Baseball Game Preview: Shelby County Wildcats vs. Coalfield Yellow Jackets

The Shelby County Wildcats will head out on the road to square off against the Coalfield Yellow Jackets at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

The home team had come away the winner the last four times Shelby County and Central of Clay County had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. Shelby County walked away with a 10-5 win over Central of Clay County on Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Wildcats in their matchups with the Volunteers: they've now won four in a row.

Cooper Pennington made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Shelby County is 7-1 when Pennington allowstwo or fewer hits, but 6-7 otherwise. Pennington was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.

In other pitching news, Shelby County got a great performance from Hunter Dailey as he struck out nine batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits (and not a single walk). Dailey has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.

Byrne Nate

Runs (Career)

03/20/25 @ Central of Clay County	2
03/18/25 vs Central of Clay County	1
02/26/25 @ Altamont	1
02/22/25 vs East Limestone	1

Back at the plate, Byrne Nate was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ethan Hall, who scored three runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Coalfield put another one in the bag on Monday to keep their perfect season alive. They put the hurt on Sale Creek with a sharp 10-0 win. Give the Yellow Jackets' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.

Coalfield's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-0. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they've averaged 13.6 runs this season. As for Shelby County, their record is now 13-8.