By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

The Graves County Eagles have been red-hot having won 15 consecutive games, a streak that spans back to April 4.  Justin Hayden has been an integral part of the Eagles run.

For the season the unsigned senior right-hander sports a 6-0 record with a 2.10 ERA.  In 43 innings pitched, Hayden has racked up 68 strikeouts while allowing just 8 walks, obviously showing his ability to consistently fill up the strike zone.

“Justin is definitely a strike-thrower who knows how to pitch,” Graves County head coach Paul Elliott said.  “Velocity wise he typically pitches in the 82-84 range, and we have seen him up to 86 this spring.”

In addition, Hayden has played a key role in the Graves County offense which has averaged seven runs a game in the 15-game winning streak.  For the season, Hayden is hitting .387 with a .508 on base percentage.

Last week in three games for the Eagles, Hayden went 3-for-6 with two doubles and two runs scored while also firing a complete game, one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts. 

Hayden’s performance landed him as a finalist for this week’s Player of the Week honor.  We took to twitter to allow the fans to select the winner from the finalists.  Voting ended at 9:00 PM last evening, and here are the final results.

Justin Hayden, RHP/IF, Graves County HS, 2014 – 174
Caleb Bruner, RHP/IF, Logan County HS, 2015 – 124
Nick King, RHP/OF, Dixie Heights HS, 2014 – 99
Daniel Neal, IF/RHP, South Laurel HS, 2015 – 59

All four players had outstanding performances for their teams last week, and the fans have spoken.

For his performance on the field, Justin Hayden has been selected as this week’s Prep Baseball Report Kentucky Player of the Week.