PIPPA PASSES, Ky. -- Following a five-day break from competition, the Midway baseball team began their final River States Conference series of the season on Friday in Pippa Passes, Ky. when they battled Alice Lloyd (Ky.).

It was a terrific outing for the Midway offense as they quickly erased an early 2-0 deficit before cruising to a comfortable 15-4 victory in the series opener.

With the win, Luther Bramblett's squad improves to 24-20 overall and 18-7 in RSC play, while Alice Lloyd drops to 15-33 overall and 3-22 in league play. The two will wrap up their series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at noon ET.

After seeing Alice Lloyd jump to an early 2-0 lead, Midway answered and tied the game after scoring single runs in the second and third innings. Nick Eastham (Morehead, Ky.) hit a solo home run in the second, while Ryan Davis (Paris, Ky.) added an RBI double in the third.

The visitors then took their first lead of the contest in the fourth after scoring four runs on three hits. Grant Hotchkiss (Richmond, Ky.) had a two-run single to center before Eli Glasscock (Danville, Ky.) clubbed a two-run double to left giving Midway a 6-2 lead.

The lead grew to 8-2 after Midway tacked on two more in the sixth. Cameron Nichols (Owensboro, Ky.) reached on a hit by pitch before scoring on an error, while Shane Taylor (Morehead, Ky.) hit an RBI single to cap the inning.

Alice Lloyd scored two runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth, but Midway padded their lead with one in the seventh followed by six in the ninth. The seventh inning saw Noah Phillips (Greenville, Ky.) double and score on a sacrifice fly by Glasscock.

Then, in the ninth, Hotchkiss singled and scored on a wild pitch, while Barrett McGill (Bloomfield, Ky.) drove in three with a bases clearing triple. Taylor then hit a sacrifice fly before Preston Howard (Nicholasville, Ky.) drove in a run with an RBI ground out.

Luke Richardson (Franklin, Ky.) – who entered the game in the eighth – tossed two scoreless innings to help clinch the win. Richardson replaced Blake Kincaid (Columbia, Tenn.), who picked up the win and improved to 4-4 with the win. The right-hander pitched seven innings and allowed four runs on nine hits with nine strikeouts.

Offensively, Midway had six players record multi-hit outings. Among their 17 hits included a home run, two triples, and six doubles. Hotchkiss went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs, while Taylor went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run. Davis, McGill, Eastham, and Phillips each had two hits in a winning effort.

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