Charlie Fischer’s grand slam capped off a five run 7th inning Friday night as the Hoptown Hoppers rallied past the Paducah Chiefs 8-7 at Hopkinsville High School. Chief pitching woes set up the big moment for Fischer, as the Chiefs gave up three walks and a hit batter in front of the grand slam.
The Chiefs got out of the gate quickly Friday evening, getting to Hoppers’ starter Zach Losey for three runs in the top of the 1st inning. Paducah combined three hits with three walks from Losey to get out to the early 3-0 lead.
The Hoppers battled back in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Charlie Fischer lead off the inning with a single. S Bennett followed with a double to set Hoptown up with runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. A ground out and a sacrifice fly later, the Hoppers had trimmed the lead to 3-2.
Paducah responded with a run in the top of the 3rd and another in the top of the 4th to push the lead back out to three runs at 5-2.
The Hoppers used back to back doubles from Cameron Hill and Santrel Farmer in the bottom of the 5th inning to trim a run off the lead at 5-3, and setting the stage for Fischer’s 7th inning heroics.
Even with the 7th inning rally, things got interesting late. A pair of singles to lead off the top of the 9th inning for the Chiefs, followed by a Hopper error, allowed Paducah to cut the lead to 8-7 with no outs. However, Brennan Crooms was able to set the next three Chiefs down in order to close out the win.
Charlie Fischer had a huge night for the Hoppers, going 3-4, with a grand slam, 4 RBIs, and two runs scored. UHA grad Drew McGowan ended the night at 3-3.
Ben Huber picked up the win in relief, going three innings, giving up no runs, on just one hit, and striking out three. Crooms went the last two innings to pick up the save.