Baseball Recap: Harding Comes Up Short

Harding extended their losing streak to five on Thursday, dropping them down to 4-15-1. They came up short against the Lakeview Bulldogs, falling 12-0. The Raiders were not able to make up for their loss to the Bulldogs from their previous meeting back in May of 2025.

As for Lakeview, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record up to 14-6. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games.

For Lakeview's part, they got a great performance from Blake Swinning as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Swinning has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Lakeview let Hayden Newton and Brandon Toot run wild. Newton went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Toot went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. That's the most runs Newton has posted over his last 12 matchups. Another player making a difference was Jacob Shaker, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI, one run, and one double.

Harding didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next contest, an 8-2 defeat against Austintown-Fitch on the 11th. As for Lakeview, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next game, an 8-2 victory against Struthers on the 11th.