After a difficult start to the season, the Christian County baseball team appears to have found its stride over a five-game winning streak, with an 11-4 win over Henderson County and a come-from-behind walk-off victory over Paducah Tilghman giving the Colonels a sweep in a doubleheader on Saturday.
Nine runs over the fourth and fifth frames decided the opener, with Christian County pulling away for an 11-4 victory over the defending 2nd-Region champions. Aiden Lewis’ RBI double scored two, and Gage Montes followed with a two-run single for a 6-2 Christian County lead after four innings.
Cooper Vowels’ RBI single got a run back for Henderson County in the top of the fifth, but Christian County answered with five runs in the bottom of the frame, including RBI singles by Johnny Lewis and Carter Sholar.
Montes earned the win on the mound for Christian County, allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. He also collected a pair of hits and drove in two runs, with Preston Phan also finishing with two RBI.
Lewis drove in three runs on two hits, Sholar hit safely twice and drove in a run, and Jacob Jenkins and Eddie Davis had two hits each.
Reed Rheinhardt took the loss for Henderson, surrendering six runs, five earned, on eight hits with a pair of walks and six strikeouts over four frames. Caden Dotson worked two innings in relief, giving up five runs, only one earned, on five hits with a pair of strikeouts.
The nightcap looked to be shaping up as a pitching duel over two scoreless innings before Tilghman’s Brendan Mira led off the third with a home run to center field.
Trailing 2-0, the Colonels evened the game with a pair of runs in the fourth, highlighted by Blake Boehman’s RBI double. Paducah Tilghman took the lead back with four runs in the top of the fifth, before Christian County pulled a run back on a Blue Tornado error in the bottom of the inning.
Sholar doubled in a run and Christian County scored on a passed ball to cut the deficit to a run in the sixth, setting the stage for the Colonels’ third win in their final at-bat in the last week.
Dazey’s single and a walk put runners on first and second with one out, and Jenkins followed with a single to left to tie the game. Davis followed with a single to center, bringing in Boehman from second ahead of the throw home.
Dazey finished 3/4 at the plate and earned the win on the mound, allowing two hits with a walk and three strikeouts over two and a third scoreless innings. Davis pitched the first four and two-thirds, surrendering six runs, three earned, on five hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts.
Michael Daniels suffered the loss for Tilghman, allowing two earned runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout in the seventh. Gunner Massey and Jaylen Seay each had two hits for the Blue Tornado.
Christian County will look to extend its winning run on Monday with a trip to Logan County. The Colonels lost 7-3 to the Cougars last season, their eighth defeat in the last night in the series.
