YSE File Photo
A tale of two games Saturday for the University Heights Academy Blazers as they traveled to Owensboro to face Owensboro Catholic and Lyon County. The Blazers dropped a 5-1 decision to the Aces in their opener and then rebounded to pick up a come-from-behind 9-8 win over the Lyons in the second game of the day.
UHA had struggles on the mound that allowed the Aces to come back from an early 1-0 deficit to take the win.
Jaiden Miles reached base on a dropped third strike and then advanced to third when Hayden Hunt doubled in the top of the third inning. Miles scored on a bunt from Cadence Gibson to put the Blazers in the lead.
Three walks and an error opened the door for the Aces to score four times in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. O-Cath then added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth to go up 5-1.
Owensboro Catholic reliever Barrett Evans then closed the doors on the Blazers in the sixth and seventh to lock down the win.
The Blazers outhit the Aces 5 to 4 for the game. Hayden Hunt finished 2-3 with a double. Aiden Jones was also 2-3 for UHA.
Hayden Hunt took the loss for the Blazers. He went 3 ⅔ innings in the start, giving up four runs, none of them earned, on three hits, striking out three and walking six.
The second game for the Blazers was a complete reversal of fortune.
UHA scored three times in the top of the seventh to complete a comeback from five runs down as the Blazers were the glad recipients of Lyon County generosity in a 9-8 win in a game between two teams expected to contend for the 2nd Region title.
Lyon County jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the game with a run in the bottom of the first and four runs in the bottom of the second. Two Blazer errors set the stage for the big second inning for Lyon County.
In a precursor of things to come, UHA got on the board in the top of the third on a bases-loaded walk to Cadence Gibson, cutting the lead to 5-1. A Lyon County error and a wild pitch later in the inning allowed the Blazers to score three more runs and make it a 5-4 game.
Courtland Gibson drove in Bryson Turner with a bunt single in the top of the fourth to even things up at 5-5.
Lyon County seemed to get the momentum going back in its direction in the bottom half of the inning. Eli Baker drove in two runs with a double to center. Korben Lucas followed that with a double to center to then score Baker, and it was suddenly back to a three-run Lyon County lead at 8-5.
A bases-loaded walk to Hayden Hunt in the top of the 5th brought the Blazers to within 8-6.
The final UHA rally in the top of the seventh started with a hit batter, a double, and a walk to load the bases. Hayden Hunt drove in a run with a single to make it 8-7. Cadence Gibson walked and it was 8-8. A Lyon County error allowed Ryan Luckey to score and put UHA up 9-8.
Lyon County got runners to first and second in the bottom of the seventh but could not get anything started beyond that as Cadence Gibson closed the door for the game.
The Lyons outhit the Blazers 9 to 4 in the game, but Lyon County pitching had trouble finding the plate, as the Lyons gave up 14 walks for the game. On the other side of the coin, the Lyons pitchers had 15 strikeouts for the day.
Hayden Hunt was 2-2 for UHA with three walks, 2 RBIs, and a run scored. Ryan Luckey was 0-1 but walked four times and ended up scoring two runs.
Eli Baker was 2-4 with a double and three RBIs for Lyon County. Korben Lucas was 2-3 with a double, two RBIs, and a run scored. Hudson Phillips was 2-3 with a double, two RBIs, and two runs scored.
Cadence Gibson got the win in relief for the Blazers (3-1), going the last six innings and giving up three runs on five hits, striking out eight and walking two.
Peyton Williams got a no-decision in the start for the Lyons. He went three innings, giving up four runs, just two of them earned, on one hit, striking out 8 and walking five.
