Colonels score 13 runs in an inning before recording an out during win over North Laurel

John Stepp, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·3 min read

May 5—On Tuesday night, the Whitley County Colonels accomplished a feat that opposing North Laurel Coach Darren McWhorter had never seen in his long career as a baseball coach.

After a scoreless two innings to start the game, Jeremy Shope's Colonels squad put together a string of 13-straight runs before they had a recorded out in the bottom of the third inning. It was the only inning in which Whitley County scored, but it was a good one in their 13-2 win over the Jaguars.

McWhorter said the Colonels' run on Tuesday was another example of how crazy the game of baseball can be.

"The game was going well, until the bottom of the third, and the wheels fell off. I saw something happen I had never been a part of — 13 runs in one inning before getting the first out," said McWhorter. "It was a little bit of everything. Whitley County had legit hits, bloop hits, bunt hits, on top of some errors, and you give up 13 runs in one inning."

While it was a crazy sequence of events, for both teams, it was some of the most efficient baseball that you'll ever see played in high school, or on any level for that matter.

Whitley County finished the game with 12 hits and 12 runs batted in. They had 18 total base runners and left just five on base throughout the game. Shope said his team took another step in the right direction on Tuesday.

"It was a good win for our guys. We got better tonight. We've got some guys getting better," said Shope. "Offensively, we're getting better. Eight guys in our lineup had hits tonight. We had a big third inning, scoring 13 runs, before an out was recorded."

Caden Petrey had a triple and a single, and drove in two runs to lead the Colonels. Bryce Anderson had a double and a single and drove in one run. Brayden Mahan had a double, while Sam Harp and Matthew Wright each had two singles. Mason Croley, Luke Stanfill, and Logan Bennett each singled once.

Harp, Wright, Stanfill, and Trevor Downs each drove in two runs. Mahan also drove in one run.

The Colonels got a big game on the mound from Grant Zehr, RJ Osborne, and Harp. Zehr pitched three innings, allowing five hits and two runs, while striking out two. Osborne and Harp each came on in relief and pitched one inning, apiece. Each of them allowed one hit and struck out one.

The Jaguars scored both of their runs in the top of the fourth. Seth McClure opened the inning with a walk and later scored on a single by Noah Rush. A double to left field from Brady Gilmore brought Rush across home plate to give North Laurel two runs for the game.

Blake Vanhook led the Jaguars with a double and two singles on the night. Gilmore and Connor McKeehan each doubled once. Rush and Caden Harris each had one single apiece. Rush and Gilmore each drove in one run.

With the win, the Colonels improve to 16-6 on the year. They will play Knox Central at home on Thursday. North Laurel is now 8-9. They will travel to Pulaski County on Thursday.