In a virtual replay of the Clash of the Cats the night before, the Logan County Cougars scored the only seven runs of a tournament game in a 7-0 win over Franklin-Simpson in the 13th District championship game Tuesday.
This game was even more dramatic than the Cougars’ 7-0 win over the Russellville Panthers on Monday, since the game was scoreless at the end of seven innings. Logan scored its seven runs in the fourth inning against RHS, but this time they rolled the seven runs out in the eighth inning.
Just as Caleb Bruner had shut out the Panthers Monday, Hunter Britt threw a shutout against a Franklin team which had scored 21 runs the night before in a win over out-manned Todd Central. Britt actually went Bruner one better, putting up goose eggs on the scoreboard for eight innings.
Britt gave up just two hits and two walks in the eight innings, while striking out five Cats. Timmy Wimpee doubled for one of the hits off Britt and Reed Caudill singled for the only other F-S hit.
Dylan Jones pitched the first seven scoreless innings for Coach Craig Delk’s Cats, but he was responsible for four of the runs in the eighth and the relief corps couldn’t save him.
Bruner began the eighth inning with a double, and Jones then walked Dustin Cartas. Matt Harper singled, and Ian Woodall doubled in a run. After an out, Ryan Basham singled in a run, and Thomas Miller walked. After a second out, Gage Hales doubled in a run and Bruner picked up his second hit of the inning. Michael Riley scored one of the runs as a courtesy runner.
Cody Hunt became Logan’s first baserunner with a two-out double in the second, but he was stranded. The same thing happened in the fifth when Cartas doubled with two outs. The only inning before the eighth that Logan had two men on at the same time was the seventh when Basham singled and Joe Holliday was hit by a pitch, but Jones got a strikeout to end that one.
Hales, Bruner, Cartas, Woodall and Hunt all doubled for the Cougars. Bruner added a second hit, and Basham also had a pair of hits. Harper added the 14th hit. Woodall had three RBIs and Hales two. Cartas and Joe Holliday were hit by pitches. Cartas and Woodall both stole a base.
After that big inning, Britt still had to get the Cats out in the eighth. Franklin was the home team as a result of having gone 6-0 during the regular season.
This the seventh time in the 14 baseball seasons of this century that the Logan County Cougars are champions of District 13. Coach Ethan Meguiar, who passed the 300-win mark at his alma mater earlier this season, has guided his Cougars to region in 13 of those 14 years. This was the 12th time in those 14 years that LCHS and F-S have met in the finals. Franklin has won five times. Todd Central beat Russellville in one of the other two years, and the Panthers won over the Cougars two years ago.
Both the Cougars and the Wildcats will advance to the Fourth Region Tournament. Opening round games are usually played on Memorial Day at the Western Kentucky University baseball field.