Hazard baseball goes 2-1 in busy mid-May stretch

Hazard High School’s baseball team packed a lot into three games in three days, and the results offered a sharp snapshot of where Boothe’s Bulldogs stood in mid-May: dangerous, productive and still a little uneven. Hazard blanked Floyd Central 11-0, fell 3-2 at Clay County, then rebounded with a 16-1 win over Martin County, a stretch that showed both the ceiling and the volatility that can define a small-school Kentucky club heading toward postseason play.

The shutout of Floyd Central stood out because Hazard had already beaten the Jaguars 13-1 earlier in the season, and the 11-run performance came after the Bulldogs’ hitters had been struggling. In other words, the bats finally matched the pitching. That balance mattered for a Perry County team that has to make the most of every chance, especially when a lineup can flip from quiet to explosive in one night.

The brief trip to Clay County brought the reminder that close games still test Hazard. The Bulldogs lost 3-2 on Thursday, May 14, after entering the game having dropped six of their previous seven and sitting at 15-19 overall. Five different Hazard players collected at least one hit, and Jakoby Little went 1-for-3 with a run, a double and an RBI, but it was not enough against the Tigers. Clay County had also beaten Hazard 13-3 in April 2024, a sign that the matchup has not always broken the Bulldogs’ way when the margin gets tight.

Hazard’s response against Martin County was the kind of bounce-back coaches want to see in May. The 16-1 win gave the Bulldogs a lopsided victory over the Cardinals and kept them from carrying the Clay County loss into a longer slide. The schedule itself underscored the challenge, with Hazard playing multiple days in a row in a dense late-season stretch that can strain pitching, defense and lineup depth.

The individual numbers help explain why Hazard still looked like a team that could matter in Region 14. Tucker Napier led the Bulldogs with a .500 batting average and a .602 on-base percentage. Trace Kincaid topped the roster with three home runs and 16 stolen bases. Clint Davidson carried a 1.31 ERA, and Isaac Begley posted a .976 fielding percentage. That combination of contact, power, speed, pitching and defense is why Hazard can look imposing when everything clicks, and why this week raised the same postseason question Perry County fans will keep asking: are the Bulldogs peaking at the right time, or still too inconsistent to survive the games ahead?