Kentucky High School Baseball Tournament: Final Four Recap
Baseball is on the mind of Kentuckians as the University of Kentucky baseball team won the Lexington Regional. Starting on Saturday, the Bat ‘Cats will play in Baton Rouge to take on the fifth-ranked LSU Tigers in the Super Regionals.
However, with all the (well-deserved) hype around Nick Mingione’s program, there’s another baseball tournament happening in Lexington. Young stars will look to make history for their schools on the diamond as the 2023 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Baseball State Tournament is now down to just four teams. The first two rounds were held at Counter Clocks Field in Lexington, but Kentucky Proud Park played host to the semifinals.
Here at KSR, we’re recapping the matchups where Brady the Intern is on-site for this year’s iteration of the playoffs. After the first two rounds concluded last weekend, let’s see what Friday’s semifinals brought to KPP.
Shelby County 2, Apollo 1
Starting things off in the final four, Shelby County and Apollo went to battle in an absolute classic. The Rockets and Eagles presented a defensive masterclass from both sides. Throughout the game, the momentum shifted multiple times, with both teams making incredible plays.
Shelby County and Apollo entered the game with supreme confidence as both ran through Counter Clocks Field last week. Apollo shut out Beechwood in their first-round matchup after defeating Muhlenberg County in the 3rd Region championship. The Eagles followed these victories with a huge upset victory over Lexington Catholic, which was considered the best team remaining in the field at the time.
Nevertheless, Apollo knocked the Knights out with a resounding 7-3 victory to punch their ticket to Friday. On the other hand, Shelby County went unscathed at Counter Clocks Field with wins over Eastern and McCracken County. This came after the Rockets narrowly escaped Woodford County in nine innings in the 8th Region championship.
Neither team had much problem scoring in their first and second-round matchups. However, this matchup caused both offenses to stall and made for an excellent game for fans at Kentucky Proud Park.
Shelby County struck first in the second inning as a Tony Bailey single brought home Freddie Stohlman to give the Rockets a run with only two hits. Most would assume runs would come in bunches with a team striking this early. However, their next run wouldn’t come for more than another hour.
Great plays from Apollo shortstop Garrett Lanham and catcher Michael Chaney kept the Shelby County offense in check — they were even with seven hits in five innings. Chaney kept the Rockets from scoring position by throwing out four runners attempting to steal second.
Shelby County center fielder Carter White made multiple plays in the outfield to help pitcher Kemper Whisman hold the Eagles to two hits in five innings. In the top of the fourth, Apollo answered as Blandford scored for the Eagles after a throwing error allowed him to take home. The error came following a ground out to third base causing Blandford to take third.
After Shelby County gunned the runner at first, they tried to make the play at third base. So even as Shelby County dominated the hit column, the score read one a piece.
Rockets’ shortstop Hunter Cook entered in the sixth and pitched two innings of no-hit baseball. Cook’s pitching allowed the bats to get going, as Freddie Stohlman singled to begin the bottom of the seventh. Tony Bailey then reached on an error and moved to second. Jack Willis stepped to the plate with runners on second and third and one out. Batting last in the lineup, Willis came through to send the Rockets to the championship with a single into right field.
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That was all she wrote, Rockets advance 2-1 over Apollo.
Whitley County 2, Henderson County 1
Game number two saw another defensive battle as the favorite Whitley County dueled with the underdog Henderson County. Whitley entered the game with an outstanding 37-4 record on the season. The Colonels had only lost one game since the beginning of May. On the other hand, Henderson County entered with a 20-17 record, losing four of five entering district play. Safe to say the two Colonels squads had completely different paths to the playoffs.
Even with the different seasons, they ended up on the same field with a chance to play in the state championship. That is the beauty of Kentucky high school sports, anybody has a chance, and the tournament means everything.
Fans from both ends packed Kentucky Proud Park, with Henderson County fans in maroon and Whitley County faithful in red. Whitley had defeated LaRue County, Corbin, and South Warren to make it to the final four. Henderson County defeated Christian County, Pulaski County, and Harrison County in their path to the semifinals.
Mason Croley started on the mound for Whitley County as Henderson gave the nod to Dru Meadows. Both pitched excellent games, keeping their teams in the contest through all seven innings.
The scoring opened with Whitley County crossing the plate in the third inning. Sam Harp scored Bryce Anderson on a triple that soared over the center fielder’s head. On a smaller high school field, this ball would have been a home run. However, Meadows worked out of the jam by getting a ground out to end the inning.
This run would prove to be huge for Whitley, as the next two innings saw zero hits from both sides until the sixth inning brought some excitement. Whitley County extended their lead with a triple from Grant Zehr and a RBI single from Sam Harp. Henderson County answered with their first run of the game in the bottom half of the inning. The Colonels scored on a sacrifice fly from Cooper Vowels, who scored Zehr.
Entering the seventh inning, Whitley County held a 2-1 lead while only giving up a single hit. They should have been comfortable on paper, but Henderson County was knocking. Grant Zehr entered for Whitley County and shut down Henderson for the win. He proved the moment was not too big.
Whitley County will now meet Shelby County on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. EST inside Kentucky Proud Park for all the marbles.
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