After dropping a season-opening matchup with visiting Northeast, TN on Monday, the Hopkinsville Tigers ventured south of the border on Wednesday for a rematch with the Eagles. However, the result was the same, with Northeast taking the lead with a big 6th inning and holding off the Tigers in their final at-bat for a 6-4 finish.
Northeast took the lead with a pair of RBI singles in the bottom of the 1st, before Hopkinsville cut the lead in half in the 3rd when JJ Thompson grounded out to score Chase Fort.
Thompson pushed the tying run across in the top of the 5th, reaching on a fielder’s choice that scored Christopher Medina.
After giving up a pair of runs in the 1st, Lucas Kaetzel worked four scoreless innings until he ran into trouble in the bottom of the 6th. With runners on first and third, Jackson Meece singled in the go-ahead run, and Riley Blanc followed with a two-run double. Gavin Rogers finished off the rally with a run-scoring single for a 6-2 Northeast lead.
Two walks to start the frame had the Tigers in business with no outs in the 7th. They cut the lead in half on runs on a passed ball and a ground out, but with two on and two out, a fly out to to right field ended the game.
Kaetzel took the loss, allowing six runs, four earned, on seven hits with a walk and four strikeouts through five and a third innings.
Blanc picked up the win on the mound, holding the Tigers to a single unearned run on a hit with a walk and six strikeouts. He also had two hits and drove in three runs for the Eagles, and Christopher Collins finished three for three with an RBI.
Hopkinsville will look to get in the win column on Friday when Marshall County visits.
