Monday afternoon kicked off the first round of the First Region baseball tournament at McCracken County High School. In the third game of the evening, the McCracken County Mustangs played host to the Murray Tigers, where they would take the win 2-0 after a close, hard-fought battle.
After a scoreless opening four innings, McCracken County finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth when Kendrick Dunning delivered a single on an 0-2 count that brought home the first run of the game, giving the Mustangs a 1-0 advantage.
McCracken County doubled down for another run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Caden Kern doubled on a line drive to left field, bringing home a run and extending the lead to 2-0.
From there, pitching continued to control the game as both teams struggled to generate offense throughout the evening. Murray threatened at times but was unable to break through against a strong outing from the Mustang pitching staff.
Josh Penrod earned the win on the mound for McCracken County after throwing a complete-game shutout. The right-hander allowed just four hits across seven innings while striking out eight and walking two.
Avery Starks took the loss for Murray despite a strong performance of his own. The right-hander pitched six innings, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out five and walking five.
At the plate, Avery Starks led the Tigers offensively, finishing 2-for-3 to account for half of Murray’s hits on the night. Defensively, the Tigers played a clean game without committing an error, with Haden Parker and Colin Winters each handling five chances in the field.
For McCracken County, Caden Kern set the tone from the leadoff spot, collecting two hits in four at-bats. Kendrick Dunning and Caden Kern each drove in a run as the Mustangs did just enough offensively to secure the shutout victory.
With the win, the Mustangs advance in the First Region tournament to the semi-finals where they’ll face the Carlisle County Comets on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 2, MURRAY 0
MRRY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 4 0
MCCR 0 0 0 0 1 1 X — 2 6 2
2B: MCC — B. Thompson, C. Kern
TB: MCC — C. Kern 3, B. Thompson 2, B. Hall 1, G. Reeves 1, K. Dunning 1; MRR — A. Starks 2, E. Whitaker 1, H. Parker
HBP: MCC — K. Dunning
SB: MCC — C. Poat
RECORDS: MCCRACKEN COUNTY (28-8); MURRAY (22-10)