YSE File Photo
Eli Finch’s two-out, bases-loaded walk in the top of the sixth inning proved to be the winning sequence Thursday, as the University Heights Academy baseball team held on for its first victory of the season — a 7-6 triumph at Logan County.
The Blazers scored four times in the third inning and took a 5-2 lead on Josh Pace’s first home run of the season in the fourth; the host Cougars, however, would not go away quietly. They cut the UHA lead to 5-4 in the fifth inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Brady Hinton and Dayman McLean, but relief pitcher Ryan Luckey struck out the next two batters he faced to end the threat.
In the sixth, after the first three Blazers reached to start the frame, Jaiden Miles was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing in Pace to make it 6-4. Four pitches later, Finch — who finished the night 1-for-1 and two RBIs — drew the aforementioned base on balls to give Heights a 7-4 cushion.
LCHS tried to piece together one final rally attempt in the bottom of the sixth, aided by three straight walks to start things off. Following a pop out and strikeout, the Cougars pulled within two runs on a two-out wild pitch and pulled within 7-6 on another Hinton RBI hit, but Luckey once again escaped the jam.
Both teams were retired in order in the seventh, preserving the UHA win.
Pace was the offensive maven of the night for University Heights. The sophomore went 2-for-4 with two runs and the solo home run, which was the first of his high school career. Freshman Jackson Flynn went 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Courtland Gibson walked twice and stole two bases.
Miles struck out two, scattered three hits and allowed two runs during his first start of the year for the Blazers. Bryson Turner also had a pair of K’s in his 1 1/3 innings of relief, while Luckey picked up the long save with five strikeouts, three walks, two hits and two runs in the final 2 2/3 innings of play.
Hinton went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead LCHS, but the junior was tagged with the pitching loss after allowing six walks and four runs in 2 2/3 innings. Senior Davin Yates had five strikeouts and two walks in two innings of hitless relief.
UHA (1-1) hosts a doubleheader this weekend, including matchups with Franklin-Simpson (10:30 a.m.) and Albion, Illinois’ Edwards County High School (2:30 p.m.) Saturday. The Blazers and Cougars are scheduled to play each other again in a May 13 rematch at University Heights Academy.
