Korben Lucas smacked a three-run home run to break open a close game and send Lyon County to an 11-1 win over Livingston Central in the 5th District Baseball Tournament semifinals on Sunday.
The Lyons will play Trigg County for the district championship on Monday. The Wildcats took care of Crittenden County 6-0 in Sunday’s other semifinal.
With Lyon County holding a 2-1 lead and two runners on base, Lucas sent the first pitch of the at-bat over the right field fence for his second homer of the season and 33rd RBI, giving him 100 RBI for his high school career.
Two Livingston Central errors in the inning allowed another runner to score to up the Lyon lead to 6-1.
In the third inning, Brady Belt singled home a run, and Eli Baker, who notched his 100th career RBI earlier in the week against Caldwell County, scored Turner Hurst on a sacrifice fly.
Hurst, Belt, and Baker would add RBI singles in the fifth inning to end the game via the mercy rule.
Belt finished with two hits and two RBI for the Lyons, who had seven hits and took advantage of eight Livingston Central walks.
Hudson Phillips had a pair of hits for Lyon at the plate and got the pitching win by allowing three hits over 4.1 innings. He struck out seven and walked three.
Livingston Central (9-19) squandered some early chances to possibly change the early tide of the contest.
Mason Hargrove singled to the right-center gap in the first inning but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double.
The Cardinals loaded the bases in the second inning on a single by Avery Zaim and walks to Aiden Hale and Garrett Edmonds. Phillips was able to get a strikeout, and a failed squeeze attempt kept the Cardinals off the board until Zaim scored on a passed ball. Phillips then got a strikeout to end Livingston’s most serious scoring threat of the day.
Livingston Central would load the bases again in the fifth inning, but reliever Johnny Bingham induced a pair of strikeouts to end the threat.
Lyon County is 17-7 and has won 42 straight games against district opponents dating back to 2019. The Lyons will look to win their sixth straight district title on Monday at Lee S. Jones Park.
