Eli Baker (YSE file photo)
Cole Lockhart hit a two-out, two-strike, three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Calloway County a dramatic 4-2 win over Lyon County in the 2023 season opener in Murray.
Bryson Dennis led off the seventh with a four-pitch walk. After a sacrifice bunt, Cadwell Turner was intentionally walked. Lyon County reliever Brady Belt coaxed a fly out to center for the second out before Lockhart took a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence for the game-winner.
Lyon County built a 2-1 lead through six innings. But it was Lockhart who got the scoring going for Calloway with an RBI single in the first inning.
Lyon got on the board in the fourth inning when Eli Baker singled and scored on a triple to right by Drew Richie.
The Lyons took the lead in the top of the seventh when Richie singled and came around to score on a Calloway error.
Baker was strong on the mound in his 2023 debut. The Lyon County sophomore allowed four hits and no earned runs in six innings with 11 strikeouts and just two walks.
Richie had two of Lyon County’s five hits and tallied their lone RBI.
Lockhart and Cuyler McDaniel each had two hits for the Lakers who also finished with five hits.
In addition to the game-winning home run, Lockhart, a sophomore, got the win on the mound with three innings of one-hit baseball. Turner went the first four innings, allowing four hits and a run with seven strikeouts.
Calloway’s win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Lyons that dated back to 2018.
The game, played with temperatures in the upper 30s, was a sloppy one as expected with the teams combining for eight errors.
Lyon County returns to the frozen tundra Tuesday at Caldwell County.
