Caldwell County pitchers Blake Stallins and Deontaye Walls combined on a one-hitter as the Tigers blanked Muhlenberg County 10-0 on Saturday.
The game at the VFW Ballpark in Princeton was the regular-season finale for both schools.
Caldwell, which carries a 15-14 record into the postseason, broke up the pitchers’ duel by putting up five runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings.
Stallins went the first two innings on the mound for the Tigers and did not allow a base hit. He struck out one and walked two.
Walls pitched the final four innings, surrendering just one base hit while fanning one and walking none.
The two hurlers combined for just 58 pitches in the six-inning contest.
The first five Caldwell hitters all recorded base hits in the bottom of the fifth as the Tigers got on the scoreboard. Gabe East singled, Oliver Parker beat out a bunt single and Tate VanHooser singled on a pop-up into shallow right field.
A wild pitch allowed the first run of the game to cross the plate. Cody Holub then doubled to left to drive in two more runs and put Caldwell up 3-0. Logan Smiley picked up an RBI with a groundout to first. Trace Lacy singled in another run to make it 5-0.
Holub doubled home another run in the sixth inning to extend the margin to 6-0. Another run scored when Smiley reached on an error. Levin East drove in a run with an infield single while another run came in on an error on the play. That made it 9-0.
The game ended on the 10-run mercy rule when Gabe East singled into left-center, driving in Lacy, who had walked, with the game-ending run.
Holub was 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored. Levin East went 2-for-4 and knocked in two. Gabe East was 2-for-4 and drove in a run while VanHooser also went 2-for-4.
Noah Phillips had the only base hit for the Mustangs when he singled to center with one out in the top of the sixth inning.
Muhlenberg (11-19) had entered the game on a four-game winning streak, including victories over 2nd Region contenders Union County and Madisonville-North Hopkins.
Caldwell, which debuted new all-blue uniforms on Saturday, will play in the 7th District tournament Monday in Mortons Gap. The second-seeded Tigers will face No. 3-seed Hopkins County Central in the second semifinal game at approximately 7:30. Top-seeded Madisonville plays Dawson Springs in the opener at 5:30.
