Sumter County extended their losing streak to eight on Tuesday, dropping them down to 6-17. They came up short against the Hardaway Hawks, falling 15-3. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Hawks this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 16-1 on Tuesday.
Sumter County saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Wayne Harvey, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run. Vincent Kearse was another, getting on base in both of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.
As for Hardaway, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 10-12. The result was nothing new for the Hawks, who have now won eight contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
On Hardaway's side, Jeremy Williams made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off two hits. That's the most strikeouts Williams has posted since back in February. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
In other batting news, Hardaway let Kevin Williams and Ryan Rodriguez run wild. Williams went 2-for-3 with eight stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI, while Rodriguez got on base in all four of his plate appearances with seven stolen bases and three runs. Rodriguez is becoming a predictor of Hardaway's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 5-12 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Samuel Bufford, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one triple.
Looking ahead, Sumter County will challenge Columbus at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Panthers' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Blue Devils have averaged an impressive 7.5 runs per game this season. As for Hardaway, they are taking a road trip to face off against Spencer at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The Greenwave have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 12.21 runs per game on average), something the Hawks will no doubt try to take advantage of.
