Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WHEELERSBURG — Thursday was Jacob Hughes’ moment in the spotlight.
Ironton’s standout sophomore was given the ball and was completely dialed in from the first pitch thrown until the last out recorded.
He tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just two hits and striking out nine batters as he led the Fighting Tigers to their first victory of the season by a 2-0 count over Wheelersburg.
“First and foremost, I have to thank God because He’s the one who helped me through this,” Hughes said. “I have a lot of trust in my infield and defense to make the outs anytime a ball is put in play. There weren’t many errors committed, and the ones that did happen didn’t amount to anything. We’ve practiced a lot on fielding ground balls, and that definitely paid off.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
“We didn’t hit the ball very well, but we made most of our chances count and put up enough run support to get the win. It’s a huge one for us, not just because it’s the first win of the season, but also because of the rivalry between us and ‘Burg. So it’s nice to get one up on them.”
Ironton (2-1) had multiple chances to put runs on the board early. In the first, the Tigers had a pair of runners on and, in the second, they loaded the bases. But the Pirates’ defense delivered critical outs to keep the game scoreless.
Meanwhile, Wheelersburg (1-4) wasn’t managing a ton of offense on its own side. The Pirates stranded a runner in the second and were retired in order in the third, fourth and fifth innings to keep the game at 0-0.
But that changed when the Tigers broke the tie in the sixth.
After Carter Bridges worked a leadoff walk, he was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Bridges then stole third to put him within 90 feet of home plate. And, with two outs, Bryson Kerns stepped to the dish and sent a 2-2 offering just past the shortstop into the outfield green for an RBI single, making it 1-0.
“Being that it was a 2-2 count, I was looking for something off-speed,” Kerns said. “He threw me an inside curveball or slider, and I managed to get my hands on it to drive it the best I could.”
The Pirates had a chance to respond, and managed to get two runners aboard via a fielding error and a single from Brady Doss. However, Hughes remained calm in the face of adversity and struck out the next batter to end the inning.
“Jacob pitched one heck of a game, and he just kept plugging away no matter what happened,” Ironton coach John Hunt said. “Even when we made a couple of mistakes, he didn’t panic or rush himself. He remained poised and handled his business the way any good ball player would. He’s a great player who played, and pitched, a great game.”
The Tigers added an insurance run in the seventh when Ethan Sutton registered an RBI groundout for a 2-0 lead. Hughes then struck out the side in the seventh, slamming the door shut.
Statistically, following Hughes’ final pitching line, Kern was 1-for-4 with an RBI while Sutton was 0-4 with an RBI.
Wheelersburg suffered a loss to Kenton Ridge on Saturday and dropped another contest on Monday against South Webster. The Pirates will look to bounce back on Wednesday, hosting Valley.
Meanwhile, Ironton handed Fairland an 8-0 loss on Monday. The Fighting Tigers will be back in action on Wednesday as well, hosting Porstmouth.
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