Baseball Game Preview: Shelby County Wildcats vs. Central of Clay County Volunteers

Shelby County is 9-1 against Central of Clay County since April of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Shelby County Wildcats will challenge the Central of Clay County Volunteers at 4:00 p.m.

Shelby County's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Central of Clay County with a sharp 12-0 victory. The game marked the Wildcats' most dominant win of the season.

Cooper Pennington

Earned Runs

03/06/25 vs Enterprise	2
03/12/25 @ Oak Mountain	1
02/22/25 vs East Limestone	1

Cooper Pennington was a major factor no matter where he played. He tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Shelby County is 6-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 5-6 otherwise. Pennington was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run. That home run was his first of the season.

In other pitching news, Tucker Busby looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.

Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Presley Duke, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in hits. Another player making a difference was Byrne Nate, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4.

Shelby County's record now sits at 11-8. As for Central of Clay County, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 6-8.