Caldwell County will be the No. 1 seed when it hosts the 7th District baseball tournament in just over a week.
The Tigers not only swept Dawson Springs at the VFW Ballpark in Princeton on Friday, but held the Panthers to just one run total in the two games. That gives Caldwell the tiebreaker for the top seed over Madisonville-North Hopkins.
The Tigers also set a school record for runs scored in the second game of the twinbill after dismissing Dawson by scores of 14-0 and 26-1.
Caldwell senior Ben Goodaker pitched a five-inning no-hitter in game one. Goodaker (7-2) struck out 13 and did not issue a walk. Only a hit batter with one out in the top of the fourth inning kept it from being a perfect game.
Meanwhile, the Tigers scored 10 runs in the first inning to take control of the contest.
Offensively, Hunter Newsom was 3-for-4 and drove in two runs. Ari Wells went 2-for-2 with a triple and an RBI while Cole Slone and Luke Parker each finished 2-for-3. Slone had two doubles and knocked in two runs while Parker had one RBI.
Caldwell added two runs in each of the second and third innings on the way to the five-inning triumph.
Game two, which was Dawson’s “home” game, was tied 1-1 after one inning.
But the Tigers seized the upper hand with 11 runs in the second inning, then put the game away with a 14-run fourth inning.
The 26 runs in the four-inning contest are the most Caldwell has ever scored in one game. It tops a 25-0 victory over Dawson Springs in 2010.
Caldwell’s 19 base hits in the second game were one shy of the school record.
It’s just the fourth time in school history the Tigers have scored at least 14 runs in one inning — but the second time this season. Caldwell scored 14 runs in the seventh inning to beat Crittenden County 16-12 April 13 in the 2nd Region All A Classic championship. The school record of 18 runs in one inning was set in the first inning of the Tigers’ 25-0 win over Dawson in 2010.
Slone (4-1) struck out 10 without a walk while allowing one earned run on two base hits.
Jamus Carneyhan led the Tiger hit parade, going 4-for-5 with a double, triple and four runs batted in. Goodaker was 3-for-3 and knocked in four while Collin Whittington went 3-for-3 and drove in three.
Brady Holeman, Carter Whittington and Slone were each 2-for-3. Holeman knocked in three while Whittington and Slone had one RBI apiece.
Ashton Rawlins drove in Dawson’s run with a triple. That scored Kolby Crook, who had singled.
Caldwell is 17-9 overall and 5-1 in the district. Madisonville also finished 5-1 in district play but the Tigers earned the No. 1 seed because they had fewer runs allowed in district games.
The Panthers are 4-10 overall and 1-5 in district play. Dawson will be the No. 3 seed for the district tournament because the Panthers own a tiebreaker over Hopkins County Central.
Caldwell has won its last seven matchups with Dawson and 39 of the last 40 meetings. The Tigers hold an 81-9 advantage all-time.
Caldwell next hosts Henderson County on Monday for Senior Day.
