Boyd edges rival Ashland, 8-6

By MELINDA ROBINSON — The Independent

Ashland Fri, May 16 2008

— Boyd County squeaked out an 8-6 win over 64th District foe Ashland at Alumni Field. The Lions had lost three of their last four contests entering Tuesday night’s game but showed signs of improvement against the Tomcats, according to coach Ben Maynard.
“It’s nice to come out against your cross-town rival and play a good game,” he said. “We’ve struggled lately and just haven’t been executing offensively and on the mound. Tonight I thought we did things a lot better.”
The Tomcats didn’t make things easy for Boyd County and almost rallied for a win in the bottom of the seventh.
“I’m real pleased with the effort, the way we put the ball in play and everything,” Ashland coach Jeff Wilcox said. “I thought we didn’t do a very good job of covering the bunts or doing the little things.”
The Lions took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first and retired the side in the bottom half of the inning, but Ashland responded and shook Boyd County starter Derek Tengowski for three runs in the bottom of the second, going up 3-2.
“Derek threw well, Maynard said. “He lost the zone and they were getting some base runners, and some timely hitting and were able to put some runs on the board.”
After hitting a batter and letting three runs score, the Lions made an error and Tengowski walked a pair to load up the bases for a second time in the inning.
“With Derek being a junior, I thought if we gave him a little bit of time, he could recover mentally, get focused and find the zone,” Maynard said. “He did and our defense made a couple of plays behind him to help him out.”
Tengowski got Caleb Rigsby to fly out to center fielder Chase Wiler to get out of the jam.
The Lions retook the lead in the top of the fifth. Ashland starter Chris Tucker walked a pair to start off the inning and Chase Pettit’s sacrifice bunt moved them into scoring position. Jacob Plummer singled to right off reliever Dylan Delaney, allowing two runners to score while he advanced to second on the throw. Joey Alcorn walked and stole second and an overthrown passed ball let Plummer come in while Alcorn went to third. Alcorn scored on Jason Rosen’s left-field single for a 6-3 lead.
“When you give a good team like Boyd County walks and extra opportunities at the plate, it comes back to haunt you,” Wilcox said. “They put the bunts down when they had to and put pressure on our guys. We’ve got to respond better.”
The Lions tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the seventh, leading 8-4. Ashland walked the first two batters, who later scored on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt. The runs proved important as the Tomcats started to rally in the bottom of the inning.
Wes Griffith led off Ashland’s seventh with a walk and later scored on a throwing error. Rigsby followed with a double and scored on Jackson’s RBI single, bringing the tying run to the plate. However, Alex Bonnette grounded out to third to end the game.
The Lions (9-10) travel to Paintsville Monday for a 6:30 contest. Ashland (13-4) travels to Raceland Thursday for a 5:30 game.

BOYD CO. 200 040 2 — 8 6 3
ASHLAND 030 010 2 — 6 5 4
Tengowski, Plummer (6) and Cornwell; Tucker, Delaney (5), Hunter (7) and Duvall. W — Tengowski, L — Tucker. 2B: Rigsby (A). 3B: Jackson (A).

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.