Opening night was a success for the Hoptown Hoppers.
The Hoppers scored five times in the third inning and four times in the fifth to go up 9-1, then held off the Dubois County Bombers 16-9 in Ohio Valley League action Thursday night at Hopkinsville High School’s Tiger Field.
The defending OVL champion Bombers got back within 10-6 in the top of the seventh inning, but could get no closer than four runs late.
Arren Hash from Bellarmine University was the winning pitcher for the Hoppers. He went the first six innings, allowing three runs — just one earned — on eight base hits. Hash struck out eight while walking three.
Jacob Dilday pitched the ninth to nail down the win. The Hopkinsville High grad, who is headed to Rend Lake College, allowed one earned run on two base hits while fanning two.
Offensively, Edmundo Alanis of Ranger College in Texas went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs batted and three runs scored for Hoptown. His Ranger teammate, Joshua Rodriguez, was 3-for-6 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Ren Tachioka from the University of Southern Indiana was 2-for-6 and knocked in a run.
Grant Hotchkiss of Midway University led Dubois County with a 3-for-4 performance and drove in two. Seth Benner from the University of the Cumberlands finished 3-for-5 while Terrick Thompson of Iowa Western Community College was 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs.
Hoptown travels to Fulton on Friday to face the Railroaders. Fulton began the season on Thursday by shutting out the Paducah Chiefs 11-1.
