Hornets fall 12-2 in 11th District baseball tourney
By Steve Wimmer
The HCHS Hornets baseball team’s season came to an end with a 12-2 loss to Breckinridge County at Breck County High School during the 11th District baseball tournament Monday. The Hornets finished the season with a win-loss record of 14-12.
“This was definitely not the outcome we wanted, but we got runners on and we fought till the end and that’s all you can ask for,” HCHS coach Brad Keown said.
Hancock County jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Jack Duncan hit an RBI single to score Kaleb Keown, who had walked and stole second base.
“We got the lead there in the first inning and we felt good about that, but we knew Breck was going to hit it around a little bit and we had a couple of untimely errors that turned the momentum,” Keown said.
The Fighting Tigers took the lead for good in the second by plating four runs. Brett Hinton, Lance Poole, Cohl Proctor and Isaac Seeger all hit safely during the frame.
Breck County added a run in the third and seven more in the fourth.
Jake Frames delivered an RBI double for HCHS in the fourth as Ryan Jones scored on the play. Hayden Hamilton doubled in the fifth but was left stranded on base.
Brock Tindle was charged with the loss on the mound. He allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits, with two Ks and three walks over 2.1 innings pitched. Logan Willis allowed five runs on one hit, with four walks over 0.2 frames, and Sam Walz allowed two unearned runs on one hit, with one walk in one inning of relief.
Seeger struck out 10 batters and was the winning pitcher for Breck.
Jack Roberts was 2 for 2 at the plate for HCHS and Hamilton was 1 for 1 with a double. Frames was 1 for 2 with a double and one RBI, and Duncan was 1 for 3 with one RBI. Aiden Taylor had a stolen base.
Logan Henning (two triples) and Proctor (double) had two hits each for BCHS.
The Hornets had a 6-game winning streak during what was a winning season.
“We finished the year on top and we fought through adversity all year long,” the coach said. “We had two key players get hurt so a lot of kids had to play different positions every single game. We had to ask people to do stuff that they’re not used to doing and they stepped up and were able to pull off a good year– it just ended too soon for them.”
The program says goodbye to five seniors. Andrew Boutcher, Jake Frames, Hayden Hamilton, Hunter Severs and Sam Walz.
“You can’t ask for a better group of seniors. They’re all hard working kids and they’ll be missed,” Keown said.
Heritage Hills
Jack Duncan drove in four runs and Jake Frames belted a home run during a slug fest at Heritage Hills in Indiana on Wednesday, May 11. The Patriots won by a final score of 16-11.
Hancock County came to bat first and pushed three runs across home plate. Kaleb Keown, Duncan and Ryan Jones all scored on defensive errors and the Hornets led 3-0. Heritage Hills answered with three runs in the home half and the game was tied.
The Patriots smacked six base hits during a 7-run second inning and the team from southern Indiana now led 10-3.
The Hornets battled back in the third. Keown, Duncan and Jones all hit safely before Frames smashed a 2-run shot to right-center field. The bats stayed hot in the fourth and Duncan cleared the bases with a 3-run triple. When the dust settled Hancock County held an 11-10 advantage.
The Patriots later plated six more runs to win by five.
Sam Walz took the loss on the mound. He allowed 11 runs (10 earned) on nine hits, with one walk over two innings. Logan Willis allowed one earned run on one hit, with one K and three walks in one inning, Brock Tindle allowed one earned run on two hits, with three Ks and three walks in 2.2 frames, and Dec Lewko had one strike out.
Duncan was 3 for 4 at the plate with a double, triple, four RBI and three runs scored. Keown was 2 for 3 with one RBI and three runs scored, Frames was 1 for 4 with the homer and three RBI, Jones was 2 for 3 and Andrew Boutcher was 1 for 3. Austin Volocko and Hunter Severs scored one run each.
