Ryan McQueary’s squad reeled off a pair of impressive district wins this week with back-to-back victories over Campbellsville. The Tribe topped the Eagles 15-3 on the road Tuesday and kept the momentum going Thursday with a 9-2 triumph at home.
“We’ve been hitting it pretty darn good,” McQueary says. “It’s nice to get those district wins. It’s a tough district, so to get two wins, especially the first two, it really gets us started off well.”
Indians 15 Campbellsville 3
The Indians were molten-lava hot at the plate Tuesday, pounding out 19 hits and scoring at least a run in all seven innings to pick up the W on the road. Nine different players recorded at least a hit, and eight of those had at least two.
“You’ll win a lot of baseball games when you hit it that way,” the head coach says. “We’ve been really talking a lot about their approach at the plate, being aggressive, hunting the fastball. It seems like we’re doing a better job of that.”
While the whole team made noise at the plate, the blue-and-red’s underclassmen were particularly loud in this one: Sophomore Jake McQueary went 3-for-4 and freshman Connor Loy was 3-for-5. Freshman Brayton Coomer and eighth grader Bryce Russell each launched homers, their fourth and second on the season, respectively. The offense was so good that the team’s four errors in the field, sure to irk McQueary, didn’t come close to making a difference.
Coomer picked up the win on the mound, going 2.2 innings, and striking out three without surrendering two runs, neither earned. Kaleb Keltner went 4.1 innings and gave up one run while striking out two Eagles hitters. Campbellsville managed just six hits in the contest.
Indians 9 Campbellsville 2
Forty-eight hours after the Tuesday win, the Tribe’s bats were still warm and the pitching was even better.
“We walked a few Tuesday — probably pitched a little better Thursday,” McQueary said. “All in all though, two good all-around wins. I was proud of the guys’ effort.”
The Indians reeled off 12 hits and scored in five of the six innings they stepped into the batter’s box. Keltner, McQueary, Braxton Smith, Carson Jessie, and Brian Cornelison each had two hits. One of McQueary’s two knocks was a round-tripper, his second of the season.
Smith, in addition to his 2-for-2 showing at the plate, was also stellar on the mound. The senior righty went five innings, gave up two hits, two runs (one earned), and struck out eight to earn the win. Jessie, a senior lefty, slammed the door shut with two scoreless innings, striking out three.
The Indians haven’t lost a game in the state of Kentucky since March 26, and their offensive output has been the major factor. After Thursday’s game, the Tribe sat eighth in the state in runs per game (9.92), and tied for sixth in homers (11).
“We’re hitting probably somewhere between .365 and .375 as a team, so we’ve got a lot of guys swinging it well,” McQueary says. “It’s been really exciting, up and down the lineup.”
With Friday’s contest against Southwestern Pulaski canceled, the Indians will return to the field Monday against Monroe County on the road, looking for win No. 10.
