Senior Camden Carpenter hit a walk-off single on Saturday to help the Russell County Lakers (18-4, 4-1) take down fellow 4th Region contender Warren East (16-8) by a score of 10-9.
In what was a back-and-forth game throughout, the Lakers were behind 4-0 when they came up to the plate in the bottom of the third.
Freshman Owen Loy started the bottom-half off by drawing a walk, allowing Carpenter to advance Loy to second base on a sac bunt. A single by sophomore Bryce Cowell drove in Loy to cut the deficit to 4-1.
The Lakers then hit two home runs in three at-bats to take the lead.
Junior Aidan Antle hit a two-run homer to right field to bring home Cowell and make the score 4-3. Senior Nathan Lawson doubled before fellow senior Isaac Roy hit another two-run dinger to give Russell County its first lead of the game at 5-4.
In the following inning, Antle added another RBI, scoring Carpenter on a sac fly to center field. Lawson then hit the Lakers’ third two-run home run of the game to make the score 8-4.
Warren East responded, scoring five runs and keeping the Lakers at bay over the next two innings.
Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, Russell County trailed 9-8.
The Lakers recorded two quick outs, but senior Evan Hammond doubled to right field to keep the Lakers’ hopes alive.
Senior Maxon Gosser hit a single to center field, bringing home Hammond for the tying run, and Gosser advanced to second on an error from the center fielder.
Senior Cody Luttrell hit a single to allow Gosser to advance to third, and Loy drew another walk to load the bases for Carpenter. The senior hit the walk-off single on a fly ball to center field to bring Gosser home for the winning run.
Carpenter, Cowell, and Lawson each recorded two hits in the contest, with the Lakers totaling 11 hits overall. Antle’s three RBI were a game-high.
Russell County took a “by-committee” approach on the mound, with six Lakers setting foot on the rubber. Ayden McGowan faced 11 batters in 2.1 innings and was the only pitcher to see double-digit Raiders.
In all, the Lakers allowed seven hits and nine runs (four earned) and struck out eight batters, with Antle leading the way with three strikeouts. Luttrell picked up the win after entering the game in the seventh inning and retiring Warren East in order, allowing the Lakers to secure the win with their two runs in the final frame.
Lakers get revenge against Cumberland County
Russell County avenged its first district loss since 2017 in a dominating fashion.
The Lakers lost to Cumberland County 3-2 on April 19, but in the teams’ rematch last Thursday, they wasted no time putting Cumberland County away, scoring five runs in the opening frame and never looking back.
The Lakers would go on to win 13-0 in only five innings due to the 10-run rule.
Lawson pitched a no-hitter and struck out 14 of the 18 batters he faced.
Offensively, the Lakers recorded 11 total hits, with three players recording multi-hit games: Antle with three and Lawson and Roy with two apiece.
Carpenter, Cowell, and Roy each had a team-high two RBI.
With the win — plus two victories in a varsity doubleheader against Metcalfe County last Tuesday — the Lakers control their own destiny for the No. 1 seed in the district tournament.
A home win against Clinton County on Tuesday will ensure a matchup with No. 4 seed Metcalfe in the first round.
