The Lawrence County Cougars will face off against the Richland Rangers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Lawrence County took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by an 18-1 margin over Raymond. Considering the Cougars have won nine games by more than seven runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Justin Walker made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over 4.2 innings pitched. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Lawrence County is 3-1 when he allows at most two walks, but 8-9 otherwise. Walker was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and two doubles. Those two hits gave him a new career-high.
Grey Boyd
| 04/08/25 vs Raymond | 4 |
| 03/25/25 @ McComb | 3 |
| 03/17/25 @ Bogue Chitto | 3 |
| 03/01/25 @ West Lincoln | 3 |
| 02/10/25 vs Mendenhall | 3 |
In other batting news, Josh Sandifer and Grey Boyd did most of the damage at the plate: Sandifer went 2-for-3 with five RBI, two runs, and one stolen base, while Boyd scored four runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those four runs gave Boyd a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of LaFreddrick Harris, who scored three runs while going 1-for-2.
Lawrence County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .576. They are 8-1 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, while Richland put up plenty of runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for McComb. The Rangers were the clear victors by a 17-0 margin over the Tigers. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Rangers.
Tucker Evans was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Evans was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. He also put up a double, which was his first of the season.
In other batting news, Richland got a massive performance out of Noah Aldridge, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Bryce Shows was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Lawrence County's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-10. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Richland, their victory bumped their record up to 8-9.
Richland's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lawrence County hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .328. It's a different story for Richland, though, as they've only averaged .253. Will they be able to contain Lawrence County's hitters?
Lawrence County was able to grind out a solid win over Richland in their previous meeting last Tuesday, winning 6-3. Do the Cougars have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rangers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
