The Cougar baseball team saw its season come to a close Monday in the opening round of the 3rd Region Tournament, at Ohio County, as the Daviess County Panthers eliminated them 5-0.
In a season in which they lost 23 games, the Cougars played some of their best baseball in the 12th District Tournament to make their way into the regionals, but some stout pitching from the Panthers’ senior right-hander, Jake Hansen, put an end to things for the Cougars.
Cougar senior Braxton Hodges pitched well enough to win for the Cougars, but was hurt by some shoddy fielding on the part of his infield. Four of the five runs scored by the Panthers were unearned.
Meanwhile, Hansen was rolling along, mowing down the Cougars with authority. Before the game was halted by wind and rain with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, Hansen had allowed just three hits and had struck out 10 Cougar batters.
Reporter’s Note: I left during the rain delay trying to make the start of the girls’ game in McLean County, which was eventually postponed, so I have no account of what happened when the boys’ game resumed, and therefore no complete stats.
The Panthers scored the only run they would need in the first inning without the benefit of a hit. With one out, Hodges walked shortstop Dalton Hoskins, who was then sacrificed to second by Cameron Nichols.
Nichols was safe at first when Cougar third-baseman Alex Scott could not make a play on the ball. Hansen followed by hitting a sharp grounder at second-baseman Noah Bullock, and when Bullock allowed the ball to get past him, Hoskins scored to make it 1-0. Hodges retired the next two batters to end the inning, but the damage was done.
The Panthers added three more unearned runs in the fourth inning. Cole Troutman was safe on a Cougar error leading off the inning. Hodges struck out the next two batters, giving hope of his getting out of the inning unscathed, but he walked Jameson Arnold, then gave up a run-scoring single to the number-nine hitter, Ryan Thomson, making it 2-0.
The runners advanced to second and third on a play at the plate, then both scored on a single by Hoskins, making it 4-0.
Hansen had retired 10 Cougars in a row before Hodges beat out an infield hit with two outs in the sixth inning. That’s when the wind blew a pair of canopies out into center field and the rain began to fall in buckets.
The Panthers added one more run in the seventh inning and Hansen retired the Cougars in their half of the seventh to earn the win.
By Don Brown, Local Sports
Reach Don at donbrown@k105.com
Senior Rylee Shoemaker made a nice catch of this foul pop
near the Daviess County dugout for an out in the first inning.
