Kentucky High School Baseball Tournament: Final Four Preview
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, some forget the other 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 down to just four teams. The first round was held at Counter Clocks Field in Lexington, however, Kentucky Proud Park will now play host to the semifinals as teams will battle it out for the state championship.
Here at KSR, we’re previewing 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 will bring to KPP.
Shelby County vs. Apollo | 12:30 PM
Two teams that were “not supposed to be here” will meet in the first game on Friday. Apollo and Shelby County flew under the radar for most of this season. However, once teams arrived at Counter Clocks Field this past week, the Eagles and Rockets looked unaffected by the moment.
Shelby County’s path to the final four included a massive upset of Louisville Eastern. The box score did not read like an upset though, as Shelby County dominated Eastern from the first inning on. The Rockets soared to a 9-2 victory behind an incredible five-run first inning.
Foster Whisman and Myles Strong have been the driving forces behind the Shelby County offense. Kemper Whisman and Jack Willis have commanded the mound in the two starts of the tournament.
Kemper gave up no runs in their first-round victory over McCracken County. Willis then pitched four innings of one-run baseball against Eastern. This begs the question, who will get the ball for the Rockets on Friday? While Whisman may have had the better start, Willis pitched more innings this season and started one more game. Whoever starts for Shelby Country will be able to pitch with the Rockets’ bats behind them. Shelby County’s 12 runs in two tournament games are scary for the remaining three teams.
Apollo entered the tournament with similar expectations from the media. Some would argue that they knew Apollo was better than Beechwood. However, articles and previews would suggest otherwise. The Eagles dismantled Beechwood, 3-0, with Sam Holder clearing the bases on an impressive triple. Noah Cook and second-team all-state member Will Strode combined for seven innings of four-hit baseball.
Then came the matchup with the best team remaining in the tournament for Apollo, Lexington Catholic.
Entering the game, most already imagined a David vs. Goliath matchup of Shelby County and Lexington Catholic in the semifinals. Apollo manager Brandon Dennis thought otherwise.
“We knew coming into this year we had two of the best arms in the entire state,” Dennis said. “So for every game we’ve won this postseason being called an ‘upset,’ but every line we read after (the Beechwood game) talked about how we upset Beechwood, and it’ll be the same story today.”
He was right; a majority of the media attention was centered around the fall of Lexington Catholic, not the surging Eagles. Apollo’s Will Strode has a case for the best player remaining in the tournament. Strode hit 10 homers and 29 RBIs this season, all while sporting a 2.18 ERA. Strode will be the X-factor in Apollo’s bid for a championship appearance.
Henderson County vs. Whitley County | 6:30 PM
Henderson County and Whitley County will meet in the second game of the night for the final spot in the championship.
Most expected Whitley County to achieve this feat after posting a record of 37-4 on the season — the Colonels are not accustomed to losing. They showed this in their two victories over LaRue County and South Warren. Whitley County’s true scare came in the first-round matchup with LaRue County, as the Colonels only squeezed out a narrow 4-3 victory. LaRue fought all game and almost came back in the final few innings to upset Whitley, but the Colonels were able to hang on for the victory.
This seemingly woke Whitley County up as they proceeded to handle South Warren 7-4. South Warren had made a name for itself by returning in the depths of games, but Whitley’s Grant Zehr pitched seven innings of great work to hold off the Spartans.
Whitley County’s stars throughout the season have been Grant Zehr, Bryce Anderson, and Sam Harp. All have enjoyed great tournaments thus far and will look to continue their form. Zehr will almost certainly get the ball for the Colonels, as he has pitched 80 innings this season. Mason Croley will look to be their other man on the mound as he sports a 1.63 ERA in 64 innings pitched this season.
Henderson County is the true underdog remaining as the (also) Colonels finished their regular season with an 18-17 record. However, wins over Pulaski County and Harrison County led Henderson to the semifinals.
The Harrison game was seen as a big upset, as the two H-teams played in an absolute classic. This game could be looked at as a potentially easy win for Whitley County as they look to put an end to the Cinderella story. However, at this point, it seems Henderson is here to stay, and they want to complete their own story. As we all know, the regular season does not matter once you reach the postseason.
Brennan Cates and Dru Meadows will shoulder most of the load for the Henderson County Colonels. The pair led the team in pitching and batting throughout the regular season. Meadows will be the probable starter for the matchup, with Cates available in relief (or visa versa). If this tournament has taught us anything, it is to never to count out the underdog.
We’ll see you at Kentucky Proud Park on Friday.
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