The Hopkinsville Tigers did not look like they were playing a season opener Tuesday evening. The Tigers got five stellar inning from starting pitcher Robert Justus as they rolled past University Heights 9-1 in an 8th District contest.
Justus was sharp from the very beginning for the Tigers. He gave up a hit to Drew McGowan to lead off the the bottom of the first inning, and did not give up another the rest of the time he was on the mound. He hit one battter in the bottom of the 1st, and then walked a batter to lead off the bottom of the 2nd. From that point on, he was untouchable, setting the Blazers down in order in the third, fourth, and fifth innings.
Meanwhile, the Hopkinsville offfense did not wait long to get things going. The Tigers took advantage of three UHA errors in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead. Hoptown scored two more runs in the top of the second, again taking advantage of a UHA error, as they extended the lead to 4-0. Landon Snyder added an RBI double in the inning.
Another Blazer error in the top of the 3rd inning helped lead to two more Hopkinsville run. Robert Justus and Landon Snyder connected for RBI singles. Snyder came up big again in the top of the 5th, driving in a run with a double to right field to extend the lead to 7-0. The Tigers would then tack on two more runs in the top of the 6th to push the lead on out to 9-0.
UHA ended their scoring drought in the bottom of the inning, scoring a run off two walks, a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly.
Hopkinsville would set the Blazers down in order in the bottom of the 7th to close out the win.
Landon Snyder led the Hopkinsville attack, going 3-4 with three RBIs and two doubles. John Duvall was 2-4 with two runs scored. Robert Justus was 2-2 with an RBI, while Caleb Bapp was 2-4 with an RBI.
On the mound, Robert Justus went five innings to pick up the win, giving up no runs, one hit, and striking out eight, while walking only one. Zach Caudill pitched the final two innings, and struck out three, while walking two.
Luke Welch took the loss for the Blazers, going five innings. He gave up seven runs, only two of which were earned. Welch struck out six and walked one in the contest.