UHA’s Drew McGowan smacked a homer and drove-in six runs to help the Blazers overcome two home runs by Hopkins County Central’s Austin Scarbrough, earning a 16-10 victory on Tuesday night in Morton’s Gap. The Blazers win their second-straight to even their record at 13-13, while the Storm drop their fifth in a row to slip to 6-17 overall.
Scarbrough’s first home run gave the Storm a 2-0 lead after the first inning, but Tanner Thomas doubled to drive in Elvin Wagner and McGowan to tie the game, followed by a sacrifice fly by Dustin Moon to put the Blazers in front after three.
McGowan tripled home a run in the fourth and scored on Thomas’ ground-out, but Scarbrough jump-started a Storm rally with a home run to lead off the bottom of the frame, and they tied the score with 2 more RBI base hits.
After the Blazers loaded the bases in the fifth, McGowan put them back in front with a grand slam. Thomas and Dan Johnson followed with singles, before they both came home on Storm errors for an 11-5 advantage.
However, Hopkins Central wasn’t done, and after three singles and a hit-by-pitch to begin the sixth, they pushed 3 runs across to trim the Blazer lead to three.
Johnson doubled to start the Blazer seventh and came home on an RBI double by Luke Welch, before a Zach Naylor single brought in Eston Glover and Moon for the final score.
Johnson went the distance on the mound for the win, allowing 10 runs, 6 earned, on 11 hits, with 3 strikeouts.
McGowan led the way at the plate with 3 hits and 6 RBI, followed by Thomas with a couple of hits and 3 driven-in and Naylor with 3 hits and 2 RBI.
Will Cothran took the loss for the Storm, working 2.1 innings while yielding 5 runs, 2 earned, on 4 hits with a strikeout. Scarbrough finished 3-4 with 2 driven-in.
