The Park Hills Central Rebels seem to have it all figured out. They coasted through their only three games of the week to move to 10-1 on the season, and are currently riding a six-game winning streak.
The red-hot Rebs dismantled DeSoto 11-0 on Monday before knocking off Notre Dame 9-2 on Wednesday, and followed that up by stymieing Ste. Gen 7-0 on Thursday. That’s a 27-2 run differential for the week, and you pretty much can’t ask for anything more from this team.
The game against DeSoto started off swimmingly on Monday, with a pair of runs in the first inning to grab a lead that Central would not relinquish. They would double that score in the fourth when Sammy Callaway stepped up and smacked a double to right to drive in two.
The 4-0 score stood until the final inning, and then the Rebels just unloaded. They only had to play five in this one, thanks to seven runs in the top of the fifth, and Casen Murphy got it all started. With one on and one out, he launched a fly ball to right that cleared the wall and gave Central a 6-0 lead. A handful of walks and RBI singles accounted for the rest of the runs and that put the W stamp on the game.
Lucas Whitehead got the start and the victory in this one after tossing three shutout innings. Kendall Horton came on in relief and pitched the last two frames to keep the sheet clean. The Rebel arms allowed just two hits in the game.
Jaxon Jones and Murphy were the heavy hitters in the contest. Jones went 3-for-3 with an RBI, a walk and a pair of runs scored, while Murphy had the big bomb and went 2-for-4 overall with three runs scored and a stolen base. A sac fly from Ty Schweiss and a Jones run-scoring base-hit accounted for the other two tallies.
The Bulldogs responded with a pair of runs in the fifth to cut the lead in half, but Central barreled up and sealed the deal with a run in the sixth and then four more in the seventh to erase any doubt. Horton didn’t need the nine runs of support while he was on the bump, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain about it. He ripped off four scoreless innings and fanned five against just one walk for the victory in his second of back-to-back outings.
Jones and Jobe Bryant each had solid performances at the plate with two RBI apiece, and seven different Rebels recorded at least one hit. They had nine total and walked five times in the 9-2 victory.
To complete the week, Murphy decided he would just take over. Facing the Ste. Genevieve Dragons, all he did was pitch a complete-game shutout, where he allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out an eye-popping 14 batters.
The Rebels made it easy for him on the other side of the ball though with five runs in the top of the first. An RBI triple by Jones got Central on the board and then a handful of walks and miscues set up Whitehead to shine with a two-RBI double that was scorched to left field.
Another run in the third and one final add-on in the sixth ended the scoring, but it was more than enough for Murphy to secure the victory. The Rebels only had seven hits in this one, but they made them all count. They came from seven different players and they were able to work six walks as well. Whitehead and Horton each had a pair of RBI.
That win pushed the streak to six games and bumped Central’s record to a truly impressive 10-1. They will look to keep the line moving next week when they take on North County on Tuesday.
