A one-out RBI single by freshman Deacon Addis thwarted a rally by the University Heights Academy baseball team and lifted Ohio County to an 8-7 walk-off home victory Tuesday.
The Blazers, who led 4-2 after three innings, allowed five Eagle runs in the fifth inning but answered with three more of their own in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 7-all, before a UHA leadoff error put Matthew Smith on base in the seventh, eventually leading to Addis’ game-winning hit.
Heights got a monster night out of Eston Glover, who finished 3-for-4 with a run and three RBIs, including a two-out, Seth Hancock-scoring base knock that brought the contest all-square in the sixth inning.
Ty Hunt and Ben Stone each drove in two runs for the Blazers in defeat, while Nic Luckey had two hits and two runs scored. Hunt (1-2) struck out two and only allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings of relief, but was tagged with the loss on the mound. Hancock worked the first five innings, allowing seven hits and seven runs to an Ohio County squad that has now won four of it last five games.
The Blazers, who started the year 4-3, have now lost five straight games following Tuesday’s heart-breaking decision. Heights certainly had its chances, though, tying the game at 1-1 on a Hunt fielder’s choice that scored Cole Glover. Then Eston Glover used a fielder’s choice grounder of his own to plate Luckey, giving UHA a 2-1 advantage in the third.
Stone proceeded to give University Heights (5-10) a three-run cushion with a two-out, two-run single in the top of the third, only to watch the Eagles soar back. Smith and Addis each had two RBIs in the comeback victory, while Brandon Davis (1-0) got the win after striking out the side and allowing one hit in the top of the final frame.
UHA will attempt to snap its five-game skid when it travels April 23 for a 2nd Region showdown against Union County in Morganfield.
