Kellen Ford pitched five strong innings Tuesday and knocked in the winning runs as Hopkins bested Wayland 3-1 in the season opener for both teams.
Ford yielded just two hits, walked one and struck out nine. Merek Zapolnik finished up with two scoreless innings and picked up the mound victory.
Ford led off the sixth inning with a triple and came home on a fielder’s choice. He finished the day with two RBIs.
Don Borgic pitched a fine game for the Wildcats, giving up just three hits, one each by Ford, Trent Smith and Cruz Hitzler. He struck out eight Hopkins batters. Wayland offensively had five hits.
