The Barren County Trojans will square off against the Grayson County Cougars at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Barren County sitting on four straight wins and Grayson County on three.
Barren County will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Monday, then bounced right back against Warren East on Tuesday. The Trojans came out on top against the Raiders by a score of 10-6.
Barren County got a great performance from Cameron Crawford as he pitched 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits. Crawford has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive appearances.
Jackson Reece
| 04/15/25 vs Warren East | 4 |
| 04/09/25 @ Lexington Catholic | 3 |
| 03/27/25 vs Franklin-Simpson | 2 |
| 03/22/25 @ Christian County | 2 |
| 05/01/24 vs Glasgow | 2 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jackson Reece, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBI and one run. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Skylar Potter, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Barren County kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 4.9 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 9.2.
Meanwhile, Grayson County got the win against Trinity on Tuesday by a conclusive 13-2.
Gage Napier made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Grayson County is 4-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 4-7 otherwise. Napier was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Landon Haycraft was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 3-for-4. He has become a key player for Grayson County: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 5-8 otherwise. Chase Baunach was another key player, scoring three runs while going 3-for-3.
Grayson County's victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-8. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.1 runs over those games. As for Barren County, their record now sits at 11-6.
Everything went Barren County's way against Grayson County in their previous meeting back in March, as Barren County made off with an 8-2 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Trojans since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
