Jase Felker and his offense started hot for the American team at the bottom of the first inning. Felker went 2-for-3 and led his team in hits for the night. To kick things off early, Blake Schmitt grounded out and still earned his first RBI of the night as Eric Riffe scored.
During the bottom of the fifth inning, Riffe found himself in the middle of a rundown between second and third after a single into the outfield by Felker. The rundown ended with a highlight reel collision at home plate between Travis Crouch and Jackson Fitzgerald. Crouch was called out as dust scattered throughout the night air. Crouch went on to continue playing despite the collision.
KYPL-National’s fate of the season came to an end by the eighth inning despite scoring the first run for their team. Noah Brown scored on a wild pitch, but the one run would not be enough to keep a rally going. With bases loaded, Logan Verble popped out in foul territory, stranding Rook Ellington, Will Thompson, and Jacob Pennington on base.
With multiple walks given up by Skyler Brown, KYPL-American notched three more runs. Riley Harris, Crouch, and Alec Pruitt played it smart at the plate and each earned a walk. Schmitt, Parker Estes, and Tyler Belcher crossed the plate before the National team escaped the inning.
Harris earned the victory for the American team – he allowed one hit, zero runs and struck out three in four innings of work. Cameron Head, Brock Anderson, Ty Ramey, and CJ Johnson worked in relief and kept the National team from producing any form of a rally. Between the five, they only gave up three hits, one run, 10 walks, and eight strikeouts.
Cade Duncan took the final loss of the season for his National team. Allowing two hits, four runs and struck out three in three innings of work. Justin Clark, Brodie Lenon, and Brown worked in relief. Between the four, they gave up seven hits, 10 runs, seven earned runs allowed, 12 walks, and six strikeouts.
