Davion Downey’s pitches were working on Thursday afternoon.
The senior – mostly known for his stellar hitting ability – pitched six full innings and retired 11 batters while tossing 63 strikes on 105 total pitches in Warren East’s 9-2 win over Paducah Tilghman in the opener of the Warren East Invitational at Raider Ballpark.
As he had a strong outing on the mound, the Baylor signee also recorded a hit and crossed the plate twice for a pair of runs. Louisville commit and third baseman Ryan Hawks led East’s offense throughout the contest, going 4-for-4 with three RBI – including a big two-run double to put his team up six in his final at bat.
The Raiders (7-4 overall) recorded nine hits as a whole to go along with nine RBI and finished with an overall batting average of .321 on the day. Grant Turner came in to relive Downey and didn’t allow a run while throwing seven strikes in an inning.
In their loss, the Blue Tornado (8-3) were carried by shortstop Eric Riffe’s 2-for-4, one RBI production. On the bump for Tilghman, Issac Humphrey recorded four strikeouts while giving up five runs in five complete innings thrown.
Warren East jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after one inning, as shortstop Dakota Basham and Hawks each tallied RBI singles. Left fielder Austin Hymer’s RBI single in the bottom of the fourth brought the Raiders’ advantage to 3-0.
Riffe’s RBI triple in the top of the fifth brought Tilghman to within two runs at 3-1, but East responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame, courtesy of Hawks’ RBI double and catcher Matt Alford’s sacrifice fly.
Trailing 5-1, the Blue Tornado responded with an RBI single from first baseman Mitchell Crouch in the ensuing inning, but a four-run outing by the Raiders in the bottom half put them up 9-2 and sealed the deal. The four tallies came from centerfielder Chauncey Greer stealing home, Hawks’ two-run double and Alford’s RBI single.
Warren East returns to action on Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. against Mason County. That game will be played at Western Kentucky University’s Nick Denes Field.
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