In a case of whatever could go wrong, went wrong, the Hoptown Hoppers were routed by visiting Full Count 16-3 Wednesday night in Ohio Valley League baseball action.
Hoptown starting pitcher Zach Hampton warmed up to start the game, but summoned coaches to the mound and was removed before making a pitch. Former Hopkinsville High School pitcher Jacob Dilday was summoned in with barely any time to warm up and was greeted with a Rhythm offense ready to explode.
Full Count erupted for six runs in the top of the first inning using five hits and three walks. The big hit was a two-run home run by Devyn McEachron.
Hoptown cut the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the third as Jordan Carter blasted a two-run homer over the left field fence to score Tyler Casserly.
However, Full Count used a pair of two-run home runs as part of a five-run fourth inning to push the lead back to 11-2. McEachron hit is second bomb of the night and Charlie Bozeman also had a dinger in the inning.
Two hits and two Hoptown errors helped the Rhythm add three more runs in the top of the sixth for a 14-2 advantage.
The Hoppers got a run back in the bottom of the frame as Chance Sweeney walked and Hunter Swanson had a run-scoring double.
Spencer Yu hit the fourth home run of the game for the Rhythm in the top of the seventh inning and Nolan Sergeant doubled and came around to score on a single by John Paul Head for the final runs.
Casserly led the Hoppers with a pair of hits and Myles Denton extended his hitting streak to six games with a single in the fifth inning.
The win secured the regular season title and the top seed for the OVL tournament for the Rhythm. Hoptown is in fifth place in the standings and will play either Henderson or Fulton on the road Sunday night in a one-game playoff. Currently, Fulton leads the Flash by a half-game for the third-place spot.
The Hoppers are off tonight but return to action Friday at Paducah and complete the regular season Saturday at home against the Fulton Railroaders. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. and airtime is 6:15 p.m. on 95.3 The Farm and 953thefarm.com.
Score by Innings:
Full Count Rhythm 600 530 2 – 16 12 2
Hoptown Hoppers 002 001 0 – 3 9 4
WP – Sweeney
LP – Dilday
Leading Hitters: Hoptown – Casserly (2 1B), Sweeney (1B), Carter (HR), Scheidt (1B), Denton (1B), Swanson (2B), Hutcheson (1B), Tucker (1B).
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