Christian County’s Elijah Underhill turned in a near-flawless performance on the mound on Friday and capped the night with a two-run home run to punctuate a 3-0 victory over hosts Hopkinsville.
The Colonels won for the sixth time in their last eight and made it four in a row over the Tigers. Hopkinsville dropped its district opener to slip to 4-12 ahead of home and away meetings with Fort Campbell next week.
The Colonels struck early against Hoptown starter JJ Thompson, turning a walk to lead off the game into a 1-0 advantage after Carter Sholar’s RBI single to center.
However, Thompson matched Underhill nearly pitch for pitch over the next five frames, allowing only a hit and issuing three walks before giving way to Dylan Sweeney to start the 7th.
But Underhill was in complete control, allowing only Thompson’s second-inning single and issuing two walks with 14 strikeouts. After a walk and a catcher’s interference put Tigers on first and second with one out in the 4th, Underhill struck out nine of the next 12 batters he faced to finish the game.
Underhill also provided himself some insurance in the 7th, blasting a two-run home run to left field on a 2-2 offering from Hoptown’s Sweeney.
Thompson took the loss despite a stellar effort that saw him scatter three hits with five walks and ten strikeouts. Sweeney gave up two earned runs on two hits with a pair of walks and a strikeout.
Underhill improved his record to 2-3, and the Colonels pulled above .500 at 9-8 ahead of a visit from Daviess County on Saturday.
