PREP BASEBALL: Trojans oust Fort Knox (5/20)

By CHUCK JONES cjones@thenewsenterprise.com CECILIA — North Hardin coach Greg Gumm said before Monday’s 17th District quarterfinal game with Fort Knox there are no secrets in baseball. To paraphrase, teams must hit, play good defense and have good pitching. That’s exactly what the Trojans did. The Trojans banged out 10 hits, junior Tyler Perkins limited the Eagles to one run and Perkins’ defense was nearly flawless. It added up to a 6-1 North Hardin victory to stay alive in the district tournament at Central Hardin High School. “This was real important,” North Hardin senior Ethan Hughes said. “We break up the season into three parts: The first half, the second half and the postseason. We’re 1-0 in the last part. We have a chance, but we had to get by today first. Now we’ll just see what happens.” North Hardin senior Desmond Goodman and Hughes were the catalysts for the offense, which came in averaging four-plus runs a game. Goodman was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, three stolen bases and a run batted in. Hughes went 2-for-2 with two RBIs, while junior Levi Duncan had two doubles and a run scored. “It does feel real good,” Goodman said. “The way they (Fort Knox) showed their emotions when they beat us the last time, we wanted to come out and show that they’re not better than us. We hit the ball well and ran the bases well. Tyler pitched a heckuva game and we finally scored some runs for him.” Perkins scattered six hits and didn’t walk a batter in picking up the complete-game win. He struck out five and induced nine groundouts. Perkins gave credit to his defense, which made only two errors – both in the fifth inning. “I’m not the type of pitcher that’s going to strike out 10 or 12 a game,” Perkins said. “I’m going to rely on my defense and we made a bunch of good plays. We made a lot of good defensive plays.” The Trojans (6-27) jumped on Fort Knox in the top of the first. With one out, Duncan doubled, moved to third on an error and came home on Goodman’s RBI single. Goodman stole second and third and came home wild pitch to stake the Trojans to a 2-0 lead. “That was big because that gave us a lot of momentum,” Goodman said. “Even if we score one run in the first inning that gives us a lot of momentum. Giving Tyler or any pitcher a lead early is big. He knows he has us to lean back on.” Getting an early lead not only helped Perkins relax, but he said it made him focus even more. “I wanted to work harder for my teammates,” Perkins said. “Scoring three or four runs early takes a load off on you, but you don’t want to give it back because your teammates worked so hard to give you a lead.” North Hardin added two runs in the third. Duncan doubled down the left-field line to start the inning and Goodman followed with an infield single. After Duncan was thrown out trying to score on Perkins’ sacrifice bunt attempt, Goodman scored on a passed ball and Perkins came in on Hughes’ sacrifice fly. In the fifth, Goodman walked and Perkins singled, and then Hughes ripped a pitch up the middle for a single to plate Goodman. Eighth-grader Antonio Simmons added a run-scoring single to give North Hardin a 6-0 lead. “These last seven games, I’ve been seeing the ball much better,” Hughes said. “I guess I’m getting hot at the right time. By far, I’m more comfortable at the plate, I’m seeing the ball better and things are turning out better for me.” Fort Knox (8-18) scored its run in the bottom half of the inning. Junior Kyle Gramig, who went 2-for-3 with a double, tripled off the left-field fence and sophomore Jordan Brito followed with an RBI infield single. Senior Matt Livingston took the loss. In seven innings, he allowed 10 hits, three walks and six runs – four earned. He struck out five. NORTH HARDIN 6, Fort KNOX 1                                                 R H E North Hardin            202   020 0 6 10 2 Fort Knox                000   010 0 1 6 3 Tyler Perkins and Ethan Hughes. Matt Livingston and Scott Hubner. WP: Perkins. LP: Livingston. 2B: Levi Duncan (NH) 2, Kyle Gramig (FK), Livingston (FK). 3B: Gramig (FK). UP NEXT: North Hardin plays Elizabethtown at 3 p.m. today in the 17th District Tournament at Central Hardin. Chuck Jones can be reached at 505-1759

Jill Pickett

Fort Knox pitcher Matt Livingston follows through as the ball sails past waiting North Hardin batter Mark Jones to Fort Knox catcher Scott Hubner during the quarterfinal of the 17th District Baseball Tournament on Monday at Central Hardin High School.

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Jill Pickett

North Hardin's Desmond Goodman slides in safe under the tag of Fort Knox's Brock Burns to steal third base Monday during quarterfinal action of the 17th District Baseball Tournament at Central Hardin High School.

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