The Hardin County Cougars will square off against the Vienna Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Vienna took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Hardin County, who comes in off a win.
Hardin County is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Norris City-Omaha-Enfield with a sharp 13-3 win on Tuesday. The Cougars haven't had any issues with the Fighting Cardinals recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Colin Smith made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. Those runs marked the first that he has scored this season.
Nate Massie
| 04/07/26 vs Norris City-Omaha-Enfield | 2 |
| 04/23/25 vs Crab Orchard | 1 |
| 04/14/25 vs Eldorado | 1 |
| 04/08/25 @ Norris City-Omaha-Enfield | 1 |
In other batting news, Nate Massie was a standout: he got on base in all four of his plate appearances with four runs, two stolen bases, and one RBI. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jacob Gibbons, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.
Hardin County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .618. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Vienna was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their eighth straight defeat. They came up short against Carbondale, falling 11-5.
Trace Moore made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with four RBI and two doubles. Connor Reichert was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs.
Vienna's loss dropped their record down to 4-9. As for Hardin County, their win bumped their record up to 3-4.
Hardin County might still be hurting after the 11-0 defeat they got from Vienna in their previous meeting back in March. Will the Cougars have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
