Cross-town rivals faced off for the first time this season at McCracken County High School, as the Mustangs met the Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado in both team’s Second District opener. In what turned out to be a fierce pitching duel, the Mustangs would ride a one-hit complete game shutout from junior Caden Kern, and a bit of late-inning offense, to a 3-0 victory.
“We found a way to win tonight, it wasn’t the prettiest, but an ugly win is always better than a pretty loss,” McCracken County head coach Zach Hobbs said speaking after the win. “That’s the heart of this ball club, these guys are competitors. They’re always going to compete and find ways to win.”
The battle on the mound would be on from the jump, with Kern and Tilghman starter Elijah Hamilton each getting off to a hot start. The two would move quickly through the first three innings, neither allowing a hit while punching out four and five batters, respectively.
The only scoring threat for either side through three would come from the Mustangs the back half of the first, with Kendrick Dunning on base following a walk. While advancing towards home on an error in the infield, Dunning would be cut down at the plate to end the inning still scoreless.
Hamilton’s no-hit bid would be the first to fall, with Gage Reeves picking up the first knock of the night with a single in the bottom of the fourth. While Braden Douglas would pick up Tilghman’s first hit with a leadoff single in the top of the fifth, the first run would not be scored until the bottom of the fifth.
After a pair of singles early in the inning from Braden Truitt and Braden Casebier, the Mustangs would load up the bases with two away. A five-pitch walk worked by Dunning would be what broke the deadlock, giving McCracken the 1-0 edge through five.
The Mustangs would eventually chase Hamilton in the back half of the sixth, after Truitt picked up his second single of a 2-for-2 night to put a pair on for McCracken. Hamilton’s night came to an end with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work, being charged with one run on four hits.
“Elijah pitched a great game, you’ve got to tip your cap to that,” Hobbs continued. “Our swings were getting a bit big because of how well he was pitching, but we just had to grind through it all night, and found a way to pull it off.”
Later in the inning, the Mustangs would extend the lead to three runs, capitalizing on a sailed throw to first off a Casebier ground ball to score both runners. On the other side of the ball, Kern would continue to shut the Tornado down, eventually capping off the 3-0 complete game victory with his 11th strikeout of the night.
“It was a tremendous outing for Caden. To get a complete game this early on in the year, and to throw that good of a ballgame, it was top-notch,” Hobbs said. “That’s what you’re going to get out of Caden, he’s outstanding. Even if he doesn’t have his best stuff on a night, he’ll give you everything he’s got to help the club.”
Next up for the Mustangs, they hope to make it seven wins in a row as they hit the road to face Jackson, Missouri Tuesday. As for the Tornado, they also return to action Tuesday, closing out a five-game road stretch against Murray.
Game stats
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 3, PADUCAH TILGHMAN 0
PTHS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 1 3
MCHS 0 0 0 0 1 2 X — 3 5 0
WP: C. Kern; LP: E. Hamilton
TB: MCHS — B. Truitt 2, B. Casebier, G. Reeves, N. Godwin 1; PTHS — B. Douglas
HBP: MCHS — C. Kern; PTHS — M. Daniels
SB: MCHS — K. Dunning
CS: PTHS — T. Hertter
E: PTHS — B. Dutton, L. Hinz, S. Crowe
RECORDS: McCracken County (7-1); Paducah Tilghman (6-2)