Kentucky Advances in LLB Great Lakes Regional with 7-6 Win Over Indiana

The mini Bat-Cats from Lexington represented Kentucky well on Monday.

Kentucky’s Little League Baseball squad, Lexington Eastern, was faced with an elimination game matchup against Indiana, whose squad comes from Bedford. Indiana’s team also had the home-field advantage as the Great Lakes Regional tournament takes place in Whitestown, IN, roughly 90 miles from Bedford.

However, as Kentucky always does, blue traveled well and cheered on the boys in white to a narrow 7-6 victory. With this win, Kentucky advances to the semifinals set for Tuesday. The championship game is scheduled for Wednesday with a trip to the Little League World Series on the line.

For those who missed the game, Kentucky trailed by a run in the bottom of the fourth.

The fourth inning is a pivotal time in these six-inning contests, and the clutch gene can be hard to find. However, when Kentucky fans saw the #65 and SCHLARMAN on the back, they knew what was about to happen. Matt Schlarman (the son of the late great UK offensive line coach, John Schlarman) stepped up and ripped a double between third and short that scored the game-tying run.

Matt Schlarman keeping things going! #LLWS pic.twitter.com/mlonjHjBi7

— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 7, 2023

Then, with bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the sixth, Kentucky continued to flex their winning mentality. Lexington Eastern won the game on a passed ball, where there was no play at the plate. Many are saying this is one of the best games of the regionals overall.

Kentucky moves on to the next round of the LLB Great Lakes Region with a wild win over Indiana pic.twitter.com/WpBMMv1tpe

— Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR) August 7, 2023

The last time Kentucky advanced past the regionals was in 2019, as Bowling Green Eastern Little League advanced to the Little League World Series. Follow along to see if the team from central Kentucky can be the first Lexington Little League team to represent the Great Lakes in Williamsport.

Make sure to tune in on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. on ESPN to catch Kentucky in action again.