Hopkinsville sophomore Andrew Mayes delivered a dominant performance on the mound on Friday to lead the Tigers to a 2-1 victory over 8th-District rivals Christian County and deny the Colonels a chance to clinch the top seed in the upcoming district tournament.
Other than a hit batter, Mayes was perfect over the first three frames before Aiden Lewis led off the fourth with a single. On the mound for the Colonels, Lewis matched Mayes pitch for pitch until the Tigers found the breakthrough in the bottom of the fourth.
JJ Thompson led off the inning with a single and a walk put runners on first and second with only one out. Zach Moss swiped third and the throw went into left field, allowing the Tigers to take the lead. With a runner on third, Gavin Powell got a bunt down and the tag at home was late for a 2-0 advantage.
That was all Mayes would need but the Colonels got a run back in the top of the fifth when Sebastian Dazey came home on a passed ball. Christian County came up empty with runners on first and second in the sixth, and Mayes worked around a one-out walk with a ground out and his fifth strikeout to end the game with the tying run 90 feet away.
Mayes earned his fifth win of the season, allowing a single unearned run on a pair of hits with two walks. The Tigers made the most of three hits, with one each for Thompson, Powell, and Chase Fort.
Hopkinsville snapped a four-game skid to improve to 17-7, 3-3 in district play, ahead of a visit from Muhlenberg County on Monday.
Lewis was the tough-luck loser for the Colonels, giving up a pair of earned runs on three hits with a walk and eight strikeouts over six innings.
With the defeat, Christian County fell for the second time in district play to slip to 12-17 and see University Heights take the district’s top seed. The Colonels and Tigers will meet again in the district semifinals to decide the season series.
