Using a business-like approach, the University Heights Academy baseball team flexed its pitching and hitting muscle by routing Henderson County 12-0 in five innings Monday night in the Region 2 Baseball Tournament.
The game was originally scheduled for Chris Simmons Field at UHA at 1 p.m. Monday. However, just after the head coaches exchanged the lineup cards at home plate, a heavy rain began to fall and forced the postponement of the game. After about 30 minutes, a decision was made to move the remaining first-round games to Hopkinsville High School.
The delay didn’t bother the Blazers (27-8) as they exploded for five runs in the top of the first inning. UHA sent 10 players to the plate. Aiden Jones had a two-run single and Josh Pace and Jaiden Miles had run-producing singles.
In the second inning, UHA pushed its lead to 8-0 with AJ Hogart blasting a three-run home run over the right field fence.
Hogart drove in four runs on the night and teamed with Miles to throw a one-hitter.
UHA kept the pressure on the Colonels in the top of the third. Jackson Flynn scored Cadence Gibson and Ryan Luckey with a single to push the lead to 10-0.
The Blazers added two more runs in the fifth as Gibson reached on an error and Hayden Hunt also reached due to error. Two more throwing errors by the Colonels allowed Gibson to score. Hunt then touched home on a sacrifice fly by Hogart to make the score 12-0.
Only three Henderson batters reached base in the game. Two of those came in the sixth. However, Hogart got the final three batters out to end the game.
Miles got the win, although the senior only threw one inning and faced three batters. Hogart went four innings and struck out six and allowed one hit.
Flynn drove in three runs on the day to lead the Blazers into the semifinals against Madisonville-North Hopkins. The Blazers and Maroons are scheduled to play tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Chris Simmons Field. Madisonville edged defending region champion Lyon County 3-1 in eight innings in the first game of the day at UHA.
Airtime tonight is 5:15 p.m. on 95.3 The Farm and 953thefarm.com.
Score by Innings:
University Heights 532 02 – 12 8 0
Henderson County 000 00 – 0 1 4
WP – Miles (1 IP, 1 SO, 0 BB).
LP – Golday
Leading Hitters: UHA – Ca. Gibson (1B), Hunt (1B), Hogart (HR, 4 RBI), Flynn (1B, 3 RBI), Courtland Gibson (1B), Jones (1B), Miles (1B), Pace (1B).
Photos by Peyton Biaquis