Despite giving up a five-run lead on two separate occasions and committing five defensive errors, the Hopkinsville High School baseball team continued to manufacture runs and remained unbeaten Monday by prevailing 9-6 at Clarksville (TN) West Creek.
The Tigers were the aggressor early, as five different players recorded RBI hits in the top of the first inning, highlighted by freshman Dylan Sweeney’s double, to spot Hoptown with a 5-0 advantage on the road. That lead was then extended to 6-1 in the second inning following a run-scoring single by Gavin Powell.
After Lucas Kaetzel made relatively light work of the Coyotes through innings, the home team eventually got to the HHS senior in the fourth. A two-out RBI single by Julio Perez-Callazo, followed by a Tiger error, made it 6-3. In the fifth, WCHS put the first three batters on base with a single, error and walk, which led to the insertion of reliever JJ Thompson.
Inheriting the runners on base, Thompson threw a passed ball that brought West Creek within 6-4. A wild pitch and Donte Castro’s fielder’s choice ground ball then tied the game at 6-all, before Thompson managed to end the threat with his first of seven strikeouts in three innings of relief.
Hoptown loaded the bases to no avail in the top of the sixth inning. Thompson settled in and struck out the Coyotes side in the bottom half, leading to a dramatic seventh inning for the Tigers. After the first two HHS batters were fanned to begin the frame, Gavin Mitchell and Layton Lindsey walked, Thompson singled, and WCHS pitcher Nathan Lucas had a pair of passed balls and a bases-loaded walk to give Hopkinsville a 9-6 advantage.
Zach Moss, who drew the bases-loaded base on balls, finished with two walks in the contest. He also finished 1-for-2 with two runs. Nine different Tigers registered hits in the victory. Sweeney’s was the only extra-base hit. Mitchell drew a game-high three walks.
Kaetzel finished with four innings thrown in his first action on the mound this season. He struck out two, walked three, and allowed three earned runs on four hits. Thompson (2-0) allowed no hits in his long relief appearance, walked a pair, and had the one unearned run to speak of. The future Wright State Raider now has 22 strikeouts in nine innings during three appearances in 2024.
West Creek (3-2) was led in defeat by Diego Silva, who went 1-for-4, two runs scored. Perez-Collazo, Castro and Leonidus Muniz all went an identical 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Victor Bell allowed eight hits and six runs, while striking out five in the no-decision.
Hopkinsville (3-0) will try to keep its perfect start alive during its home opener at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday against Trigg County. The Tigers haven’t started a season 4-0 since beginning the 2021 campaign with eight straight wins. The Wildcats (2-1) last played HHS during the regular season in 2021 and have won four of the last seven times they’ve played Hoptown.
