The Hoptown Hoppers are one game away from reaching the Ohio Valley League championship series after a dominating 13-2 victory over visiting Fulton Friday night at Tiger Field.
Joe King tossed six innings of four-hit baseball and struck out eight batters to slow down the Railroaders’ offense in the first game of their best-of-three semifinal series.
Meanwhile, the Hoppers had 15 hits, including three from Brennen Gibson, Evan Jacob, and Myles Denton.
The Hoppers (25-11) took a 2-0 lead after one inning. Evan Jacob and Mark Harmon drove in runs.
Hoptown extended its lead to 6-0 after two innings and Cole Reynolds, Gibson, Dom Hartman, Jacob, and Denton all had hits. Gibson had a triple and Jacob and Denton had back-to-back doubles in the frame.
Gibson led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run and Denton and Harmon brought home two more runs to push the Hoppers’ advantage to 9-0 after four innings.
King was dominant on the mound, allowing only four baserunners entering the sixth inning. However, the Railroaders (13-28) pushed across two runs. Thomas Kuhn, who went 2-for-3, led off with a double and scored on a single by Chase Cameron. Cameron would also score on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Lott to draw within 9-2.
However, Hoptown struck for four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Denton, Evan Leonard, and Deklan Riggs drove in runs and the Hoppers took a 13-2 lead into the seventh.
Leonard pitched the final inning and retired all three batters he faced.
The Hoppers will face the Railroaders in game two of the series Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and airtime is at 6:15 p.m. on 95.3 The Farm and 953thefarm.com.
In the other OVL semifinal series Friday night, host Henderson blasted Madisonville 23-2 in seven innings. Game two of that series is at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Madisonville.
Score by Innings:
Fulton 000 002 0 – 2 4 0
Hoptown 240 304 x – 13 15 2
WP – King (6 IP, 8 SO, 2 BB).
LP – Ramirez
File Photo