The senior right-hander struck out 10 and walked three as he improved to 3-0 against district competition.
“I thought he was throwing a little harder in the first couple of innings, but he said he was fine and couldn’t find a rhythm,” Bell County coach John Smith said. “He’s stepped up every time in big district games and wanted the baseball. He went out and did his job. He stays around the plate and keeps our defense on its toes.”
“He did a great job. He made us look bad,” Harlan County coach John Lewis said.
Harlan County (6-11) lost its third straight game and has been held to only five hits during that span. Singles by Jared Garland, in the first inning, and Paul David Creech, in the sixth, were the only hits for the Black Bears.
Adam Overbay led the Bell County (13-3) offense with a double and two singles. Shawnta Zachery and Monte Merrick each singled twice. Ricky Pletcher and Robby Slusher added a triple and double, respectively.
Bell took a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Overbay and Zachery led off with singles and scored on Slusher’s two-run double. Pletcher tripled to open the second inning and scored on Merrick’s sacrifice fly.
Creech retired eight straight Bobcats before running into trouble in the fifth. Merrick singled and scored on a double by Zachery. Greer’s RBI single pushed the lead to 5-0. Two more runs scored on an error by Creech, who threw to third base instead of going to first base for the final out.
“Mental mistakes got us today,” Lewis said. “You have to keep your mental mistakes down. Not many teams go through a whole game without making at least one or so, but you have to minimize it.”
Merrick, Overbay and Zachery opened the sixth inning with singles. Slusher’s sacrifice fly brought in one run, and the final run scored on an error.
Harlan County missed scoring opportunities early, leaving two runners on in the first and second innings.
“We had a guy on third base twice base in the first three innings, when it was a 3-0 game,” Lewis said. “We had some opportunities.”
The best-of-three game series continues today at the James A. Cawood Elementary School field at 6 p.m. If the Bears win, the series will conclude Wednesday at JACES.
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Harlan County 000 000 0 — 0 2 3
Bell County 210 042 x — 9 10 2
Creech and Boggs; Greer and Simpson. W—Greer, 3-0. L—Creech, 1-2
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