Marlboro County has been on the road for three straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Darlington Falcons at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Marlboro County and Darlington are at an even 5-5 over their past ten head-to-heads.
It may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Marlboro County ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged Darlington out 4-3.
For Darlington's part, Gage McKenzie was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, 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: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances. McKenzie was also big at the plate, 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. Another player making a difference was Shane Oliver, who went 1-for-4 with a triple and a run.
Marlboro County's victory was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs per game. As for Darlington, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-6.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
