The Leslie County Eagles will head out to square off against the Harlan Green Dragons at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with five defeats in a row, Leslie County turned things around against Lee County on Wednesday. They put the hurt on the Bobcats with a sharp 14-7 win. The high-scoring effort was just what the Eagles needed considering they were shut out in their previous game.
Connor Russell looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Rylan Simpson, who went 1-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024. Peyton Fouts was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Harlan came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Black Bears by a score of 8-3. The game was the first time the Green Dragons have beaten the Black Bears on their field since April 25, 2022.
Eli Freyer was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Jake Brewer, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Harlan was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .382. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .350 or higher in four consecutive contests.
Harlan's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-7. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Leslie County, their record is now 5-18.
Leslie County couldn't quite finish off Harlan in their previous meeting back in March and fell 18-16. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
