After waiting an extra day because of rain, the Patrick County High Cougars, behind Christian Hylton’s second no-hitter of the season, downed Radford 10-0 in the Class 2 Region C quarterfinals on May 30 at Cougar Field.
Hylton struck out seven and walked only three in a dominant outing. The Cougar defense was solid behind Hylton, including a fantastic play in the sixth inning. With one out, Radford, via a walk and an error, had runners on first and second. Gavin Fain charged in to catch a Radford line drive to left center, then fired the ball to second, doubling up the runner and ending the inning.
“They’ve always been good to me,” said Hylton of his teammates in the field. “All year they’ve worked hard and I appreciate them so much. They do so much for me.”
The Cougars got going at the plate in the first inning with lead-off hitter Gavin Fain drawing a walk, then stealing second on a wild pick off throw. An Erick Martinez-Tejada sacrifice bunt moved Fain to third, and he scored the game’s first run on a Noah Jessup RBI single. Jessup would score on a Jackson Horton single, and Jaiden Wilson added the third run of the inning with some heads up base running.
The top of the Cougar order got going again in the fourth. Fain and Martinez-Tejada led off with walks, and Noah Jessup singled to load the bases. Jaiden Wilson walked, bringing in a run, and Jackson Horton drove in another. The Cougars added two more to take a 7-0 lead through four.
In the sixth, Jessup and Horton got on base with singles, then Chance Corns and Jackson Callahan each drove in a run, increasing the lead to 9-0. A Radford balk with the bases loaded brought in Corns, ending the game 10-0.
“That was a big win for us, and just a complete game,” said Cougar head coach Tal Swails. “We hit it well, we caught it well, we made some good plays on defense, and Christian Hylton threw a heck of a game on the mound for us tonight.”
Swails added that the Cougars’ patience at the plate was big against a good pitcher like Radford’s Mason Murphy, forcing his pitch count high early in the game. “That’s part of our plan with a good pitcher. If you can get his pitch count up, you get a little advantage over him.”
Leading the way at the plate for the Cougars were two seniors. Noah Jessup went 3-4 with an RBI, and Jackson Horton went 2-4 with 3 RBIs.
Prior to the game, the Cougars honored their seniors, Chance Corns, Gavin Fain, Easton Harris, Noah Jessup and Jackson Horton.
