LEAVITTSBURG — All season, Harding has been powered by its defense and pitching. Friday, it did the same.
Pitcher Khalef Freeman threw 71 pitches in a complete game for the Raiders, helping down LaBrae, 5-3.
“Good pitching and timely hitting,” Harding coach Andrew Burnett said. “Our defense is solid. Khalef threw a complete game with 71 pitches, so I mean, when you’re throwing strikes, and we’re making plays, it’s a fun baseball game.
“They’re a good team. They played solid and we knew they would. We got some bunts down early and got some guys moving, and it worked out.”
Harding struck first, putting two runs on the board in the top of the first.
That’s been a source for success all season for the Raiders. When they score first, things tend to go well for them.
“We just had that talk. When we score first, we’re a really good baseball team,” Burnett said. “They calm down a little bit, we make some great defensive plays. Everybody’s relaxed. We start putting the ball in play. We’re a fast, athletic team. We get on base, and it causes havoc, so things go well when we score first.”
After LaBrae scored its first run of the afternoon, the Raiders responded with a pair of their own in the top of the fifth.
Freeman, Bryttain Fuller, Jacob Borsic, Elias Johnson, and Airiz Coleman Bey each recorded two hits for Harding.
With the tournament looming, Burnett hopes his team can continue their recent success in the batter’s box while maintaining the defense and pitching that’s propelled it to a 14-10 record this year.
“We just gotta keep putting the ball in play,” Burnett said. “Pitching and defense have been there all year. We just gotta be consistent with the bats. They’ve been heating up, so hopefully we can keep that going.”
The Raiders play Lakeview and Howland before their tournament opener against Avon Lake on May 27.
LaBrae (14-6) clinched its third straight league title on Thursday after a 7-1 victory over Crestview. After the emotional high of that game, Vikings coach Ed Anthony hoped it would carry into Friday’s game, but that spark never came.
“I didn’t see the zest in our team that we usually have at pregame, and that worried me a little bit,” Anthony said. “We tried to get it out with a pep talk or two before the game, but they came out a little flat, and I think that definitely led to our slow start.”
LaBrae looks to rebound on Monday with Western Reserve and Southeast the following day. Their tournament run opens with Mogadore on May 24. With high expectations following another league championship, the Vikings will be doing whatever they can to get quality reps in and keep improving.
We’re not taking anything for granted,” Anthony said. “We have to play well. There’s a lot of expectations out here from the staff to the kids and from the kids to the community. We don’t want to disappoint, but we have to play better than we did today.”
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