Johnson Central was fueled by hot bats.
Floyd Central’s Mason Anderson sets up for a pitch last week against Johnson Central in the semifinals of the 15th Region Championship.
Cory Vance
Brayden Shepherd’s four for four performance at the plate and a good pitching performance by Levi Pennington(five and 2/3 innings only giving up one run (one earned) on six hits and one walk, while striking out five batters, powered Johnson Central to a 5-1 win over Floyd Central in the semifinal round of the 15th Region Baseball Tournament held at StoneCrest last Wednesday.
Floyd Central was able to get ducks on the pond in the top of the first inning, but Johnson Central was able to squash the Jaguars’ opportunity with a line out to end the top of the first inning.
Johnson Central made some early noise when Shepherd hit a lead off triple. Braxton Perry followed with a sacrifice fly RBI to drive him home and give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Floyd Central’s Barrett Williams makes an overhead catch last week against Johnson Central in the semifinals of the 15th Region Championship.
Cory Vance
Chase Preece kept the early rally going with a double. Kyler Callaham followed with an RBI single to push the lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning.
The hot start for Johnson Central continued on the next at-bat when Kaleb Callaham drove in a run on a single to increase the Golden Eagles’ lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning.
The Jaguars were able to stop the hot streak of Johnson Central by getting the next two Golden Eagles’ batters out via line out and a strike out.
Johnson Central got back in the scoring column again in the bottom of the fifth inning when Kaleb Callaham drove in two runs on a double to increase Johnson Central’s lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Floyd Central’s Brance Pennington looks towards home during the semifinals of the 15th Region Champsionship.
Cory Vance
Floyd Central finally broke the ice into the scoring column when the Jaguars were able to get the bases loaded with two outs, but the Jaguars’ Jace Martin dre a bases loaded walk letting a runner to score to let Floyd Central cut Johnson Central’s lead to 5-1 in the top of the sixth inning.
Johnson Central cruised to the 5-1 win and to earn a spot in the 15th Region Baseball championship game against Travis Feltner and his Lawrence County Bulldogs which was played last Thursday at StoneCrest.
Pennington got the win on the mound for Johnson Central as he went five and 2/3 innings giving up one run (one earned) on six hits and one walk, while striking out five batters.
Floyd Central’s Jace Martin makes a diving catch last week against Johnson Central in the semifinals of the 15th Region Tournament. The Jaguars fell to the eventual region champs, 5-1.
Floyd Chronicle and Times photo by Adam Mahan
Shepherd had a huge day at the plate going four of four with a triple and scoring two runs. Kaleb Callaham was two of three at the plate with a double and three RBIs. Kyler Callaham was one of three at the plate with a double, one RBI, and two runs scored. Preece was one of two at the plate with a double and one run scored.
With the win Johnson Central improved to 28-7 overall on the season, and also gave coach Shawn Hall earned his 498th career win at Johnson Central.
Floyd Central was led at the plate by Grant Jenkins who was two of three at the plate. Mason Anderson was two of four at the plate. Kolten Crum was one of two at the plate with a double, walked one time, and struck out one time.
The Jaguars’ Anderson also took the loss on the mound going six innings giving up five runs (five earned) on eight hits, while walking one batter, and striking out six batters.
The loss unfortunately ended the season for Floyd Central who finished with an overall record of 20-14.