For much of the first six innings Monday at Harlan County High School, Harlan senior right hander Baylor Varner was so dominant he didn’t even need a defense. Varner pitched a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts, and only two walks to leadoff hitter DaShaun Smith kept him from a perfect game as the Dragons rolled to a 4-0 victory.

In a game that lasted less then 90 minutes, Varner simply overpowered the HC lineup in earning his third victory on the mound in the Dragons’ last three.

“He was two walks away from a perfect game. I don’t know his pitch count but it wasn’t very much. He’s been efficient like that all year. When he’s pitching, we feel we can’t beat anybody,” Harlan coach Lee Freyer said. “When you give him one or two runs, it’s pretty hard for anyone to overcome. I’m super proud of him and blessed to be able to coach him. This year is coming to an end, but I’m proud of all these guys.”

“When you have these eight guys behind you and a dugout full of guys behind you that makes me confident because I know how hard we’ve prepared,” Varner said.

Harlan County junior Zayden Casolari pitched well enough to win on most night as he scattered six hits while striking out six and walking none. Five HC errors led to four unearned runs.

Eli Freyer led the Harlan offense with two singles. Brody Owens, Jake Brewer and Braxton Bowen added one single each for the 8-7 Dragons.

“We didn’t have very many strikeouts, so they were putting it in play one through nine. When you’re doing that you know it’s a matter of time before a ball finds a gap,” Freyer said. “Timely hits win you a lot of games.”

Perry reached on an error with one out in the third and came around to score when Freyer’s sharp line drive hit into left was misplayed for the second error of the inning.

Freyer and Owens opened the sixth inning with hits. Varner threw wildly to first on Chris Rouse’s sacrifice bunt for one run, then Caiden Jackson grounded out for another. Casolari struck out Brewer for the second out, but Smith had to make the throw to first when the ball hit the ground and Rouse hustled home, kicking the ball out of Smith’s glove for the final run of the night.

The 6-9 Bears tried to bunt several times but Varner recorded three outs with catches on pop ups near the mound. Rouse had a catch in right to end the sixth then ran down a ball hit by Jesse Gilbert near the foul line to open the seventh, Brewer, at short, made a running catch in the outfield for the second out before Varner fanned Gunner Burkhart to complete the no-hitter.

“Varner pitched a good game and made some tough plays off the mound. Against a guy on like that, you have to be able to get some bunts down, small ball, and shorten it up. We just didn’t get that done tonight,” Harlan County coach Scotty Bailey said. “I thought Zayden pitched well tonight. We’ve got to find some ways to get him some runs when he’s throwing it like he did tonight.”

The two teams meet again on Tuesday at Harlan.

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Harlan 001 003 0 — 4. 6. 0

Harlan County 000 000 0 — 0. 0. 5

Varner and Shelton; Casolari and Smith. WP — Varner (3-4). LP — Casolari (3-4).

Harlan County’s DaShaun Smith headed for third on a steal as Brody Owens awaited the throw. Smith was the lpne bright spot on offense for HC with two walks and three steals in a 4-0 loss. (Kim Henson)