After a hot start to the 2022 OVL season, the Hoptown Hoppers dropped their third straight game with an 8-5 loss at the Franklin Duelers on Saturday.
Louis Vergara-Schoonewolf’s solo home run in the top of the 1st gave the Hoppers an early lead, and Anthony Smith doubled the advantage with another long ball to lead off the 2nd.
Gavin Baxter’s RBI single made it 3-0 in the top of the 4th, but the Duelers took control with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Hoppers’ starter Garrett Blevins only allowed a single baserunner over the first three frames, but Sam Slaughter’s one-out home run was the beginning of the end.
The Duelers tacked on three more runs on an RBI double by Matthew Jenkinson and run-scoring singles for Rashad Robinson and Bryce Cape and led the rest of the way.
Mark Castle’s solo bomb in the 5th, a pair of runs in the 6th, and a final score in the bottom of the 7th put the Duelers up 8-3. Down to their final at-bat, the Hoppers made things interesting with a one-out single and a run on Joshua Rodriguez’s double to left field. Another run came home on a ground out to cut the margin to three, but a strikeout ended the game.
The Hoppers slip to 5-4 ahead of a visit from Fulton on Sunday. Blevins took the loss on the mound, allowing four earned runs on six hits with a walk and four strikeouts over four innings. Smith and Anthony Zarlingo each had two hits for the Hoppers.
Daniel Courtney earned the win for Franklin, working two scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
