Despite a bit of a rocky start on Friday, Hopkinsville’s JJ Thompson found his groove on the mound and shut down defending 2nd-Region champions Henderson County to send the Tigers to a 2-1 victory. Thompson ran his record to 5-0 to help Hopkinsville improve to 12-2 with its fifth straight victory.
After Thompson issued a walk to the first batter he faced, a pair of wild pitches allowed the runner to come around and score for an early Henderson lead.
However, the Tigers answered in the bottom of the frame, beginning with a walk to Thompson and a single by Zach Moss. With runners on second and third, Hoptown freshman Gavin Mitchell came through with a two-run single on a line drive to right to give Thompson all the support he would need.
Thompson only allowed two Colonels to reach base the rest of the way, with a Tiger error in the fourth and an Alec Satterfield single the only blemishes. The senior lefty struck out seven to take his season total to 66 in only 34 and a third innings of work.
Clayton Brown took the loss for Henderson despite six strong innings, scattering five hits with a pair of walks and nine strikeouts.
Moss and Mitchell both finished 2/3 at the plate, and Gavin Powell had a hit for the Tigers.
Henderson lost for the third time in four outings to slip to 7-10 and will hit the road on Monday to face Evansville Mater Dei on Monday.
