BASEBALL REGION

 The Corbin Redhounds will take on North Laurel when the 13^th Region Baseball Tournament opens Monday at South Laurel High School.

The North Laurel Jaguars come into the tournament as the team to beat with a region best record, 27-6. The Redhounds are 14-23 on the season.

The teams have met twice this season with North Laurel taking two wins. They won in Corbin, May 7, by a 7-4 score and won in London, 9-6.

“There are a lot of good teams in the tournament,” Corbin Coach Rob Ledington said. “When you get to this level anybody can beat anybody.”

The Redhounds will have ace starter, Trace Vorbeck ready for the opening game Monday at 7 p.m. “Trace Vorbeck is a good pitcher and whoever we decide to throw Trace against will have their hands full. It is not a given that we are going to throw Trace in the opening game. I have to have some time to collect my thoughts and think about what I want to do.”

“I have not studied the region draw that closely yet,” Ledington said. “We are going to compete and we have progressed over the season and have gotten better. We are a completely different team than we were in the middle of the season. We have made a lot of changes.”

“We are a different team, but we are playing better,” Ledington said. “We’ve got just as much of a chance as anyone else does.”

The Redhounds won six of their last ten games, including a huge win over Lexington Paul Laurence Dunbar, 4-2. They defeated Knox Central 7-1 and Whitley County in the first-round of the district 8-7 before losing to South Laurel, 3-2.

North Laurel has won their last five in a row behind the play of UK-bound Zach Storms. The Jaguars beat Knox Central, 13-1, Whitley County, 8-7 (in a come from behind), Rockcastle Co., 9-5, Jackson County 15-1 and Clay County 4-2.

The baseball tournament will begin at 10 a.m. with the Barbourville Tigers taking on Clay County, followed by South Laurel and Harlan County at 1 p.m.

Middlesboro will take on Knox Central at 4 p.m. with Corbin and North Laurel doing battle at 7 p.m.

Admission to the tournament will be $5.

Pre-Tournament Ranking

1. North Laurel

2. Clay County

3. Harlan Co.

4. South Laurel

5. Corbin

6. Middlesboro

7. Barbourville

8. Knox Central