As the Hoptown Hoppers enter a stretch of playing every day for two weeks, they know putting together win streaks during that time is important if they want to reach the top of the OVL South Standings.
The Hoppers won their third game in four outings Sunday 8-1 over the Paducah Chiefs in front of a season-high 622 fans at Christian County’s Colonel Field.
Crooked numbers were the friend of the Hoppers as they scored three runs in the fifth inning and four more in the sixth to break open a close game and win their fourth straight game over the Chiefs this year and 11 of 13 dating back to 2018.
Five Hoppers had two hits as the hosts outhit the visiting Chiefs 13-5.
JoJo Cruz singled home Cam Thompson with the game’s first run in the third inning, but Chiefs’ right fielder Jace Mizell cut down Marco Romero at the plate trying to tally the Hoppers’ second run on the play.
After a Jake Parr RBI groundout in the fifth inning, Alex Gonzales and Zayd Brannigan followed with RBI singles for a 4-0 Hopper lead.
In the sixth, Paducah got on the board when Brant Brown doubled to right and came around to score when Ben Higdon reached on an infield error.
In the sixth, Cruz drew a bases-loaded walk. Gonzalez drove in two with a hit, and Cruz later scored on a wild pitch for an 8-1 Hopper lead.
That was all the cushion Arlon Butts and two Hoptown relievers needed on the mound. The Trigg County alum moved to 2-1 with six innings of four-hit baseball. He struck out two and walked one in allowing no earned runs.
Landon Choboy struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh, and Price Watson fanned five of the six Chiefs he faced.
Aside from Gonzalez’s three-RBI night, Cruz drove in two, and Riley Garcyznski and Cam Thompson each doubled.
The 622 in the house Sunday who stuck around afterward to watch the annual fireworks show was Hoptown’s eighth largest in history and the most since opening night in 2019.
The Hoppers moved to 13-11 and stay seven games behind the first place Full Count Rhythm in second place in the OVL South standings. Fulton is one game behind the Hoppers in third place.
Hoptown will host Muhlenberg County Monday night in a game rescheduled from last week due to rain.
CLICK HERE for a photo gallery from the game
