The Laurel Hill Hoboes will head out to take on the Aletheia Christian Academy Lions at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Laurel Hill fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against L.E.A.D. Academy on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Lions by a score of 8-7. The Hoboes have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Cooper Degraaf
| 02/18/25 @ L.E.A.D. Academy | 9 |
| 04/16/24 vs Baker | 4 |
| 04/03/24 @ Vernon | 4 |
| 02/27/24 vs Vernon | 4 |
| 02/22/24 vs Aletheia Christian Academy | 4 |
Cooper Degraaf put in work no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single hit, allowed only an earned run while striking out nine over 4.1 innings pitched. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing four bases while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Caden Taylor was cooking despite his team's loss, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in RBI. Sean Smiley was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing three bases.
Even though they lost, Laurel Hill kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as L.E.A.D. Academy onlymanaged three hits.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Aletheia Christian Academy faced off against Pensacola last Friday. Aletheia Christian Academy blew past Pensacola 13-7.
Like Laurel Hill, Aletheia Christian Academy also got a great game from a two-way player: Josiah Thurmond. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Thurmond was also big at the plate, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Brady Carlson, who went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Darius Dunmiles, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Aletheia Christian Academy pushed their record up to 1-1 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.6 runs over those games. As for Laurel Hill, their record now sits at 0-2-1.
Laurel Hill couldn't quite finish off Aletheia Christian Academy when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 2-0. Can Laurel Hill avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
