Middlesboro continued to shine on Thursday when the team traveled to Whitley County for a region game. With an impressive showing at the plate over the course of the fourth and fifth innings, the Jackets handed the Colonels a 12-3 defeat.

With the win, Middlesboro has won nine of their last 10 games with their only loss over that span coming against Harlan County on Tuesday. The victory also boosts their region record to 9-4 with the losses coming against Knox Central, Barbourville, Corbin and Harlan County.

Collier Elkins paced the team from the lead-off position. The sophomore finished the game going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and one run. Jeremiah Wilder, Owen McWilliams and Brandon Helton led the team in runs scoring two apiece.

Whitley County tallied eight hits on the night. Caleb Rains led the Colonels going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Kyle Edmisten tallied an RBI on one hit. Chance Dismuke and Jonathan Watson also scored runs on the day.

The game remained scoreless through two innings before Whitley County put a run on the board in the third. An RBI single by Edmisten gave the Colonels a 1-0 lead.

Middlesboro responded with a five-run rally in the fourth. Wilder — a courtesy runner after Jacob Mike hit a double — scored on an RBI single by Lane Perry to tie the game at 1-1. Perry would eventually cross home plate to give the Jackets a 2-1 lead.

McWilliams scored on a wild pitch to increase the Middlesboro lead to 3-1. A two-run double by Elkins widened the margins to 5-1.

Whitley County narrowed the deficit to three runs in the bottom half of the inning. An RBI double by Clay Shelton cut the lead to 5-2.

The Jackets put the game away in the fifth scoring seven runs. A sac-fly followed by an RBI double by Braden Ausmus increased the Middlesboro lead to 7-2. A two-run single by Helton ballooned the lead to 9-2.

RBIs by Elkins, Jacob Spurlock and Perry gave the Jackets a 12-2 lead.

The Colonels scored their final run of the game off an RBI single from Rains to bring the final deficit to nine runs.

Up Next

Middlesboro (14-7) returns to action at 6 p.m. on Tuesday when they travel to Corbin (17-6).

Whitley County (16-8) will host Boyle County (16-3) on Saturday.

Reach Anthony Cloud at 606-302-9090 or on Twitter @AnthonyCloudMDN