An early slugfest turned into a pitcher’s duel late as Hopkins County Central held on for a 9-6 win at Trigg County on Monday.
The Storm scored twice in the first inning. Neilan Bruce doubled to center and later scored on a passed ball for the game’s first run.
Gaige Brasher followed with a double and came home on a groundout by Brody Smith to make it 2-0.
Trigg County answered in the bottom of the first when James Garnett singled, stole second, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ty Gootee.
Hopkins County Central added three more runs in the second to stretch the lead to 5-1. Bruce drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Brasher followed with a two-run single that brought home Jacob Phelps and Sawyer Ipox.
Trigg County responded with a three-run third inning. Brody Calhoun singled, and Gootee walked before Cannon Scott lined a two-run single to right to score both runners.
Later in the inning, Carson Kline came home on an error during a fielder’s choice off the bat of Noah Hawkins to trim the deficit to 5-4.
The Storm answered with three runs in the fourth. Phelps doubled down the left field line and scored on a groundout by Bruce.
Peyton James later drew a bases-loaded walk to force in another run, and Kullen Marshall was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 8-4.
Trigg County got one back in the sixth when Garnett walked, stole second, moved to third on a flyout, and scored on Calhoun’s RBI single to left, cutting the margin to 8-5.
Hopkins County Central added an insurance run in the seventh when Allen scored on a wild pitch.
Trigg County pushed across its final run in the bottom of the seventh when Kline walked and later scored on an error during a fielder’s choice off the bat of Grady Oliphant.
Brasher finished with three hits and two RBI for the Storm, while Bruce added two hits and two RBI, and James had a pair of hits. Phelps added a double and scored twice, while Smith had a hit, an RBI, and scored once.
Levi Stanley (2-0) started for the Storm and allowed three earned runs in three innings. Brody Smith pitched the middle three innings and gave up a pair of runs, and Jacob Phelps got the final three outs for the save.
Calhoun, Scott, and Oliphant each had two hits for the Wildcats, while Garnett reached base three times with a hit, two walks, and scored twice. Kline scored twice after reaching on a hit and two walks.
Garnett (1-3) started for Trigg and was tagged with the loss. Noah Hawkins gave the Wildcats a boost out of the pen, striking out five and allowing one run in three innings of relief.
Hopkins County Central (7-6), which defeated Trigg County 12-2 earlier this season, completed its first season sweep of the Wildcats. Trigg still leads the all-time series 5-4.
The Storm will play a district game at Madisonville-North Hopkins on Tuesday.
Trigg County (3-11) looks to snap a six-game losing streak on Tuesday when they host Crittenden County.
