A pair of big innings helped Caldwell County bring home a 10-5 baseball victory from Henderson County on Monday.
A five-run fifth inning enabled the Tigers to overcome an early 3-0 deficit.
A four-run seventh inning helped Caldwell put the game away.
Ben Goodaker picked up his fourth win of the season on the mound and Cody Pruitt was stellar out of the bullpen to pick up his first save.
Goodaker (4-0) battled Henderson into the sixth inning, allowing five earned runs on nine base hits. He struck out three and walked two.
Pruitt took over with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning and the Tigers holding a tenuous 6-5 advantage.
Pruitt inherited two baserunners, including the potential tying run just 90 feet away at third base.
But Pruitt coaxed a pop out to first for the second out, then struck out the next batter to preserve the Caldwell lead.
The Tigers (5-4) rode that momentum to a four-run seventh inning, which included a three-run home run to centerfield by Hunter Newsom to give Caldwell its 10-5 margin.
Henderson (3-6) put its first two men on base in the bottom of the seventh, but a double play and a liner to center ended the contest.
Pruitt struck out two and allowed just the one base hit in 1.2 innings of relief.
Newsom finished 2-for-3 at the plate with the three runs batted in.
Cole Slone doubled home two runs as part of Caldwell’s five-run fifth.
Paxton Gardner went 3-for-4 for Henderson, including a two-run homer to left in the bottom of the first that gave the Colonels a quick 2-0 lead.
Dru Meadows was 2-for-4 with a double for the Colonels.
Caldwell has won five of its last six matchups with Henderson. The Tigers are 6-5 in their last 11 games with the Colonels. Henderson still holds a 22-8 advantage all-time.
Goodaker continues to move up Caldwell’s all-time wins list. Now 16-4, Goodaker has tied Billy Boyd and Mike Griffith for fifth place on the Tigers’ career pitching wins list.
Caldwell, which has won three of its last four outings, is scheduled to play two games on Thursday in the Mustang Invitational at McCracken County. The Tigers will take on Calloway County at noon and Hickman County at 5:30 p.m.
