Baseball Recap: Harlan County Comes Up Short

Harlan County extended their losing streak to three on Tuesday, dropping them down to 11-16. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost a 6-4 heartbreaker at the hands of the Letcher County Central Cougars. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Black Bears have suffered since March 30th.

Deshaun Smith made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs. Another player making a difference was Zayden Casolari, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and one double.

As for Letcher County Central, they pushed their record up to 17-12 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games.

On Letcher County Central's side, Mason Boggs made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed seven innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. Boggs has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dylan Eldridge, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

Coming up, Harlan County will be playing at home against Williamsburg at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Yellow Jackets have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 8.29 runs per game on average), something the Black Bears will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Letcher County Central, they will head out on the road to challenge Leslie County at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.