A pair of two-out rallies yielded nine runs for the Hoptown Hoppers in a 14-3 eight-inning victory over the visiting Paducah Chiefs on Tuesday. With a trip to face the Franklin Duelers to close the regular season scheduled for Wednesday, the Hoppers finish 12-7 at Tiger Field and sit in 2nd place in the South Division at 21-16 overall.
Leading 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the 3rd, Hoptown pushed five more runs across on RBI singles by Jacob Dupps, Sean Sullivan, and Ren Tachioka.
The Chiefs got a couple of runs back in the top of the 4th against Hopper starting pitcher David Ernst and added another on Elijah Brooks’ RBI triple in the 5th.
However, it was all Hoppers the rest of the way. One of three Hoppers named to the OVL All-League team earlier on Tuesday, Tachioka celebrated with a solo home run off the scoreboard for an 8-3 lead after six innings.
Another two-out surge in the 7th put the Hoppers on the brink of a mercy-rule victory. Luis Vergara, another All-League selection, drove in a pair of runs with a single. Another run came home on a wild pitch, and Fred Fernandez singled on a line drive to center to score Vergara.
Slick-fielding shortstop Josh Rodriguez was also named to the All-League team for the Hoppers, giving them the most selections of any team in the OVL.
The Chiefs got the final out in the 7th to extend the game, but it was just delaying the inevitable. In the Hopper half of the 8th, Will Spear singled, and Sullivan blasted an 0-1 pitch over the left-field fence to end things in style.
Ernst earned the win, allowing three earned runs on six hits with a walk and a strikeout through five. Marcus Goodpaster, Jacob Dilday, and Cody Hupp combined for three scoreless innings.
Tachioka finished 3/4 with three RBI, followed by Vergara with three hits and a pair of runs driven in. Sullivan had two hits and two RBI, Dupps finished with two hits and two RBI, and Spear hit safely twice.
