CORBIN — The top two ranked teams in the 13th Region faced-off with the winner moving one step closer in clinching the 50th District’s top seed when defending 13th Region champion Corbin, and Whitley County took the field on Tuesday.
The Colonels had leads of 3-0, 3-2, and5-3 before the Redhounds rallied to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the matchup at five apiece while sending the game into extra innings.
It didn’t take long for Whitley County to to secure a 12-5 win thanks to a seven-run eighth inning highlighted by Bryce Anderson’s grand slam.
“Just so proud of our team,” Whitley County coach Jeremy Shope said. “This team competes every day. We believe in developing every kid in our program.
“We were able to throw guys tonight that haven’t thrown many innings at all for us,” he added. “When they were put in a situation where we needed them tonight they performed. Our guys are so team oriented. We talk a lot about playing for the guy next to them. I love this team.”
The Colonels are now 22-3 overall and 5-0 in 50th District play for seeding purposes (they also have a win over Corbin that came in the Kentucky 2A Tournament). The loss snapped the Redhounds’ four-game win streak while they fell to 15-6 overall, and 4-2 against 50th District opponents.
The two teams will meet again Wednesday at Whitley County.
Anderson finished with two hits, including his grand slam, four RBI, and two runs scored. Sam Harp was 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and three runs scored while Matthew Wright finished with two hits, two RBI, and one run scored. RJ Osborne had two hits, and an RBI while Grant Zehr scored twice, and Hunter Wilson drove in a run. Andrew Stack, and Shane Parker each finished with an RBI, and one run scored apiece.
Harp was one of four pitchers for Whitley County. He picked up the win, tossing the final two innings while only allowing a hit, and finishing with one strikeout.
Kade Elam, Walker Landrum, and Cameron Combs each finished with a hit, and an RBI for Corbin while Jacob Baker, Jeremiah Gilbert, and Noah Cima each had a hit, and a run scored apiece. Mikey Neal finished with an RBI, and a run scored while Bradric Helton scored once.
Helton took the loss after coming in for relief of Gilbert, who pitched 5 1/3 of an inning, allowing five hits, four earned runs, and striking out four batters.
Helton tossed 2 2/3 of an inning, allowing four hits, and seven earned runs while striking out two batters.
