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Baylor Varner was back to his dominant self after struggling with command in his first outing of the season Monday in a win at Leslie County that included nine walks. Varner had no such problems Saturday as he struck out 12 and walked only one and alowed only three hits over five shutout innings as the Dragons coasted to a 6-3 win Saturday at Lee, Va.
“Baylor had a dominant performance for us on the mound. He made a behind the back catch on a line-drive that is as good as any play I’ve seen in high school baseball,” Harlan coach Lee Freyer said. “All of his pitches were working today. When he is dialed in like that, he’s really difficult to hit.”
Eli Freyer led the Harlan offense with a double and single. Brody Owens singled twice. Luke Luttrell had a double. Jared Moore added a single.
“Eli is really seeing the ball well right now. With guys on base, he’s been really good. He worked hard this offseason getting stronger. It showed today,” Freyer said. “You want your three and four hole hitters to drive those runners in, and they did that today.”
Owens gave up one earned run and two unearned runs over two innings, striking out four and walking none.
“Brody came in and pitched with a lead. He filled the zone up, and that’s what you want there. He did a good job coming in and closing the game out. We still have some things to clean up, but I’m proud of the effort and energy our guys brought today,” Freyer said.
Harlan scored twice in the second inning and three times in the second to take control early. The Dragons added one more run in fourth before Lee closed the scoring with three runs in the sixth.
“It as a good team win today. We were sharp early and jumped out to a big lead,” Freyer said. “I’d like to see a little bit more of a killer instinct, and that’s something we need to improve on. I was pleased with our situational hitting. We’ve talked a lot about putting the ball in play with runners on and doing a job. We have to move runners over. We executed better moving guys today.”
The 2-1 Dragons play host to Pineville on Monday.
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Harlan 023 100 0 — 6. 7. 1
Lee,Va. 000 003 0 — 3. 5 0
Varner, Owens and Owens, Shelton (6); Robbins, Leonard (4) and Mullins. WP — Varner (1-0). LP — Robbins.

 

South Laurel scored in five of six innings on the way to a 10-2 win Tuesday at Harlan.
Will Alsip and Jacob Culler combined to pitch a three-hitter while surrendering no earned runs.
Freshman outfielder Jaxson Perry led the Dragons with two singles. Baylor Varner added one single.
Luke Luttrell suffered the loss as he gave up four runs on one hit with five strikeouts and five walks in three innings. Eli Freyer allowed one run on one hit with two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Jake Brewer recorded one out. Brody Owens allowed five runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks in three innings.
Harlan (1-1) plays at Williamsburg on Thursday.
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South Laurel 202 141 0 — 10. 8. 3
Harlan 002 000 0 — 2. 3 2
Alsip, Cutler (6) and Sizemore; Luttrell, Freyer (4), Brewer (4), Owens (5) and Owens, Rouse (5). WP — Alsip. LP — Luttrell (0-1).

 

Dragons hold off Leslie comeback to win slugfest in season opener

Up 13-0 midway through the fourth inning, the Harlan Green Dragons appeared headed for an easy win and an early trip back home.
Leslie County had other ideas, scoring 15 runs over the next three innings to make it close before falling 18-16,
“A ton of credit goes to Leslie County. They fought the whole game and never folded. Every time we play each other it’s an absolute dogfight,” Harlan coach Lee Freyer said. “Offensively, we hit the ball exceptionally well, ran the bases well. We had 34 at bats as a team with only three strikeouts so I’m incredibly pleased with our effort at the plate. Guys put the ball in play all night. It was good to see that. I was pleased with our situational hitting. We were getting on base and the heart of our lineup was driving guys in.”
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Senior first baseman/pitcher Jared Moore led Harlan’s 11-hit attack with a home run and double. Luke Luttrell added a triple and double. Brody Owens had a double and single. Eli Freyer singled twice. Jake Brewer, Chris Rouse and Jaxson Perry added one single each.

Baylor Varner shut the Eagles out for three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth as he gave up three runs on one hit. He had nine strikeouts and six walks over 3 2/3 innings, falling one out short of qualifying for a win. Rouse allowed two runs on two hits in one-third of an inning with one strikeout and one walk. Brewer gave up four runs on two hits with two walks and one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning. Freyer allowed three runs on two hits with three walks in one-third of an inning. Moore recorded the win as the only effective reliever as he allowed three runs on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks in two innings.

“On the learning side of things, we have to be better at overcoming adversity,” Freyer said. “Field conditions weren’t the best, but that’s any natural playing surface in the state in the spring. We have to adapt to that better than we did tonight. Also, in the scrimmages our pitching had been really sharp and really crisp pounding the zone. Tonight, there was a bit of a drop off there. When you fall behind hitters it makes you predictable pitching wise. Falling behind leads to walks and hits. If we limit those and limit our errors we will be more successful.”