Baseball Recap: Harding Wins Going Away Against Champion

Harding barely beat Champion the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Raiders put the hurt on the Golden Flashes with a sharp 10-2 victory on Saturday. Considering the Raiders have won five matches by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.

Khalef Freeman

Batters Struck Out (Career)

04/12/25 vs Champion	9
04/04/25 @ Lakeside	5
04/01/25 @ Boardman	4
04/23/24 vs Howland	2
04/09/24 @ Austintown-Fitch	2

Khalef Freeman was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.

In other batting news, Harding let Jayden Colbert and Cory Kuhn run wild. Colbert scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Kuhn scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. That stolen base was Colbert's first of the season. Another player making a difference was Elias Johnson, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.

Harding was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Harding's win bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Champion, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 1-4.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Harding will venture away from home to square off against Girard at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. As for Champion, they will head out to challenge Garfield at 5:00 p.m. on Monday.