Darlington fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Marlboro County on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Marlboro County Bulldogs by a score of 4-3. Darlington was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Marlboro County apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in March of 2023.
Gage McKenzie was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits (and only one walk). McKenzie has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances. McKenzie was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
McKenzie wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Antonio Smith, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Shane Oliver was another key contributor, going 1-for-4 with a triple and a run.
This is the second loss in a row for Darlington and nudges their season record down to 4-6. As for Marlboro County, their victory was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0.
While Darlington had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
