Saturday night the Hoppers saw their 2022 season come down to the final two outs before they rallied, and ultimately won Game 2 of their best-of-three playoff series with the Fulton Railroaders. The Hoppers would not need the same kind of dramatic late-game heroics in the deciding Game 3 of the series Sunday night at Hopkinsville High School.
After spotting the Railroaders a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Hoppers scored six unanswered runs and took a 6-2 win, closing out the series and advancing on to the Divisional Championship series.
Early on, the game looked like it would be a high-scoring shootout. The Railroaders used four hits in the opening inning to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead.
However, the Hoppers came right back in the bottom half of the first. Anthony Zarlingo and Josh Rodriguez led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Zarlingo would then score on a steal of home to make it 2-1. Jacob Dupps doubled to left to score Rodriguez and tie the game at 2-2. Dupps would then score on a ground-out by Sean Sullivan to give the Hoppers a 3-2 lead, a lead they would not give up the rest of the night.
The Hoppers struck again in the bottom of the 5th inning and again it was Dupps playing a big role. After Luis Vergara-Schoonewolf opened the inning with a single, Jacob Dupps drove him in with a double to center to move the lead out to 4-2. Hoptown would add another run later in the inning when Drew Donaldson scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-2.
E Alanis got the Hoppers an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when he led off the inning with a homer to right field.
Jacob Dupps had a big night in leading the Hopper effort. Dupps was 3-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Anthony Zarlingo finished 3-4 with two stolen bases and a run scored. Drew Donaldson and Luis Vergara-Schoonewolf added two hits each for the Hoppers.
The Hoppers rapped out a total of thirteen hits to score their six runs on the night.
After a rough stretch in the opening inning, Hoppers’ starter Luke Genier found his stride and took care of business. In picking up the win, Genier went six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits, striking out five and walking four.
Jacob Dilday got the save for the Hoppers going the final three innings. He gave up no runs on three hits, striking out five while walking none.
The win moves the Hoppers into the Division Championship series where they will face the Full Count Rhythm. The best-of-three series gets underway Monday night with the Hoppers going on the road.
