BARBOURVILLE — Whitley County’s E.J. Allen turned in one of his best pitching efforts of the season when his team needed him most.
Allen shut down Knox Central’s bats, allowing only one hit during seven innings of work as he struck out seven batters during the Colonels’ 5-0 win over the Panthers during Thursday’s first round action of the 13th Region Baseball Tournament.
Whitley County took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a run-scoring ground out by Hunter Wilson.
The game remained tight throughout until the top of the sixth when the Colonels put the game away with four runs while building a 5-0 lead.
Jason Nunley connected with a run-scoring double to give Whitley County a 2-0 lead while Chris Cureton followed with a run-scoring single to make the score 3-0. Dee Parker followed by reaching base after getting hit by a pitch, and Allen connected with a fly ball that was misplayed which led to two more runs, giving the Colonels a commanding 5-0 advantage.
Casey Bright took the loss for Knox Central but turned in a solid pitching effort, lasting six innings while allowing five hits and two earned runs. He finished with nine strikeouts.
