Raiders upend Cumberland County, 8-3

By Steve LeMaster
stevelemastersports@yahoo.com

BURKESVILLE – Winning on the road, McCreary Central pulled upended host Cumberland County 8-3 in an early-season high school baseball game on Monday.
With the win, McCreary Central evened its record to 1-1.
Cumberland County dropped to 0-2 with the loss.
The Raiders entered the win column after falling to Williamsburg in a season opener exactly one week earlier.
McCreary Central sophomore pitcher Blake Corder went the distance, limiting Cumberland County to two hits and earning the win. Corder registered nine strikeouts in the victory.
Cumberland County senior pitcher Brandon Wright suffered the loss, Wright, who split time on the mound with teammate Curtis Atchley, allowed five runs in four innings.
McCreary Central scored first and never trailed. The Raiders, under the direction of head coach Marc Taylor, plated one run in the top half of the first inning.
McCreary Central, after holding Cumberland County scoreless, pushed across three runs in the top half of the second inning to lead 4-0.
The Raiders led 5-0 before Cumberland County answered with its first run. Cumberland County countered with a pair for runs in the second inning but couldn’t get any closer.
The Raiders added three insurance runs in the top half of the seventh inning.
Prior to falling short, Cumberland County scored one run during its final at-bat.
McCreary Central managed to bang out five hits. Sophomore Thaddeus Baird led McCreary Central at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Corder, Connor Campbell, Evan Kidd, Grant Hamner and Nathaniel Griffis added one hit apiece for the Raiders. Kidd and Griffis collected two RBIs each.
The McCreary Central and Cumberland County baseball teams aren’t slated to meet again this season.