IS CONSIDERING HIS PITCHING OPTIONS
FOR FRIDAY’s GAME AGAINST HIGHLANDS.
SPARTANS STILL EVALUATING THEIR PITCHING OPTIONS; BLUEBIRDS HAVE WON NINE STRAIGHT
LEXINGTON — South Warren High School’s baseball team is back in the KHSAA State Tournament.
And veteran Spartans coach Chris Gage certainly knows the landscape.
South Warren used an amazing comeback against Warren East in the KHSAA 4th Region championship game to punch its ticket to state, claiming an 8-7 decision in walk-off fashion at WKU’s Nick Denes Field.
The Spartans (30-8 overall) returned to Lexington on Thursday, to take in the South Warren fast-pitch softball team’s first-round game in the state tournmament, and get in one last practice, before they take the field Friday afternoon against Highlands (27-7-1).
The margin of error tends to diminish in this sort of environment, and that’s what the Spartans have in mind as they prepare for their first-round game against the Bluebirds at UK’s Kentucky Proud Park.
“We’ve got to play good baseball, stay in the moment,” Gage said. “All of the teams that make it here are really good.”
WAS ON HAND THURSDAY FOR
THE SPARTANS’ SOFTBALL GAME
IN THE KHSAA STATE TOURNAMENT …
IN THE KHSAA STATE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT.
ONE OF CHRIS GAGE’s PITCHING OPTIONS.
The No. 1-ranked South Warren softball team took a quick exit from its tournament, dropping a 3-1 decision to tough-minded Daviess County on Thursday afternoon at UK’s John Cropp Park. The Spartans took in that game, with the players — some of them with dyed white hair — in the corner of the bleachers, while Gage watched the game from the concourse with his family.
South Warren left-hander Mikey Coradini has battled some tendonitis issues in his throwing shoulder, which led to him being lifted in the second inning of the 4th Region title game against Warren East. Multi-purpose stars Ethan Reynolds and Griffin Rardin finished the game on the mound, and Reynolds has missed the bulk of the season after undergoing hand surgery in April.
The Spartans took another body blow when sophomore outfielder Junior Perkins was hospitalized last week for an emergency appendectomy. Perkins had been playing in center field and batting in the cleanup role, and he’s not expected to be available to play this weekend.
“I’m hoping to get back soon,” Perkins said.
HAS RETURNED FROM HAND SURGERY.
A .335 TEAM BATTING AVERAGE.
IN THE STATE TOURNAMENT IN THREE YEARS.
Reynolds, a WKU signee, ignited the Spartans’ seventh-inning rally with a solo home run to left field, and his performance on the mound allowed South Warren to scratch their way back into the game.
Reynolds and Griffin are two of Gage’s pitching options, along with senior right-hander Austin Allen, but at this point it’s anyone’s guess.
“We might be looking at a ‘Johnny Wholestaff’ situation,” Gage said.
Griffin, the KHSAA 4th Region Player of the Year, is batting .490 with 28 extra-base hits and 44 RBI, all team highs. In 14 games, Reynolds is batting .513 with nine extra-base hits and 14 RBI. Sophomore infielder/pitcher Camden Page has also had a productive year for the Spartans. He’s batting .351 with 25 RBI, and he’s pitched in six games, including four starts.
The Spartans practiced twice this week at WKU’s Nick Denes Field, to help give the Spartans the right feel for playing at UK’s Kentucky Pride Park, which also has an artificial playing surface.
The winner of Friday’s game between South Warren and Highlands will advance to play either McCracken County (29-8) or Lyon County (21-7). McCracken is considered one of the favorites for this year’s state tournament, along with Louisville’s Trinity High School (36-3) and defending champion Pleasure Ridge Park (26-6).
Pleasure Ridge Park opens state tournament play against Corbin (20-17), in a late game scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. EDT start.
Highlands has won nine straight games. Bluebirds coach Brian Benzinger has some pitching options, including Adam Forton (7-2, 1.59 ERA), Jacob Robinson (5-0, 0.94 ERA) and Garrett Wiggins (6-1, 1.39 ERA).
HITS SOME FUNGOES IN MONDAY’s PRACTICE.