For 9- and 10-year-old baseball players, throwing a strike can be one of the most difficult skills in the game.
The Harlan All Stars didn’t have those issues at all in the semifinals of the District 4 Tournament (east division) at Huff Park. Three pitchers combined on a four-hitter with no walks on the way to a 15-1 four-inning victory Friday.
“We’ve focused on pitching this year, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how our kids threw the ball. We threw strikes and that’s what it takes,” Harlan All Stars coach Steven Johnson said.
Seth Johnson gave up one hit with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings on the mound. Weston Nolan struck out three and allowed one hit in 1 1/3 innings. Cian Garland allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout in one inning.
Landen Spurlock led Harlan’s eight-hit attack with four RBI on a triple and single from the bottom spot in the order.
“That was sort of a strategic thing with two leadoff hitters, including one at the bottom of the lineup,” Johnson said. “He has been hitting it well in practice. He had a huge hit to get us started. He got the game ball today. He did an awesome job today.”
Bryson Millis also had a triple and single. Nolan, Brylee Southerland, Lakin Smith and Deacon Lisenbee added one single each.
“These kids can absolutely hit the ball. I’ve seen it in practice,” Johnson said. “If we keep doing that, we have a chance to win this thing.”
After two scoreless innings, Harlan broke through in the third inning as Lisenbee was hit by a pitch and Easton Halcomb walked before Spurlock’s triple to right made it 2-0. Nolan, Helton and Johnson drew consecutive walks. Southerland was hit by a pitch to force in one run, then Maddox Landa hit into a fielder’s choice for an RBI. Smith singled home a run for a 6-0 lead.
Grant Caldwell walked, Lisenbee singled and Halcomb walked to load the bases with no outs in the fourth inning before Spurlock came through again with another two-out hit. Nolan followed with a single before Helton was hit by a pitch to bring in a run. Johnson walked to force in a run, then Southerland hit into a fielder’s choice for an RBI. Helton scored on a wild pitch for a 12-0 lead. After Landa walked, two runs scored when Knox pitcher Cooper Stacy threw away Garland’s ground ball. Millis closed the scoring with an RBI single.
Harlan will play the Hazard/Pineville winner for the division championship on Saturday at 6 p.m.
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Harlan 006 9 — 15. 8. 1
Knox County 000 1 — 1. 4. 1
Johnson, Nolan (3), Garland (4) and Millis; Hinkle, Gray (3), Stacy (3) and Graggs. WP — Nolan. LP — Hinkle.