Miners pound out 22 hits and score 13 runs
(From Dubois County) Fighting to stay alive in the race for the OVL regular season championship, the Madisonville Miners rapped out 22 hits in blasting their way to a 13-6 victory over the Dubois County Bombers last night.
2,003 League Stadium fans turned out to watch the final regular season home game of the summer.
The homestanding Bombers took an early lead, scoring two in the third inning and adding another in the fourth off of Miners starting pitcher Mathias Brewers. Aided by a strong defense, Dubois County held a 3-0 advantage through five innings.
But that was as long as the Miners would be held back on this night. Madisonville rapped one single after another in scoring six times in the sixth inning and adding five more in the seventh. Single runs in each of the last two innings made it a lucky 13 scores in the final four frames for the Miners.
After struggling early, Brewers held the Bombers in check during the fifth and sixth innings before turning over the mound duties to the Miners bullpen.
Dubois County got one in the eighth, but came to bat down 13-4 in the ninth. Three walks and a pair of singles reduced the Madisonville lead by two runs, but the game ended when the Bombers batted out of turn.
Nick Barrientos had come in from right field to pitch the final out in the top of the ninth. He was replaced in right by Noah Sadler. By bringing a position player in to pitch, the Bombers forfeited the DH for the remainder of the game. Madisonville coach Jared Franklin challenged the order after Sadler batted in Barrientos’ spot in the order with two down. The umpire ruled that the Bombers had batted out of turn. Sadler was ruled out after stroking a single, ending the ballgame with Madisonville on top, 13-6.
The Miners had a collection of batting stars. Matt Walsh and Brooks Benson both had four hits. Shane Connahan and Andrew Tanous added three each. Nolan Ramsey and Cory Finkler both chipped in with a pair.
Brady Pfaadt had a single and a double for the Bombers.
Mathias Brewers takes the win to go 4-1. Barnett falls to 2-2 with the loss.
Madisonville is now 21-15. The win pulls them within 2 ½ games of the Bombers league-leading pace. In order to win the league outright, Madisonville would need to win all four remaining games, while hoping that the Bombers lose their final three games and Fulton loses the two contests it has yet to play.
Dubois County still controls their own destiny and can claim the league title by winning its final three games regardless of what other teams do. They will have to do it on the road though, as the Bombers play at Hopkinsville tonight, Owensboro Sunday, and finish the season with a game at Madisonville on Tuesday.
The playoffs will begin on Thursday. Both the Bombers and Miners will begin play on Friday. Opponents and sites are yet to be determined by the results of the remaining games.
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OVL Schedule for Saturday, July 18
The Bombers travel to Hoptown to face the Hoppers, and Owensboro hosts the Miners. Both games get started at 7pm Central Time. Fulton gets the night off.
