The injury-hit Todd County Central baseball team hit the road on Sunday to visit 3rd-Region champions Owensboro Catholic for an All-A Sectional showdown. But despite a solid effort on the mound from Preston Rager, the Rebels couldn’t generate enough offense against the Aces’ Grant Parson in a 5-1 defeat.
Rager cruised through the first four frames against the 2021 All-A champions, allowing only two hits with a walk and a hit by pitch and working around three errors to keep the Aces off the scoreboard.
After Catholic broke through on Jamison Wall’s RBI single in the bottom of the 5th, the Rebels took advantage of an error and a walk in the top of the 6th to tie the game 1-1 on Devin Schutt’s run-scoring infield single.
However, the Aces pushed four runs across in the bottom of the 6th, with an RBI single by Parker Heistand and a two-run error doing the damage. Rager gave way after allowing four earned runs on six hits with five walks and three strikeouts, and Gavyn Nolan came on to get the final two outs.
Parson held the Rebels to a single hit with a pair of walks and 11 strikeouts to earn his third win of the season on the mound.
Heistand collected four of the Aces’ six hits, and Elijah Blair finished with two RBI.
Todd Central lost for the fifth straight time to slip to 8-11. The Rebels will turn their attention back to district play with a trip to Russellville on Monday before the Panthers come to Elkton on Tuesday.
