Whitley Co. Colonels defeat Corbin for 2023 13th Region baseball championship

The Whitley County Colonels got out to an early lead against the Corbin Redhounds in the championship game of this year’s 13th Region baseball tournament, eventually going on to win by the final score of 7-1.

The Colonels went up 4-0 in the top of the first inning Thursday evening at Corbin High School. The host Redhounds managed a single run in the bottom of the inning, but that was all the scoring that they could muster. Whitley, meanwhile, added runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings en route to their 7-1 regional championship victory.

The win improves the Colonels to 35-4 on the season ahead of an appearance in next week’s Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Championship Tournament. With the loss, the Corbin Redhounds complete their 2023 campaign with a final overall record of 26 wins and 11 losses.

You have to go back to 2017 to find the last time that a non-50th District team (Knox Central) has represented the 13th Region at state. Whitley County has now won their second regional championship of the last three years, also qualifying for state in 2021. Corbin came out on top of the region tournament in 2022, as well as in 2018 and 2019. There was no high school baseball season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Competition has been fierce between the Colonels and the Redhounds this spring. The two teams first met back on March 21, in the Kentucky 2A Sectional. Whitley came out on top of that encounter, 7-5, as well as both of the regular season district matchups, winning 12-5 on April 25 and 5-1 on April 26.

Corbin finally gained some retribution on May 16, traveling to Whitley County and defeating the Colonels, 7-2, in the finals of this year’s 50th District tournament. However, with Thursday’s victory in the regional finals, Whitley has ensured that they get the last laugh this season.

The Colonels beat Middlesboro and North Laurel to earn their spot in the 2023 13th Region championship game, while the Hounds came out on top in games against Harlan County and Clay County.

Whitley will be facing 5th Region champions LaRue County in round one of the state tourney, with game time currently set for 10 a.m. on Friday, June 2, at Lexington’s Counter Clocks Field (formerly known as Whitaker Bank Ballpark, home of the Lexington Legends). The LaRue Hawks are coming into this matchup with a season record of 22-14 after defeating Washington County, Taylor County and Elizabethtown to secure their regional title.

The winner of Whitley County versus LaRue County will advance to play either Breathitt County or South Warren on Saturday, June 3, also at Counter Clocks Field. Should the Colonels play their way into the state tourney semifinals, they will be in action on June 9 at the University of Kentucky’s Kentucky Proud Park.

Be sure to look in the May 31 print edition of the News Journal for special coverage of the Whitley County Colonels baseball team’s run to the 2023 KHSAA State Tournament.

2023 13th Region All-Tournament team members

From Corbin: Cameron Combs, Kade Elam, Jeremiah Gilbert

From Whitley County: Mason Croley, Sam Harp, Andrew Stack

Tournament MVP: Grant Zehr, Whitley County