The South Laurel Cardinals will face off against the Rockcastle County Rockets at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (South Laurel has five straight wins, Rockcastle County has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
While South Laurel's victory against Jackson County wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Cardinals had just enough and edged out the Generals 2-1.
Keaton Smith spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up ten Ks.
At the plate, South Laurel saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Will Alsip, who went 2-for-3 with one run.
Meanwhile, Rockcastle County suffered their closest defeat since May 16, 2024 on Thursday. They fell just short of Southwestern by a score of 8-6.
Rockcastle County also got a good showing from Jack Childress, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
South Laurel pushed their record up to 12-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Rockcastle County, their loss dropped their record down to 5-8.
Rockcastle County's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: South Laurel has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .460. It's a different story for Rockcastle County, though, as they've only averaged .325. Will they be able to contain South Laurel's hitters?
South Laurel skirted past Rockcastle County 5-4 when the teams last played back in March. Do the Cardinals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rockets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
