The McCracken County Mustangs will return to the First Region title contest for the 10th consecutive time since the school’s inception in 2013. With senior Weston Miller’s no-hitter, the Mustangs defeated the Hickman County Falcons in a 10-0 five-inning shutout.
“This is what we work for all year, to get to the game tomorrow. Hopefully, we come and play well regardless of who the opponent is,” McCracken County head coach Zach Hobbs said. “It’s exciting to get to this point, and there’s a lot of work that goes into it, with a lot of testing these guys in the regular season and our schedule to try and prepare us for these games.”
Miller threw five innings for the Mustangs. The senior hurler walked two and struck out six while silencing Hickman County’s offensive with zero hits and zero runs.
“We have three dudes ready [for tomorrow], and I don’t know which one we’ll throw yet,” Hobbs said. “We’ll watch this next game, and Coach [Jack] Coleman and I will sit down with the staff and figure it out, but we’ve got a few options to throw, and hopefully, it’s a good day tomorrow.”
Offensively, the Mustangs collected nine hits, including a triple by Miller Green. Green went 2-for-3 with one RBI in the win. Additionally, Casey Hawes went 2-for-2 with two RBI. Andrew Farmer (one RBI), Scout Moffatt (two RBI), Eli James (one RBI), Jude Farley (two RBI), and Caden Kern collected hits for McCracken County.
Trey Boaz took the loss for Hickman County. Boaz worked two innings for the Falcons, surrendering five earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out two. Anderson Burpo appeared in relief, throwing over two innings and allowing six hits, five earned runs, and one strikeout.
The score remained at zero until the bottom of the third when McCracken County capitalized with back-to-back walks to start the inning for Farley and Hawes. With a fielder’s choice by Kern, the Mustangs loaded the bases. On a wild pitch, courtesy runner Braden Casebier scored to make it 1-0. A walk to Caleb Ehling reloaded the bases before Moffatt knocked an RBI single to center field to score Hawes and Kern.
The inning continued as Green singled to left field, allowing Ehling to cross home plate and make it 4-0. The next batter, James, continued the offensive onslaught, scoring Moffatt. However, Hickman County escaped the inning without further damage with a double play and ground out.
The score remained 5-0 until the bottom of the fifth inning when McCracken County added five more to the board. Green led off with a triple to kick off the inning. Farley singled on a ground ball to center field with one out, allowing James and Kendrick Dunning to score. The score moved to 9-0 when Hawes singled, scoring Miller and Casebier. With a single by Kern, the bases were loaded for Farmer. The contest’s final run came on Farmer’s RBI single, scoring Hawes to make it 10-0 in five innings.
UP NEXT: The McCracken County Mustangs will face the winner between Marshall County and Paducah Tilghman in the First Region championship at Edward Jones Field.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 10, HICKMAN COUNTY 0
HCHS 0 0 0 0 0 X X — 0-0-
MCHS 0 0 5 0 5 X X — 10-9-0
WP: W. Miller; LP: T. Boaz
3B: MCHS — M. Green
TB: MCHS — M. Green 4, C. Hawes 2, A. Farmer 1, C. Kern 1, E. James 1, J. Farley 1, S. Moffatt 1
HBP: HCHS — A. Burp; MCHS — K. Dunning 2, E. James
SB: HCHS — G. Dowdy
RECORDS: McCracken County (30-9); Hickman County (18-15)