Game 1: East Hamilton 7 – Chuckey Doak 6
Chuckey Doak opened play Friday afternoon in the Buddy Hawk Classic with a pair of games against East Hamilton and Hazard County, Ky. The Black Knights came away with a split, falling to the Hurricanes 7-6 before bouncing back to defeat the Bulldogs 10-5.
Head coach Jacob Willett pointed to defense as the key takeaway from the opener. “We’ve got to play better defense,” Willett said. “Gavin threw it well enough for us to win, and we’ve got to continue that kind of production at the plate for seven innings and apply pressure to defenses. That’s a game that just got away from us.”
Randall Sauceman led Chuckey Doak’s 11-hit effort with three singles and two RBIs, while Gavin Crum added a two-run home run and a single. Shane Cook and Kiptyn Ball each contributed two singles. East Hamilton was limited to six hits, all singles, with Peyton Hunter recording two of them.
The Hurricanes struck early, collecting three hits in the top of the first inning and jumping out to a 4-0 lead behind RBI singles from Jaxon Morgan and Mayson Cogbill.
Chuckey Doak responded in the bottom half of the inning, tying the game at 4-4 on six hits. The highlight came when Crum launched a 3-0 pitch over the right-field wall with two outs for a two-run homer.
East Hamilton regained control in the third inning, drawing three walks and capitalizing on several Chuckey Doak miscues to take a 7-4 lead.
Starter Gavin Murray settled in after that, retiring the Hurricanes in order in the fourth. He was charged with the loss, allowing seven earned runs on five hits and five walks. Kayden Bowers pitched the final two innings in relief, giving up one hit while striking out one and hitting one batter.
The Black Knights continued to fight, scoring single runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to cut the deficit to 7-6, but could not complete the comeback, stranding 6 runners for the game.
Eli Kyser earned the win for East Hamilton with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just two hits while striking out four. Aiden Lusk started on the mound for the Hurricanes, going 3.1 innings and allowing five runs—only two earned—on nine hits, with one walk and four strikeouts.
Game 2: Chuckey Doak 10 – Hazard County, Ky 5
After a scoreless first inning, both Chuckey Doak and Hazard County broke through, trading runs in a back-and-forth contest before the Black Knights used a six-run third inning to pull away for a 10-5 victory.
Shane Cook led Chuckey Doak’s 12-hit performance with three singles, while Gavin Crum continued his strong play with a home run and a single for the second consecutive game. Kiptyn Ball and Collin Bishop each added two singles.
Kayden Bowers earned the win in relief, tossing 2.2 innings. He allowed three runs on three hits while striking out three and walking two.
Chuckey Doak, now 12-11 on the season, will face Hampton at noon Saturday on Day 2 of the Buddy Hawk Classic.
