Tigers take advantage of Bobcat miscues to win 5th straight

IRONTON — This one was about pride.

Ohio Valley Conference co-champion Ironton beat Southern Ohio Conference-1 champion Green 7-4 on Thursday.

The Bobcats split with the OVC title teams. They beat Portsmouth earlier in the season 1-0.

Ironton (14-4) fell behind 4-2 before rallying for the win.

Carson Freeman went the distance for the win. He struck out 5, did not issue a walk, and 76 of his 110 pitches went for strikes.

Hampered by his team making 6 errors, Gabe Blevins got the loss for Green (17-4).

Blevins gave up 8 hits, 2 earned runs with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks. He threw 60 strikes among his 95 pitches.

The game was scoreless until the top of the third inning when Green pushed across a run.

Kase McIntyre reached on a two-base error — one of 4 Ironton errors — with one out and scored on Riddick Jenkins base hit.

Ironton came back in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead.

Braydon Baker reached on an error and Bryson Kerns belted a triple for the first run. Kerns scored the second run on a wild pitch.

The Bobcats regained the lead in the fourth inning with a pair of runs.

Noah McMackin was hit by a pitch leading off, went to second on a ground out, took third on a hit by Kimbler and scored on a balk.

Kimbler went to second on the balk and scored on a single by McIntyre.

The Bobcats went up 4-2 with a run in the top of the fifth on a hit by Mason Neal, a Blevins’ sacrifice.

Ironton regained the lead with  4 runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Baker got a one-out base hit, stole second, went to third on an error and scored on a hit by Ethan Sutton.

Jacob Hughes singled and Tanner Kleinman reached on an error that allowed all three runners to score.

The Fighting Tigers added a run in the sixth when Dawson Philyaw walked, went to third on a hit by Freeman, Baker reached on an error and Kerns hit a sacrifice fly.

Hughes was 2-3 for Ironton, Kerns 1-3 with a triple and RBI, Sutton 1-3 with an RBI, Philyaw 1-2, and Kleinman, Freeman and Baker all 1-3.

Jenkins and Neal each went 2-4 for Green, McIntyre and Blevins each 1-3 with an RBI, and Kimber, McMackin and Conner Blanton all went 1-3.

Green 001 210 0 = 4 9 6

Ironton 002 041 x = 7 8 4

Gabe Blevins and Noah McMackin. Carson Freeman and Ethan Sutton. W-Freeman (IP-7.0, H-9, R-4, ER-2, K-5, BB-0). L-Blevins (IP-6.0, H-8, R-7, ER-2, K-2, BB-2). Hitting–Green: Riddick Jenkins 2-4, Mason Neal 2-4, Gabe Blevins 1-3 RBI, Noah McMackin 1-3, Conner Blanton 1-3, Luke Kimbler 1-3, Kase McIntyre 1-3 RBI; Ironton: Braydon Baker 1-4, Bryson Kerns 1-3 3B 2-RBI, Ethan Sutton 1-3 RBI, Jacob Hughes 2-3, Tanner Kleinman 1-3.