Photo - Ashlyn Brown
The Paducah Chiefs looked every bit the ‘chief’ team in the Ohio Valley League Thursday night. Chief batters pounded out 33 hits while their pitchers limited the Hoptown Hoppers to just 6 hits for the night as Paducah pulled off an impressive 10-0, 15-2 doubleheader sweep at Hopkinsville High School.
The first game, which was suspended early on back on June 3 due to weather, saw the Chiefs finish with 16 hits as they rolled to a 10-0 8-inning win. Paducah scored in six of the eight innings, putting up one run in each of the second, third, and fourth innings. The Chiefs then added four runs in the sixth, one more in the seventh, and then brought the 10-run rule into play with two more in the top of the 8th.
The Hoppers did not help their cause any in the field, being charged with five errors in the game.
Brayden Blevins had the only hit of the game for Hoptown with a single to center in the bottom of the 5th inning.
Murray State’s Brady Grabowski led Paducah, going 4-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
In the second game, which was changed to a 7-inning game when the night was made a doubleheader, the Chiefs set the Hoppers back on their heels early with a seven-run first inning on their way to the win. Paducah extended the lead to 11-0 with three runs in the 4th and one more in the top of the 5th.
Hoptown got on the board for the first time on the night with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the sixth. An RBI double from Kolby Webb was the big hit of the inning as the lead was trimmed to 11-2.
Paducah ended any hopes of a miracle comeback in the game by the Hoppers when they plated four more runs in the top of the 7th inning.
Trigg County grad Joe Peca got the start for Paducah and went four innings, giving up just two hits, striking out six and walking five.
