Caldwell County and Madisonville-North Hopkins keep swapping the 7th District baseball championship back and forth.
Monday night was the Tigers’ turn.
Ari Wells blasted a three-run home run and Derek Wilson added a three-run double as Caldwell defeated Madisonville 7-2 at the VFW Ballpark in Princeton.
Wells was also the winning pitcher, going 5-plus innings and giving up just one base hit. He struck out nine and walked four while keeping the Maroons off the scoreboard.
Madisonville (20-12) didn’t break through against the Tigers until the seventh inning, and by then Caldwell had built a 7-0 lead.
A single by Brody Kirk and a walk by Drew Stevens put two on with one out in a scoreless game in the top of the third inning.
The score didn’t remain 0-0 for long, with Wells hammering a 1-0 pitch deep over the fence in right field to give Caldwell a 3-0 lead.
The Tigers (21-10) put together another rally in the fourth inning. A walk by David Ginn and a single by Presten Alfred had two on with two out and Wells coming to the plate again.
This time, Madisonville intentionally walked Wells to load the bases.
Wilson took advantage of the situation, driving an 0-2 pitch just inside the line and into the left-field corner. His double cleared the bases, putting Caldwell in control 6-0.
Alfred picked up an RBI in the fifth when he grounded into a fielder’s choice to short. That made it 7-0.
Channing Puckett pitched the last two innings to nail down the win.
Madisonville scored both of its runs with two outs in the seventh.
Ryder Sandidge tripled home a run. He then scored when Blake Prow singled into center.
But Puckett got a pop-up to first baseman Scott Cortner in foul territory to end the contest.
Wells finished 2-for-3 at the plate with the three runs batted in and two runs scored. Wilson was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
Prow started on the mound for the Maroons and suffered the loss.
Madisonville won the district championship over Caldwell 2-1 last season. The Tigers scored two runs in the seventh to defeat the Maroons 2-1 two years ago.
Madisonville won 1-0 in 2023 while Caldwell prevailed 6-3 in 2022.
The Tigers have won 11 of the last 16 7th District championships.
Monday’s game was the 101st meeting all-time between the two teams. The Maroons hold a 59-42 advantage.
In the last 23 meetings, Caldwell leads 12-11.
Both Caldwell and Madisonville advance to the 2nd Region tournament next week at University Heights Academy in Hopkinsville.
