It took nine games and the No. 3-ranked team in the state for Hopkinsville High School to finally suffer its first loss of the season on the baseball diamond.
McCracken County (9-4) got a one-out RBI single to left in the bottom of the seventh inning to walk off a 5-4 victory over the Tigers Wednesday night in Paducah.
Hoptown (8-1), ranked 13th, looked to be in good shape in the top of the third when run-scoring singles by Zach Moss and Joseph Boor helped the Tigers score three times to take a 4-1 lead.
McCracken cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the third — aided by a pair of Hoptown errors.
Another error led to another run in the fifth as the host Mustangs tied things at 4-4.
In the bottom of the seventh, Rivers Moffatt was hit by a pitch to start the inning. He advanced to third on a one-out single by Grant Godwin, then came in to score when Jack Bennett singled on a line drive into left field.
Hopkinsville hurlers Logan Durst and Tim Cansler combined to allow just one earned run on three base hits in the contest. The duo struck out eight and walked four. Cansler suffered the loss.
Moss led the Tigers at the plate, going 2-for-4 and driving in a pair of runs. Moss got the scoring started in the contest when he homered to left leading off the top of the second inning.
Josh Tucker was the winning pitcher for McCracken. He blanked Hopkinsville over the final four innings without allowing a base hit. Tucker struck out six and walked three.
Hoptown plays at home on Thursday when it hosts Lyon County in a matchup of 2nd Region title contenders.