VANCEBURG, Ky. — The Lewis County Lions began their 2026 baseball season on Thursday, March 19, with a game against the Montgomery County Indians.
After two cancellations due to weather, the Lions were eager to finally take the field in 2026, hoping to get their season started on a high note.
Lewis County’s 2025 season saw the Lions go 6-21, losing 16-1 to Raceland in four innings in the first round of the 63rd District tournament.
Montgomery County, the 2025 10th Region runners-up, entered their game with Lewis County 1-0 on the season, with a 6-1 win over the Estill County Engineers on Wednesday, March 18.
“Tough way to start the year, but listen, I feel like we’re a ground ball away from being in that ball game,” said the Lions’ head coach, Travis Wallingford. “That is a really good team; their coaching staff, their team is fantastic. It was gonna take a perfect game for us to beat them, and we didn’t play a perfect game. We’re young, we’ve got some jitters, we haven’t played. We were supposed to play Monday; it got rained out. Supposed to play Wednesday; it got snowed out.”
In the top of the first, two ground outs at first from Jayse Mays and Carter Poe and a pop out from Brayden Dore put a quick end to the Indians’ offense. A pair of singles from Braxton Egbert and Zane Smyke in the bottom half of the inning drove in Lewis County’s first run of the game, causing the Lions to lead 1-0 heading into the top of the second.
“Those first three outs, that shows me what this team is capable of, in all actuality. I’m not guaranteeing anything, but what I saw from that first inning was how good we can be,” said Coach Wallingford. “We started shooting ourselves in the foot, started getting in our own way. What we lack in youth we make up for in inexperience. We’ve got a lot of guys first time playing varsity baseball, but those first six outs were tremendous for me to see that these guys can do it.”
A pair of singles and an error in the top of the second brought Abe Mullins across home plate for Montgomery County, tying the game 1-1. Robby Howard walked, loading the bases for the Indians. Another single from Andrew Copher batted in two more runs for Montgomery County, with two ground balls from Mays and Poe bringing in the Indians’ fourth and fifth runs of the game.
A shutout in the bottom half of the inning sent Montgomery County back to the batter’s box in the top of the third, where five walks, a double, two singles and three errors extended the Indians’ lead to 13-1 heading into the bottom half of the inning.
“The second and the third, they hit the ball. We tell our guys, be competitive, be in the strike zone and throw strikes. If they hit it, we should have a defense. We didn’t defend well and that led to a couple runs,” said Coach Wallingford. “Third inning, we kind of got beside ourselves and the wheels started falling off and the bus crashed and all that stuff, but we’re right there. The second and third, we do the right things, we take away some of those runs and allow ourselves to stay in that ball game a little bit longer and learn a little more.”
Braylon Puente walked in the bottom of the third, with a single from Parker Jordan pushing him to second. He then reached third on a ground ball from Cameron Farris and was sent home on the next at bat, bringing the score to 13-2 moving into the top of the fourth.
The Lions allowed no runs to Montgomery County in the top half of the inning, striking out Mays and picking up a double play to end the half-inning.
Montgomery County held the Lions scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, adding two more runs in the top of the fifth.
The Indians’ pitcher, Landon Back, struck out Jameson Switzer swinging, followed by a line out from Puente and a ground out at first from Parker Jordan, bringing an end to the game in five innings.
“Yes, I’m disappointed, but those mistakes we made were fixable. I’m not saying we could’ve beat them, but it could have been a whole lot closer of a ball game,” said Coach Wallingford.
The Lions’ next game is set for 1 p.m. this afternoon at home against another strong 10th Region team, the Harrison County Thoroughbreds.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
H: Mullins 2, Back, Caba, Copher, Dore, Howard, Oney, Turner
R: Lambert 2, Mullins 2, Rolans 2, Turner 2, Back, Caba, Copher, Dore, Mays, Oney, Poe
RBI: Copher 3, Howard 2, Mullins 2, Poe 2, Caba, Mays, Oney, Rolans, Turner
2B: Back, Howard
SB: Roland
IP: Jones 3.0, Back 2.0
K: Back 3, Jones 2
BB: Jones
LEWIS COUNTY
H: Egbert 2, Jordan, Smyke
R: Egbert, Puente
RBI: Smyke
IP: Smyke 2.1, Underwood 2.0
K: Underwood 2
BB: Smyke 4
