The Hoptown Hoppers’ late-season slide continued on Thursday night with a 7-5 road loss to the Franklin Duelers. The Hoppers drop their third game in four tries to slip to just a game over .500 at 19-18 overall.
Hoptown took a first-inning lead on a run-scoring double by Nico Montes and an RBI for Joe Sassi, but the Duelers evened the game in the third and moved in front for good with three runs in the fourth.
Franklin’s Austin Ehren and Luis Perez drove in runs with singles to chase Hoptown starter Colby Downard after three and a third. He allowed five runs, three earned, on nine hits with a pair of walks and six strikeouts.
Noah Brown drove in runs with singles in both the fifth and sixth innings, part of a four-hit night, to pull the Hoppers to within a run in the middle of the sixth. However, the Duelers had the answer with two runs in the bottom of the inning and held on for the win.
Steven Hayden earned the win for the Duelers with four innings on the mound. He allowed three earned runs on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
The Hoppers will look to get back on track on Friday when they host they host the Owensboro River Dawgs.
