Hopkinsville had a special week with its run to the 2nd Region baseball championship.
But No. 7-ranked McCracken County ended the Tigers’ postseason tear Saturday afternoon.
The Mustangs (31-7) batted around twice in the KHSAA Semi-State contest while pitcher Dylan Schneider limited Hoptown (21-14) to just five base hits as McCracken captured a 14-1 victory in six innings at Western Kentucky University’s Nick Denes Field in Bowling Green.
McCracken, the 1st Region champion, next faces 16th Region winner Rowan County (39-3) in the state tournament quarterfinals. That game will be played at 4:30 p.m. Central time Thursday at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington.
The Mustangs immediately struck for two runs in the top of the first inning on Saturday. A six-run second put McCracken in control early at 8-0.
Hopkinsville got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning. Ryan Myers doubled with one out. He later stole third and came in to score when the throw went into left field.
But the Tigers could not string together hits against Schneider, who entered the semi-state game with a 0.99 earned run average and now sports a 7-1 record. Schneider struck out four and walked none.
McCracken added two runs in the fifth to go up 10-1. A four-run sixth inning extended the margin to 14-1 and ended the game an inning early on the mercy rule.
Each member of the Mustangs’ starting lineup had at least one hit. C.J. Spillane went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and five runs batted in. Brandon Dodd was 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored for McCracken, which totaled 18 base hits against four Hoptown pitchers.
For Hopkinsville, Aaron Crosby and Blake Balthrop each finished 2-for-2.
Hoptown had won the 2nd Region title Thursday night on the same field, knocking off Caldwell County 9-5 in the championship game.
