High school baseball: Clopton 10, North Callaway 8

AUXVASSE - The Hawks broke the game open by tallying seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to hand the Thunderbirds an Eastern Missouri Conference loss Wednesday night.

North Callaway scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh and loaded the bases with one out, but couldn't finish the comeback as Clopton earned its first EMO win of the season. The Thunderbirds slipped to 6-10 overall and 4-3 in the EMO, while the Hawks improved to 2-5 on the season and 1-3 in conference play.

Freshman left fielder Jackson Althiser went 3-for-3 with two runs batted in and scored a run as North Callaway accumulated 11 hits. Junior Gabe Cash - who started at catcher and then moved to third base - was 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Senior Josh McCowan suffered the loss for the Thunderbirds, allowing six earned runs on five hits in three innings of relief. McCowan (0-3) struck out five and walked one.

"This was a tough loss," North Callaway head coach Zeth Lavy said. "We didn't make the plays that we should have."

The Thunderbirds host rival Montgomery County in an EMO matchup at 5 p.m. today.

North Callaway scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh and loaded the bases with one out, but couldn't finish the comeback as Clopton earned its first EMO win of the season. The Thunderbirds slipped to 6-10 overall and 4-3 in the EMO, while the Hawks improved to 2-5 on the season and 1-3 in conference play.

Freshman left fielder Jackson Althiser went 3-for-3 with two runs batted in and scored a run as North Callaway accumulated 11 hits. Junior Gabe Cash - who started at catcher and then moved to third base - was 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Senior Josh McCowan suffered the loss for the Thunderbirds, allowing six earned runs on five hits in three innings of relief. McCowan (0-3) struck out five and walked one.

"This was a tough loss," North Callaway head coach Zeth Lavy said. "We didn't make the plays that we should have."

The Thunderbirds host rival Montgomery County in an EMO matchup at 5 p.m. today.