The Pikeville Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Letcher County Central Cougars at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Pikeville's pitching crew has only allowed 4.1 runs per game this season, so Letcher County Central's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Pikeville took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They blew past Leslie County 6-0.
Pikeville got a big performance out of Grant Tomlinson, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. That double was Tomlinson's first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Bradyn Hall, who went 3-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Pikeville hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Leslie County struck out ten times.
Meanwhile, Letcher County Central had just enough and edged out Pike County Central 3-1 on Tuesday. The Cougars haven't had any issues with the Hawks recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Jaydon Wright and Quentin Williams made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Wright didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out six over five innings pitched. Meanwhile, Williams tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Wright went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI, while Williams got on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases. That's the most stolen bases Williams has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Dawson Kincer was excellent, going 1-for-3 with three stolen bases and two runs. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Keaton Maggard was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI.
Pikeville has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Letcher County Central, they pushed their record up to 12-4 with the win, which was their third straight on the road.
Pikeville came out on top in a nail-biter against Letcher County Central in their previous matchup back in March, sneaking past 9-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
