YSE File Photo
For the first time in a decade, the University Heights Academy baseball program has won four straight games to start a season. The latest triumph came Monday when the Blazers broke up a pitchers duel in the fourth inning and once again utilized a committee on the mound to defeat Butler County 8-1 on the road.
Clinging to a 1-0 lead after three innings, UHA busted out the bats with a four-spot in the fourth in Morgantown to pull away. Heights added two more runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to move to 4-0 for the first time since 2013.
The Blazer foursome of Ian Tyler, Josh Pace, Jackson Flynn, and Jaiden Miles combined to limit the Bears to two hits. Neither of the four University Heights pitchers went more than two innings. Miles (4) and Pace (3) had seven total strikeouts in two innings apiece. Tyler, Pace, and Flynn didn’t allow a hit and issued just two walks during the first five innings.
Offensively, Miles (two RBI) and Ben Stone (one run) each hit their co-team-leading second doubles of the season. Pace went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, Ty Hunt finished 1-for-3 with a run and walk, and Luke Shouse scored twice to add to another balanced attack at the plate. Butler County’s Justin Castlen, making his first start and appearance in 2023, walked three and gave up a run in two innings. Will Embry gave up four runs (two earned) in two innings of relief.
In defeat, the Bears were led by lead-off hitter Parker Pendley. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and the lone RBI. Pendley and pinch-hitting catcher Brycen Mode had Butler County’s only hits — both singles. BCHS also committed three errors.
UHA, which plays the second of five straight away games Tuesday at Hopkins County Central (1-3), will be seeking its fifth straight victory in Mortons Gap. The Blazers haven’t achieved that feat since coach Brian Joiner was at the helm in 2004.
