Following Thursday night’s rainout, the Hoptown Hoppers traveled to face the Paducah Chiefs on Friday night.
Though the Hoppers managed to out hit the Chiefs, a sac-fly in the eighth inning clinched a 3-2 victory for Paducah.
The first five and a half innings were a pitchers duel before Paducah got on the board first with two runs scored in the bottom of the fifth.
Hoptown answered in the top of the sixth, however, when MJ Rookard grounded out to score John Michael Reed. Rookard was followed by his college teammate and fellow OVL All-Star, Blake Jackson, who singled to drive in Cole Cummings for the tying run.
After a quiet seventh, Paducah’s sac-fly in the bottom of the eighth put Hoptown down to their final three outs.
While the Hoppers had two on with no outs in the ninth, a sacrificed bunt and double play handed them their ninth loss of the season.
Ryan Traylor, who fanned four without allowing a hit, took the loss as the clinching run crossed home plate while he was on the mound.
Isaiah Glidden went just one inning to earn the win.
Jackson was again the lead Hopper at the plate, going 1-4 but driving in his 29th run of the season (an Ohio Valley League best).
After a hot 8-1 start, the Hoppers are in a mid-season slump at 5-8 in their last 13.
They’ll return to Colonel Field Saturday night to host the Henderson Flash before they host Sunday’s OVL All-Star game.
First pitch for Saturday night’s game is 7 P.M.
