The Martin County Cardinals will head out to square off against the Lawrence County Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Martin County has given up an average of 8.1 runs per game this season, but Wednesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Martin County came into their game on Tuesday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They came up short against Magoffin County, falling 13-7.
Damian Cheek was cooking despite his team's loss, going 4-for-5 with three runs, one double, and one RBI. Ryan Stephens was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Lawrence County, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Belfry a 6-0 shutout on Tuesday. The Bulldogs haven't had any issues with the Pirates recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Not much got past Braxton Davis, who gave up just five hits and racked up six Ks to keep Belfry off the board.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Gray Derifield, who went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Brady Caudill, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one double.
Lawrence County's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-8. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for Martin County, their loss dropped their record down to 7-7.
Martin County suffered a grim 13-2 defeat to Lawrence County when the teams last played back in May of 2019. Can the Cardinals avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
