The Lawrence County Bulldogs will challenge the Fleming County Panthers at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Wednesday, Lawrence County got the win against Martin County by a conclusive 16-1. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six contests by six runs or more this season.
Boedy Maynard was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out nine over four innings pitched. Maynard was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI.
In other batting news, Eli Fletcher was incredible, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Gray Derifield, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Lawrence County hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Martin County struck out nine times.
Meanwhile, Fleming County earned a 7-3 victory over Paris on Wednesday. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Greyhounds recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.
Fleming County also got a great performance from Kaleb McIntyre as he pitched six innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. The dominant performance also gave McIntyre a new career-high in strikeouts (four).
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jett Martin, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, one double, and one RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Fleming County's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 9-10 when he doesn't). Preston Cropper was another key player, going 1-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.
Lawrence County pushed their record up to 11-8 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.4 runs over those games. As for Fleming County, their victory bumped their record up to 12-10.
Lawrence County was able to grind out a solid win over Fleming County when the teams last played back in April of 2017, winning 5-0. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
