"(Parker) threw well today; his curveballs were breaking well, and he gassed it up early with his fastballs," Whitley coach Tommy Greer said.
On numerous occasions, Parker found himself in trouble but battled back with the help of his defense, stranding seven Green Dragons in the game.
"We've got to have kids step up in the lineup. We had a couple of kids out, two starters and two of our top hitters, but hopefully we'll get better learning from our mistakes," Harlan coach David Evans said.
The Colonels broke open a 4-2 game in the sixth inning with three hits and three Harlan errors.
Sophomore Matt Strickland drove in Corey Snapp from third after an error on the left fielder.
Jeremy Taylor followed with a sacrifice groundout to score Adam Prewitt for a 6-2 lead. Taylor was 2-for-3 on the day with four RBIs.
Junior John Nelson's lone at-bat was the dagger as he knocked a pitch from Harlan's Patrick Ball to center field, scoring Jeff Gambrel and Ryan Fox for a 9-2 lead.
Evans said the three-error inning was the difference in the game.
"For us to be competitive against a good, quality team, we have to make the routine plays," he said.
Harlan's Travis Williams scored in the top of the seventh after Taylor dived and missed a catch on a John Smith hit. Smith scored on a passed ball.
Prewitt led the Colonels, going 3-for-3 with three singles. Sophomore Paul Johnson added two hits for Whitley (6-6).
Harlan scored first in its first at-bat when Kevin Harris drove Randy Blakley in with a single to left field.
The Colonels bounced back and scored two runs in both the first and second innings. A two-RBI single from Taylor highlighted the first inning.
Prewitt drove in a run on a sacrifice, and Taylor hit a shot over the second base bag to score Snapp in the second inning.
Harlan (7-4) added one run in the third inning off a Curry line drive that scored Smith.
The Dragons return to action today at home against Knott Central.
Harlan 101 000 2 4 8 7
Whitley Co. 220 005 X 9 10 1
W-Parker (3-1). L-Ball (1-1).
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