Elijah Underhill and Joshua Snorton continued their monstrous seasons at the plate Thursday and helped the Christian County High School baseball team snap a four-game skid, as the Colonels won their regular-season finale 11-1 in five innings at Madisonville-North Hopkins.
The duo of Underhill and Snorton, which has tattered opposing pitching most of the 2022 campaign, was instrumental in pacing County in the run-shortened victory. Underhill, a Western Kentucky University commit, mashed his team-leading ninth home run of the season and drove in three runs. Snorton delivered his second triple of the year and scored twice in the rout.
Preston Phan (3-1) was solid on the mound, striking out one and throwing three shutout innings to start the game and earn the win. Underhill finished out the game on the bump, fanning a pair during a perfect inning of relief. Underhill has 112 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings in 2022, which is second-most in Kentucky.
After the Colonels (24-7) and Maroons (11-15) respectively stranded a pair of runners in the first inning, Christian County more than got to work in the second. After a walk and two singles to load the bases, CCHS took a 1-0 lead on Robert Irving’s four-pitch walk. Four pitches later, Underhill reached on one of three Madisonville errors and brought home Jacob Jenkins for a 2-0 advantage.
The onslaught continued when Phan’s line drive to the second baseman resulted in a three-run error, giving the Cols a commanding 5-0 cushion. Snorton then added the RBI triple, giving County six runs before a single out was recorded in the top of the second. Snorton later scored on a passed ball during a dropped third strike to round out the giant offensive frame.
The Maroons, held to four singles on the night, answered Carter Sholar’s RBI hit by getting on the board in the bottom of the fourth, as Eric Farmer hit an RBI single to center, cutting Christian County’s lead to 8-1. That’s all MNHHS would muster, though, on the way to their third straight loss to close out the regular season.
Underhill ultimately ended the contest in the fifth with a three-run blast to left, giving CCHS a 10-run lead. And when the Maroons couldn’t answer in the bottom half, the mercy rule prevailed. Gage Montes (1-for-2, two runs, walk) and Irving (0-for-1, two walks, RBI) also had solid nights at the dish for County, which will be the top seed in next week’s 8th District Tournament.
