-run win.
Carter Glover had a solid game for the Warriors going 2-4 with 3 RBIs. J.J. Thompson was 2-2 with a triple, a walk, and a run scored. Walker Ashby was 1-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Walker Ashby got the start on the hill for the Warriors. He went four innings, giving up three runs, two of them earned, on five hits, striking out four and walking four.
HCA is set to be back in action Monday when they travel to take on AIE.
