Lawrence County claims championship

The Lawrence County Wildcats won the 20th Annual Courier Diamond Classiclast week by defeating Hardin County 6-4 in the title game. This is the third consecutive year these two teams have met in the Classic championship game. Lawrence County has reached the title game for four straight years.

The Wildcats picked up a win against Giles County in the quarterfinals before defeating Summertown in one of the semifinal matchups. Hardin County defeated Loretto in the semifinals and Wayne County in the quarterfinals to get to the championship game.

Lawrence County senior Zach White was named the Most Valuable Player for the tournament. White picked up a victory on the mound for Lawrence County and was also solid behind the plate from his catcher position during Lawrence County’s three games.

The Wildcats benefited from a pair of Hardin County errors in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Hardin County tied the game at 2-2 with single runs in each of the first two innings.

Lawrence County added two runs in the third inning on a 2-run home run by junior Colt Kelso. The Wildcats added two more runs in the fourth inning as Hardin County walked in a pair of runs to give the Wildcats a 6-2 advantage.

Hardin County picked up a run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a RBI single by Dakota Lowe to cut the lead to 6-3. The Tigers picked up another run in the seventh after a Lawrence County error to cut the lead to two runs. Hardin County had two runners on before Lawrence County pitcher Miles Gang ended the threat by getting the final out.

Lawrence County’s Cain Lampercht was the winning pitcher. He pitched four innings and allowed two runs. Gang recorded the save by pitching the final three innings.

Hardin County’s B.J. Shutt was charged with the loss for Hardin County. Shutt allowed six runs in over three innings of work.

Hardin County’s Jordan Lambert, Barker Burnham, and Lowe each had two hits in the game. Lawrence County didn’t have a player with multiple hits in the contest.