In the biggest start of his career, Prestonsburg’s Payton Burke struck out the first nine Pikeville batters he faced and went on to toss a no-hitter as the Blackcats stunned the Panthers, 6-0, in the nightcap of the 15th Region baseball tournament played at Belfry’s Massey Energy Field on Wednesday night..
He finished with 12 for the game as the Blackcats improved to 17-13 and move on to face Johnson Central in the semifinals.
JD McKinney had two hits and drove in two runs while Jon Little singled in one run, walked and scored twice. Burke singled in one run and walked.
Dylan Hamilton took the loss as the Panthers season ends at 22-12.
In the opener, the Golden Eagles scored four times in the seventh inning with two outs to eliminate host Belfry, 9-5, in a game which took three hours to play.
Conner LeMaster doubled and singled, scored a pair of runs and knocked home three as Johnson Central moved to 14-21. Bryce Spencer singled in two runs while Cameron Kelsey singled, walked twice, scored a pair of runs and added an RBI.
Steven Banks had two hits, walked, scored once, and knocked in one run as the Pirates season ended at 24-10. Noah Brown doubled in two runs, walked, and scored.
At Belfry
(15th Region tournament)
SCORE BY INNINGS: R-H-E
PB(17-13)….100 003 2 – 6-4-0
PK (22-12)…000 000 0 – 0-0-3
Pitching:
WP – Payton Burke
LP – Dylan Thompson
Hitting: JD McKinney 2-1b, bb, 2 RBI; Jon Little 1b, bb, 2r, 1 RBI; Payton Burke 1b, bb, 1 RBI, Prestonsburg; Dylan Thompson bb; Tate Walters bb; Jeb Wilkerson bb, Pikeville.
At Belfry
(15th Region tournament)
SCORE BY INNINGS: R-H-E
JC (14-21)….003 020 4 – 9-6-2
BF(24-10)….101 030 0 – 5-8-5
Pitching:
WP – Dawson Montgomery
LP – Ashton Deskins
Hitting: Conner Lemaster 2b, 1b, 2r, 3 RBI; Bryce Spencer 1b, 2 RBI; Cameron Kelsey 1b, 2-bb, 2r, 1 RBI, Johnson Central; Steven Banks 2-1b, bb, 1r, 1 RBI; Noah Brown 2b, bb, 1r, 2 RBI, Belfry.