Somerset —
After an eight-run explosion in the home half of the third inning on Friday afternoon, about the only suspense left for the Pulaski County Maroons was to see if senior pitcher Tyler Hail was going to be able to notch a perfect game against visiting Monticello.
Hail retired the first 11 Trojans he faced, before allowing a two-out walk to Monticello’s Kyle Ashley in the top half of the fourth inning.
The only other Monticello hitter to reach base off of Hail was Trajan Smith, who was hit by a pitch by Hail in the top of the fifth.
Other than those two miscues by the Maroons starter, this one was all PC.
Aaron Smith drove in three runs, while Taylor Gover, Eric Jones, and Tyler Wesley all had two RBI’s each, on a day when Pulaski County rolled to a season-opening, 12-0 victory over the Trojans.
Not a bad opening day performance indeed — isn’t that right coach Danny Masten?
“We were looking for a start like this out of the gate,” pointed out Masten, after his team moved to 1-0 on the year with the win.
“We took advantage of the opportunities we were given today, and then Tyler (Hail) went out and threw a great game,” continued the PC coach. “That’s a pretty impressive feat, to come out of the gate and throw a no-hitter in your season opener. Tyler went out today and made them (Monticello) put the ball in play, and then we made the plays behind him.”
Pulaski County got rolling early off of Monticello’s starter and loser Joseph Barrier.
Taylor Gover led off the bottom of the first inning with a single off of Barrier, and he would later come home thanks to an RBI double off the bat of Eric Jones.
PC added another run in the first, and tallied a third run in the bottom half of the second, before blowing this game wide open by tacking on eight more runs in the home half of the third frame.
And, it was a total team effort by the Maroons in that decisive third inning.
Tyler Wesley got it started with a two-run double, but there would be much, much more to come from the Maroons.
Henry Lorman doubled in a run, Gover singled in another run, Jones walked with the bases loaded to plate another score, and Smith doubled in two more runs, blowing this game wide open, giving the Maroons a commanding, 11-0 lead through three innings of play.
“We have a lot of experience coming back this year, and we have a lot of varsity experience up and down our roster this year,” pointed out Masten.
“We really expect these guys to come out and perform like this for us this year every time we play, and they got some clutch hits out there today to drive in runs when the opportunities were presented to us,” added the PC coach. “I’m very proud of them with the way they performed today — they did everything that we asked them to do.”
Leading by that 11-0 score, PC tacked on one more run in the home half of the fourth inning, thanks to a pinch-hit RBI single off the bat of Kyle Payton.
Meanwhile, Hail came out in the top of the fifth and nailed down his no-hitter, by getting Barrier to ground out in a double play to end the game.
For the game, the PC senior threw five innings of no-hit baseball, striking out two and walking only one hitter, facing just two (17) hitters over the minimum in his five innings of work.
Not a bad season opener indeed.
“This was a really good way to open the season, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a pitcher throw a no-hitter on opening day,” stated Masten.
“Hopefully, we can build upon this performance,” Masten added.
The Maroons will return to action on Monday afternoon at North Laurel.
Pulaski County will return home this Thursday evening, as the Maroons will host Boyle County at 6 p.m. at PC Field.
MONTICELLO — 0 0 2
PULASKI CO. — 12 9 0
DOUBLES — (PC) Jones, Smith, Lorman.
RBI — (PC) Smith 3, Wesley 2, Jones 2, Gover 2, Lorman, Payton.
WP — Hail
LP — Barrier
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
Pulaski County High School senior pitcher Tyler Hail threw a no-hitter in the Maroons’ 12-0 win over Monticello High School on Friday evening. David Rogers Photo
Pulaski, Hail no-hit Monticello
- Local Sports
-
-
The Doctor gets his chance to be a ‘Cool Runner’
For most of his adult life, Dr. Joe Weigel has been an avid runner.
And for most of his adult life, Dr. Joe Weigel has been an avid local spokesman for health and fitness. -
Another big turnout for 16th annual Cool Run
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native David Justus felt right at home in Somerset, Kentucky on Saturday evening, as he cruised to victory in the Somerset 5K Cool Run and Walk at the Rocky Hollow Recreation Center.
Justus, a 25-year-old from the Volunteer State, outlasted 176 other runners to claim the first-place trophy in the race’s 16th edition. Justus’ winning time was 17:02. -
Commonwealth Journal High School All-County Track Team
Three local athletes - Cam Cheuvront, Jimmy Goldson, and Maranda Mills - came away with individual state titles at this year’s state track meet.
For their success at the state track meet, those three athletes have been named the 2013 Commonwealth Journal All-County Track and Field Athletes of the Year. -
Saline wins 4th straight international title
The Saline Saints volleyball team ended their season with an exclamation point — make that four exclamation points!
Last week, the Lady Saints accomplished a goal that no other Saline volleyball team has been able achieve. They won their fourth consecutive ACE International Student Convention (ISC) Volleyball Championship at Central Missouri University. -
Bo knows Upsets!
It’s ok if you don’t remember the first mega-star in the history of Kentucky college athletics.
Afterall, it’s been nearly 100 years since Alvin “Bo” McMillin laced up his high tops for the Somerset Briar Jumpers, before going on to a legendary career at Centre College.
Despite being a great player for Centre 1917-21, the Texas native m -
Swimmer Saved
Callie Garner has been a competitive swimmer almost all of her life.
Garner first took up swimming in the Eagle’s Nest swimming pool at the age of four. She swam at the national level for the next 13 years in the USA swim program. As a high school swimmer, she held almost every female school and pool record. -
Maroons take back Alumni Bowl title, 20-14
Friday night’s second annual Southwestern-Pulaski County Alumni Bowl football game, just like the 2012 game, was not a disappointment as it came right down to the wire. Pulaski raced out to a 20-0 lead in the opening half, but homestanding Southwestern made things interesting, as they cut the lead to 20-14.
The Maroons, who fell in the opening to the Warriors in the first annual game by a last-second score, held on to win the 2013 game by a score of 20-14, evening the Alumni series up at 1-1. -
Tim Rice resigns as Lady Warriors’ hoops coach
After nine seasons as the Southwestern High School girls basketball coach, Tim Rice announced his resignation on Friday afternoon.
Prior to his resignation from Southwestern, Rice was offered the girls head coaching job at Sheldon Clark High School.
-
Warriors fall to Mercer Co., 13-3
Southwestern came into last night’s 12th Region Baseball Championship game against Mercer County with a plan.
Unfortunately that plan didn’t pan out the way it was supposed to for the Southwestern Warriors, as the Mercer County Titans came away with a five-inning, 13-3 victory in the title game last night at Rockcastle County High School. -
Combs-Muntz named as new Lady Maroons hoops coach
In the past few weeks there has been a whirlwind of activity in the Pulaski County High School girls basketball program.
On the last day of school, Brian Miller announced to his Lady Maroons basketball players that he would be stepping down as head coach to take on the role of the school’s athletic director – while Randy Elmore takes a medical leave.
Two weeks later, a former Pulaski County High School standout shooting guard was named as the Lady Maroons’ new head coach.
Tarah (Combs) Muntz will take over the reigns of the Pulaski girls basketball program. - More Local Sports Headlines
-
