The Henderson Flash are headed to the Ohio Valley League Championship Series after sweeping the Madisonville Miners in the semi-final round on Saturday night.
The Flash moved to 29-11 on the season and will face the winner of the series between the Hoptown Hoppers and Fulton Railroaders in the finals. They will play a decisive Game 3 this evening for a spot in the championship series.
The first of the three-game series is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, July 28. Manager J.D. Arndt talked about how he would motivate his team to win a second OVL Championship in three years.
“Let’s win it for all the people who support us: the fans, the host families, Clay, and everybody that puts the organization together,” Arndt said. “We try to be selfless and understand that the Henderson Flash is much bigger than 28 guys and a coaching staff. It’s a community of a lot of people who support us. We have diehard fans and that’s really who we’re playing for.”
Before the semi-finals, Gunnar Waldrop received the Cubb Stokes Offensive MVP award as the best hitter in the OVL regular season. He finished the regular season with a .395 batting average. He also had 15 doubles, 12 home runs, 56 RBI, and 51 runs. According to Kevin Patton, each of those stats set a new regular season record for the Flash.
“Incredible year. He’s really set the tone. He has a lot of confidence in himself as a player and the team has a lot of confidence in him… He’s a great igniter for the offense at the top of the lineup,” Arndt said of Waldrop.
Henderson Flash 12, Madisonville Miners 2
July 25–The Flash scored three runs in the third inning and never looked back on its way to a 12-2 victory over the Miners on Saturday evening. A single by Peyton Tatum allowed Drew Isenberg to score the game’s first run in the third. Tatum then stole second base, but an error by Madisonville’s second baseman allowed Gunnar Waldrop to score. Tatum then swiped third base and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dom Davis.
Henderson would score one run in the fifth and two runs in the sixth inning before a monster six-run seventh ending gave the Flash a 10-run lead and an early ending to the game.
In the seventh, Jacob Tucker got things started with an infield single that scored Brayden Mineo. In the next at-bat, Jacob Froehlich worked a bases-loaded walk to force Davis home. Alec Satterfield then stepped to the plate for a wild at-bat. A wild pitch and sloppy play allowed Clark Gries and Jacob Tucker to score. Satterfield would eventually reach base on a dropped third strike. Isenberg hit a sacrifice fly that brought in Froehlich. Two singles later, Mineo hit into a fielder’s choice that allowed Satterfield to score the game’s final run. Luke Parr pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh inning to seal the win for the Flash.
Tatum finished the game 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Isenberg and Davis each drove in two runs. Waldrop and Tucker had two hits and an RBI apiece. Payton Helmerich picked up the win, throwing six innings and allowing two earned runs. Parr gave up one hit and one walk, but struck out three batters in the closing inning.
Henderson Flash 23, Madisonville Miners 2
July 24–It was an all-out offensive attack in the opening game of the OVL playoffs for the Henderson Flash. The team hit six home runs on 18 hits while limiting the Miners to just two hits.
Jacob Tucker was responsible for three homers on his own. Tucker’s first was a two-run shot in the second inning. He followed that with another two-run home run in the third inning. Before it was over, he added a grand slam in a sixth inning, one that saw the Flash score 10 runs in all.
Peyton Tatum actually opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the first inning. He would also get a two-run longball in the third inning along with Tucker. The seven-run third inning had three home runs overall as Clark Gries also blasted a three-run homer.
Tucker was 3-for-5 with three home runs and eight RBI. Tatum went 4-for-5 with two homers and five RBI. Gries finished 3-for-5 with four RBI. Jacob Froehlich had three hits and two RBI on the night. Reed Rheinhardt struck out nine over six innings in which he allowed two earned runs. Ashton Tindle struck out two in a scoreless seventh.
“We compete on all three sides of the ball: pitching, hitting, and defense. Our guys are competitors and they get along pretty well too which is pretty important,” Arndt said of his team’s success this season.
Upcoming Schedule (Times and Opponent TBD)
July 28: Championship Game #1
July 29: Championship Game #2
July 30: Championship Game #3 (if necessary)
