The North Laurel Jaguars will face off against the Harlan County Black Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (North Laurel has four straight victories, Harlan County has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Saturday, North Laurel earned a 9-6 win over Pulaski County.
Cam Smith
| 05/10/25 vs Pulaski County | 1 |
| 05/10/25 vs Southwestern | 1 |
| 05/05/25 @ Leslie County | 1 |
| 04/14/25 vs Garrard County | 1 |
| 04/10/25 vs Corbin | 1 |
| + 1 more games |
The team relied heavily on Cam Smith, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. He is becoming a predictor of North Laurel's success: when he posts at least one home run the team is undefeated (and 9-12 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Carter Kelley, who went 1-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
North Laurel was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pulaski County only posted a batting average of .240.
Meanwhile, Harlan County fell victim to Knox Central and their airtight pitching crew on Saturday. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Panthers. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Harlan County saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Aiden Craig, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles.
North Laurel pushed their record up to 15-12 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.7 runs over those games. As for Harlan County, their loss dropped their record down to 7-17-1.
North Laurel skirted past Harlan County 8-6 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Do the Jaguars have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Black Bears turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
