Hughes powers Stars to 8-0 win over Reitz

BNL’s Ryker Hughes had three hits, including a home run, and pitched six shutout innings as the Stars stopped Evansville Reitz 8-0 on Friday night.

EVANSVILLE – Ryker Hughes and Cade Mungle combined on a two-hit shutout as Bedford North Lawrence silenced Evansville Reitz 8-0 during baseball action at historic Bosse Field on Friday night.

Hughes allowed only one hit in six dominant innings, and Mungle worked a scoreless seventh as BNL (3-1) made the long trip for a quality triumph over the Panthers (1-3). The Stars had been idle for the week because of the weather conditions, but they were sharp.

“It seemed like forever since we played, but you couldn’t tell it by the way we pitched and got key hits,” BNL coach Jeff Callahan said. “We had good balance (with nine hits). That’s very important in baseball.”

The Stars started quickly, scoring in the first on Hughes’ RBI double. They added two more runs in the second on a Cal Gates sacrifice fly and Maddox Ray double, then extended the lead to 5-0 in the third on Mungle’s infield RBI single and Tate Tanksley’s bunt to score Walker Ward.

Hughes blasted a solo home run to left in the fourth, and BNL capped the scoring in the sixth with a RBI double from Gates and a Kline Woodward sacrifice fly.

Hughes struck out 7, and he went 3 for 4 (all extra-base hits) at the plate. Mungle had two hits.

“Ryker did a great job on the mound, working ahead,” Callahan said. “And he got big runs on the board for us.”

BNL will host Bloomington South on Wednesday.