Corbin’s Bradric Helton pitched a two-hitter and pounded out four singles to lead the Redhounds to a 13-1 win over Harlan in the 13th Region Tournament semifinals Thursday at Knox Central.
Helton struck out 12 and walked two to earn the win in the six-inning game.
Noah Cima and Cam Estep each hit homers and added three RBI to lead the Corbin offense. Kade Elam and Clay Botner added two hits each for the 29-10 Hounds.
“Corbin’s a great baseball club,” Harlan coach Lee Freyer said. “They did a great job of playing small ball, then had a couple big hits against us. There are no easy outs in their lineup. We hung tough with them most of the game, but they had those two big innings.”
Jared Moore hit a second-inning homer for the Dragons’ only run. Aiden Johnson singled for the Dragons’ other hit.
“Jared had a big hit for us in the second. He’s been hitting well here lately. I’m always happy for the guys when they get them a home run,” Freyer said. “Those aren’t near as common as they used to be.”
Baylor Varner pitched a complete game for Harlan, giving up 13 runs (11 earned) on 15 hits, with three strikeouts and three walks.
Harlan ended its best season in a decade with a 23-12 record and a 52nd District title. The Dragons bring back most of their key players with only three players graduating.
“It’s not the ending we had hoped for, but we had a great season. We did a lot of things people didn’t expect us to do,” Freyer said. “Maybe we opened some eyes as the season went along. We thank the seniors for the time and sacrifice and now we look forward to next year.”
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Harlan 010 000 — 1. 2. 4
Corbin 050 053 — 13. 15. 0
Varner and Owens; Helton and Neal. WP — Helton. LP — Varner (5-5). HR — Harlan, Moore (1), Corbin, Cima, Estep.