Henry County fell 6-5 in a back-and-forth battle to Walton-Verona in the opening round of the Eighth Region Tournament on Sunday, May 25.

The Wildcats scored two runs each in the third and fourth innings to take a 5-4 lead, but the Bearcats bounced back with a pair of runs in the fifth and withstood Henry County’s comeback attempt late in the game to move on to the semifinals.

Both teams were held scoreless in the opening inning before Walton-Verona took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.

Evan Seibold scored on a wild pitch after getting on base with a single to right field for the Bearcats.

However, the lead was short-lived, as Henry County evened the game in the bottom of the inning.

Kaiden Wilson capitalized on a fielding error by Walton-Verona to score and tie the game at 1-1.

The Bearcat offense picked up in the third inning, though, to break the tie and go ahead by three.

After a pair of walks and a bit by pitch, Trevor Bauwens launced a double to center field, bringing in all three runners on base to give Walton-Verona a 4-1 edge.

Jaylan Hortenbury bounced back with an inning-ending strikeout to halt the surge before Henry County cut into the lead in the bottom of the inning.

Hortenbury followed up his pitching performance with a single to center field and Baylor Nolin reached on a fielding error by the Bearcats to put two runners aboard for the Wildcats.

Two plays later, Cam Peyton delivered a clutch single to right field, bringing in courtesy runner Logan Perdue to trim the margin to two.

An error by the Bearcats during the same play allowed Nolin to come across home as well to bring the lead down to 4-3.

The Wildcat defense stepped up to limit Walton-Verona in the top of the fourth inning and give Henry County a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the frame.

Hortenbury struck out a pair of batters, and catcher Gentry Stivers made a timely throw to Wilson at first to pick off a Bearcat runner for the final out of the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Wildcats withstood a pair of strikeouts early and drew a walk to put Jonah White on first base.

Isaac Abney followed with a clutch hit deep into center field to send White home and tie the game at 4-4. During the same play, Abney took advantage of an errant throw from behind home plate to third to score and put the Wildcats ahead 5-4.

Walton-Verona regrouped to conclude the inning with a fly out before finding a rhythm again at the plate.

A leadoff single to third base and a pair of walks loaded the bases early in the top of the fifth, but Henry County slowed down the attack with a double play from third to Stivers at home to Wilson at first.

Facing two outs with Bauwens at the plate, Aidan Kerns scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 5-5.

Later in the same at-bat, Kainan Held scored on an error by the Wildcats to give Walton-Verona a 6-5 lead.

Both defenses stepped up to limit scoring opportunities until Henry County made a push to regain the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Wilson led off with a walk and Sawyer Yates ripped a single to left field before Stivers sent a single to left field to load the bases for the Wildcats.

Walton-Verona held tough, though, and used a strikeout and a diving catch on a strong hit to left field to leave all three runners stranded for Henry County.

The Bearcats loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning as well with a pair of walks and a hit by pitch.

However, Henry County returned the favor and Nicholas Bryan struck out his final batter to keep all three runners on base at the end of the frame.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcats fought for decent looks at the plate but Walton-Verona recorded three straight ground outs to hang on for the win.

Hortenbury and Bryan combined for 10 strikeouts on the mound for Henry County.

Abney added a run, a hit and an RBI at the plate and Peyton finished with a hit and an RBI.

Hortenbury, Bryan, Yates, Stivers and Josh Shea also earned a hit apiece, while Perdue, White, Nolin and Wilson scored one run each.

With the loss, Henry County concludes the season with a 14-14 record.