In the first game of the season on Thursday night, the Hoptown Hoppers were defeated at home inside Christian County Field by the Bowling Green Pistons 13-6.
The opening day pitcher was Brady Ginaven who pitched 3 innings and a third and managed to throw 5 strikeouts.
The Hoppers jumped out to a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the 2nd after 2 bases-loaded walks advanced runners home.
The Pistons then scored 3 runs in the top of the 4th to take the one-run lead just to have the Hoppers tie it back up after scoring one run in the bottom of the 4th.
It was then a 5th inning 3-run homer that changed the landscape of the ball game that came after 1 run already scored in the inning to make it a 7-3 lead. A base hit also drove in a run to end the inning with a 8-3 score.
The Hoppers then scored two runs to end the 5th inning just to see 4 more runs get scored for the Pistons to make it 12-5.
No runs were scored for either team until the eighth inning when both squads tagged one run each to the scoreboard which resulted in a final score of 13-6.
A lot of pitchers were thrown on the mound as 7 pitchers all saw action, but Jacob Dilday was a bright spot for the Hoppers as he came in the top of the 6th inning and allowed two hits, no runs, and five strikeouts on 2 innings and a third.
It was made known in an interview on the Early Bird Show Friday morning that it was Coach E.J. Devarie that pulled the plug on Dilday as Devarie is currently in North Carolina preparing to coach for the University of Indianapolis as they compete in the NCAA Division 2 World Series tournament on Saturday.
Jacob told WHOP that Devarie sent a text to interim head coach Mike Albin that he wanted to see more arms on the mound.
The Hoppers will be in action on Friday June 2, as they host the Paducah Chiefs at 6:30. The pregame show will start at 6:15 pm on NewsRadio 99.3 FM and 1230 AM WHOP. You can also listen in on our website or watch the tv broadcast on the Hoptown Hoppers TV Youtube channel while still getting WHOP’s audio.