Taking over pitching duties in the second inning for brother Evan Oakley – who in one inning allowed one hit, two runs and struck out one – freshman Reece Oakley earned the win against Hopkinsville over six innings, striking out six while allowing seven hits and two earned of the four runs in the Marshals 8-6 win over the top 25 ranked Tigers.
Hopkinsville led 2-0 after their first appearance at the plate. The Marshals got on the board in the bottom of the inning on a single by Evan Oakley, leaving the bases loaded with the third out of the inning.
The Tigers added another run in the top of the second on a single by Landon Snyder to lead 3-1. The Marshals were left empty handed in the bottom of the inning, leaving two base runners on. A double in the top of the third by Logan Durst gave Hopkinsville a 4-1 lead when Zach Moss scored on the throw to home plate.
A solo home run by senior Ryan Myers put Hopkinsville up 5-1 in the top of the fourth. The Marshals cut it to 5-3 in the bottom of the inning, scoring on a single from Brady Ives and Evan Oakley sacrifice fly.
They took the lead in the bottom of the fifth, putting together a five-run inning that began with two outs. Singles by Clay Hale and Reece Oakley and a walk by Conner Mannon loaded up the bases. Ethan Landis reached on an error that brought in two runs and a triple by Ives scored two more to take a 7-5 lead. Ives scored when Chase Hayden reached on an error to finish out the inning up 8-5.
Hopkinsville brought a run across the plate in the top of the sixth on a single by Snyder, leaving a runner stranded in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Ives led with three RBIs, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, Mannon went 2-for-4 and Evan Oakley 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
One final game left of the regular season will be played at home on Thursday against University Heights (12-19) before the Marshals take on Murray in the first round of the district tournament on Saturday at Calloway County with a 4:00 start time. The winner advances to play Calloway County in the championship game on Monday at 4:00.
Hopkinsville 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 6 8 3
Marshall 1 0 0 2 5 0 x 8 10 1
Hopkinsville: Myers 1/3 (HR, RBI), Snyder 2/4 (2 RBI), Moss 1/1 (RBI), Durst 1/4 (2B, RBI), West 2/3, Cook 1/3
Marshall: Mannon 2/4, Landis 1/3, Ives 2/3 (3B, 3 RBI), E. Oakley 1/2 (2 RBI), Hayden 1/4, Davenport 1/3, Hale 1/3, R. Oakley 1/3
Hopkinsville: Dilday 4.2 (8 hits, 6 runs, 3 SO), Durst 1.1 (2 hits, 2 runs, 3 SO)
Marshall: E. Oakley 1.0 (1 hit, 2 runs, 1 SO), R. Oakley 6.0 (7 hits, 4 runs, 6 SO)
Record: Hopkinsville 17-9, Marshall 11-10
