One day after seeing their three-game winning streak snapped with an 8-5 loss to the Lee County Lady Generals, the Lady Jackets suffered another setback on Tuesday, falling to the South Laurel Lady Cardinals 8-2 in Middlesboro.

After allowing South Laurel five runs in the first inning, the early Lady Cardinal lead proved too much for the Lady Jackets.

“South Laurel came out ready,” said Middlesboro coach Petie Gilbert. “They drove in five runs in the first inning, and we were just unable to answer back. Credit South Laurel’s pitcher, she did a great job all afternoon. She kept the ball low and outside over the plate, and we had trouble adjusting. We eventually regained our composure and played like we are capable, but they had already built a pretty good lead on us. We were just unable to find the runs we needed.”

The Lady Cardinals got things started quickly, driving in five runs on four hits in the first inning. Chloe Taylor gave South Laurel their first run on an RBI single to right field, driving in Katie Jervis.

After Makayla Blair and Kelsey Dezarn were walked, Karly Gray stepped to the box and delivered a two-RBI single, extending the Lady Cardinal lead to 3-0.

Jaylyn Lewis added two more runs on an RBI double to increase the South Laurel Lead to 5-0 heading into the bottom half of the first inning.

The Lady Jackets answered with a run in the bottom of the first when Jamarah Young drove in Aubrey Sowders on an RBI double to left-center field.

Middlesboro failed to convert any more runs from the second through the fifth inning before adding their final run on a Sowders home run in the sixth.

The Lady Cardinals added two runs in the fifth and a final run in the sixth to secure a six-run victory on the road over the Lady Jackets.

With the loss, Middlesboro moved to 12-13 on the season ahead of their match-up with the George Rogers Clark Lady Cardinals in the Somerset/Pulaski County Showcase on Friday at 9:30 p.m.

With the victory, South Laurel improved to 10-10 on the season ahead of their match-up with McCreary County Central on Thursday.

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Middlesboro 100 001 0 — 2. 5. 3.

South Laurel 500 021 0 — 8. 9. 1.

McCullough and Marcum; Gray and Dezarn. WP — Gray. LP — McCullough.