Baseball Game Preview: Paintsville Tigers vs. Blazer Tomcats

The Paintsville Tigers are taking a road trip to challenge the Blazer Tomcats at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Paintsville will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.

Paintsville had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the ten-run drubbing they dealt Lewis County on Thursday. The Tigers put the hurt on the Lions with a sharp 12-2 win. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 contests by seven runs or more this season.

Parker Crace spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on three hits and racked up eight Ks.

On the hitting side, Anderson Lauffer was incredible, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases and four runs. Colton Short also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Paintsville always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .564. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Blazer ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They skirted past Spring Valley 10-9.

Paintsville pushed their record up to 21-5 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Blazer, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-15 record this season.

Everything went Paintsville's way against Blazer in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as Paintsville made off with a 17-2 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.