(From Hopkinsville)  The Hoptown Hoppers advanced to the championship round of the Ohio Valley League with an 8-1 win over visiting Owensboro, winning the semifinal round series two games to none.

     Three Hoppers pitchers threw a four-hitter in clinching the team's second appearance in the championship round in as many seasons in the OVL.

     Hoptown scored in the bottom of the third inning when Derek Ferch led off with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Ferch scored on a single by Matt McGowan, and Trevor Lowe followed with a single. Both runners scored on a double by John Beary, who scored on a double by Brandon Powell to give the Hoppers a 4-0 lead.

     Hoptown added two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Mason Colquitt and Derek Ferch opened the inning with a single. They advanced a base on a sacrifice bunt, and Colquitt scored on a single by Matt McGowan. A double by Trevor Lowe scored Ferch to give the Hoppers a 6-0 lead.

     Hoptown tacked on an unearned run in the sixth inning when Derek Ferch reached on an error, stole second and scored on another fielding error to push the Hopper lead to 7-0.

     Hoptown scored again in the bottom of the seventh inning when Brandon Powell led off with a single, took second on a wild pitch, went to third on a single by Seth Larue and scored on a single by Chase Denton to give the Hoppers an 8-0 lead.

     Owensboro scored an unearned run in the top of the ninth inning when Austin Brunk reached on an error, went to second when Cody Rogers walked and scored on a single by Stone Osborne to provide the final score of 8-1.

     The Hoppers slapped 15 hits in the game and were led by five batters with two hits apiece, Trevor Lowe, Brandon Powell and John Beary each had a double for Hoptown, while Derek Ferch went 2-for-4 with three runs. Beary and Matt McGowan each had two runs batted in for the Hoppers.

     For Owensboro, Stone Osborne went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

     On the mound, Cole Isom started and got the win for Hoptown, allowing no runs on three hits, striking out five and walking one in seven innings. Kyle Barbee pitched the eighth inning for the Hoppers, striking out one, and Craig Caufield pitched the ninth, allowing on unearned run on one hit, striking out one and walking one.

     For the Oilers, starter Cameron Wallace got the loss, allowing six runs on eight hits, in 3 1/3 innings. Bo Lewington came on in the fourth inning, allowing two hits, striking out one and walking one in 1 2/3 innings, and Jason Jones came on in the sixth, allowing one unearned run on no hits, striking out one in one inning of work. Brent Elder pitched the seventh inning, allowing one run on four hits and walking one, and Matt Theiss pitched the eighth inning, allowing one hit and striking out three batters.