Whitley County Baseball three wins from state title

And then there were eight…baseball teams remaining.

Whitley County’s route to a state baseball championship still has some unknowns, but the first step in Lexington is against Lyon County at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

The Colonels and Lyons met early in the regular season at McCracken County with Whitley County winning in eight innings, 4-1.

“”We play a really good baseball team,” said Whitley County Coach Jeremy Shope of Lyon County.

“They threw their number two pitcher who held us scoreless,” Shope said. “We got to the relief in the eight. We did the same thing to them.”

Throughout the post season, Coach Jeremy Shope has repeatedly said that regular season performances and records should not be taken into account.

“Post season comes and you can throw out all stats,” Shope said. “Guys are competing because they don’t want their season to end.”

Shope said the Colonels must continue to do what they have done all season, which is play good defense and fundamentally sound baseball.

“Each man has a job to do,” Shope said. “We have brought that philosophy all season long.”

Shope said even with the potential of three games in three days, the entire pitching staff will be available in every game.

As to who will get the ball to start on Thursday, Shope said that will likely be a decision he will make on Thursday.

While Caden Petrey started last Saturday against Raceland, Shope said he is sore.

Legends Field, the home of the minor league Lexington Legends, will be the largest venue in which the Colonels have played this season.

Shope said while having the larger stands will take some adjustment because of the way the ball appears when it comes off of the bat, playing there will be another ballgame.

In addition, Shope said the Whitley County faithful have come out in force to pack the facilities for the 13th Region Championship and the semi state last Saturday at Morehead State University.

“That is one of the reasons why we have been able to play well and not get caught up in the moment,” Shope said of the fans.

Lyon County defeated Owensboro Catholic in eight innings, 4-3, at Western Kentucky University on Saturday to advance to Lexington.

Whitley County punched its ticket to Lexington on Saturday with a 6-5 win over Raceland at the semi-state held at Morehead State University.

Raceland got on the board in the top of the first against starter Caden Petrey by using a one-out double, single and fielder’s choice to manufacture a run.

The Colonels came right back in the bottom of the first. With Tyler Rose on third and one out, Bryce Anderson lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to tie the game.

The baseball saying that, “walks will haunt” proved correct in the top of the third. With two outs, Petrey walked the next two hitters. A double by the next hitter gave Raceland a 2-1 lead.

The Colonels again responded in their half of the inning, making Raceland pay for two walks.

Petrey drew a walk to lead off, and was replace on the base paths by Rose. One out later, Sam Harp drew a walk to put runners on first and second. After Anderson struck out, Mason Croley’s line drive turned into an error that allowed both runners to score to give Whitley County the 3-2 lead.

With Croley at second, Trevor Downs singled to right field for another run and a 4-2 Colonels lead.

Raceland cut the lead to 4-3 with one run in the top of the fourth inning.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Whitley County got the breathing room it would ultimately need.

With one out and runners on second and third, Mason Croley lined a triple to left field for two RBI’s and a 6-3 Whitley County lead.

Raceland came back with two runs in the top of the sixth inning to close the gap to 6-5.

However, Grant Zehr, who had come on in relief of Petrey with one out in the fifth inning, got the final three outs in the seventh inning to lock up the Whitley County win.

Petrey gave up four runs, all earned, on eight hits, with five strikeouts and three walks over five-and-a-third innings.

The winner of Thursday’s game, will advance to play the winner of Hazard versus Louisville Trinity on Friday for a spot in Saturday’s championship game.

On the other side of the bracket, Collins played McCracken County in the first game on Wednesday, and Danville played Lafayette.

The respective winners will meet at 5 p.m. on Friday for a spot in the championship game.

The championship game is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday at Legends Field.

Fans wanting to attend, must purchase tickets in advance.

Tickets may be purchased online at http://khsaatickets.org.

KHSAA officials noted that there will be no cash or card sales at the gate.

The team left the high school to travel to Lexington at noon on Wednesday and were greeted by a large number of fans as they traveled down Main Street and up to the University of the Cumberlands before heading over to Exit 11.

Fans are encouraged to line the streets downtown to show their support for the team.

For those who can’t make the trip to Lexington, The Country Giant, 104.3, will have the call of the game.

Dave King and Brad Lambdin will go on the air at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday with the game scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

Should the Colonels advance to Friday and Saturday, The Country Giant will broadcast those games as well.