Harlan is 1-6 against Knott County Central since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Green Dragons will face off against the Patriots at 6:00 p.m. Harlan is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.5 runs per game this season.
Knott County Central will square off against a team with plenty of momentum: Harlan extended their winning streak to three on Tuesday. The Green Dragons had just enough and edged out Bell County 5-3.
Luke Luttrell
| 03/18/25 vs South Laurel | 5 |
| 03/29/25 @ Breathitt County | 2 |
| 04/15/25 @ Bell County | 1 |
| 03/26/25 @ Jackson County | 1 |
Luke Luttrell spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned runs on seven hits and racked up seven Ks. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Harlan is 2-1 when he allows at most two walks, but 4-5 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Harlan's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Baylor Varner, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Knott County Central had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 10-1 margin over the Eagles. Considering the Patriots have won eight contests by more than seven runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Michael Parks made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over 5.1 innings pitched. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two hits in five consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Connor Napier and Brayden Hall did most of the damage at the plate: Napier scored a run and stole three bases while going 2-for-4, while Hall scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2. Those three stolen bases gave Napier a new career-high.
Knott County Central kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 11 hits in three consecutive matchups.
Knott County Central pushed their record up to 9-6 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Harlan, the victory got them back to even at 6-6.
Harlan couldn't quite get it done against Knott County Central in their previous matchup back in March of 2022 as they fell 8-4. Can the Green Dragons avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
