Jim Mashek

BRADY DELK, FRANKLIN-SIMPSON CRUSH FALCONS, 11-1; BOWLING GREEN TO FACE RUSSELL COUNTY IN OPENING SEMIFINAL TUESDAY

There was no shortage of twists and turns in quarterfinal play of the KHSAA 4th Region Baseball Tournament on Monday at WKU’s Nick Denes Field.

“Survive and advance,” Franklin-Simpson coach Matthew Wilhite said.

And Wilhite’s Wildcats took care of business, like nobody’s business, after a long day of baseball at The Nick.

Franklin-Simpson star Brady Delk, a senior headed to Wabash Valley Community College, hurled a complete game to complete an efficient offense in Monday night’s 11-1 victory over KHSAA 16th District runner-up Monroe County. Franklin-Simpson (26-12 overall) advances to Tuesday’s second semifinal, where a resourceful Greenwood squad awaits.

Greenwood, which has won 10 of its last 11 games, spotted upstart Allen County-Scottsville an early run while looking for its own footing at the plate. The Gators did just enough, scrapping for two third-inning runs before junior right-hander Mason Cosby finished the task at hand in a gritty 2-1 triumph.

“These seniors, I’m super proud of them,” Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers said when it was over. “They’ve stepped up, all year long. They’re leaders in the clubhouse, they’re leaders in the dugout …

“Allen County, we certainly didn’t overlook them. We knew it would be a tight game.”

Allen County-Scottsville struck for a major upset in last week’s KHSAA 15th District Tournament, outlasting host Warren East High School, 3-2, in a 15-inning marathon on Louisville Road. The Patriots seemed equipped to pull off a similar feat against Greenwood, the 16th District champion, but Cosby and the Gators’ air-tight infield defense were up to the challenge.

In the tournament’s early session, Bowling Green High School needed four innings to find its offensive firepower against 15th District champion Barren County. With a 10 a.m. start, that almost seemed logical.

But the Purples’ bats came to life in the fourth, and Bowling Green’s Grayson Rodgers and James Yarbrough delivered a pair of two-run triples, putting BGHS in the driver’s seat behind senior left-hander Jack Cowan.

Cowan and BGHS reliever Henry Phillips, an eighth grader, combined on a sturdy two-hitter as the Purples closed the door on the Trojans, 6-2.

“You’ve just got to execute, grind away,” BGHS coach Nathan Isenberg said.

Bowling Green, ranked fifth statewide by MaxPreps, improved to 32-5 on the season. The Purples will tangle with tradition-rich Russell County in Tuesday’s first semifinal. Russell County ousted Logan County, 6-3, in a rain-plauged second quarterfinal at Nick Denes Field.

Russell County is just 17-21 overall, but the Lakers have won five straight games.

BOWLING GREEN 6, BARREN COUNTY 2

Bowling Green’s Grayson Rodgers connected on a Skyler Potter pitch for a two-run triple to right-center field in the bottom of the fourth inning. That put the Purples in front, 3-2, for the first time of the game.

Then, at the top of the BGHS batting order, senior catcher James Yarbrough ripped a Potter pitch for a two-run triple to the right-field corner, giving Purples left-hander Jack Cowan a little breathing room for the fifth inning.

“I just tried to go with the pitch,” Yarbrough said. “(Potter) threw me a slider and I was able to make good contact.”

Yarbrough does it all for the Purples, in his first full season behind the plate. Cowan struggled with his control at times, issuing three walks in the third inning alone, but he came back strong to work five innings and earn the victory.

BGHS coach Nathan Isenberg decided he’d go with Henry Phillips, an eighth grader who can play virtually any position, before the Purples even took the field. Phillips rewarded his coach’s confidence with two hitless innings, recording two strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh to end it.

“Jack goes out, does his thing, and that’s all you can ask for,” Yarbrough said. “Henry? He’s my boy. I love the pitchers; it’s like a brotherhood out there.”

Cowan said his rosin bag went dry in the bottom of the third inning, and that he was having some difficulty grasping the ball. Cowan is a transfer from Greenwood High School, and the first time he met Phillips on the practice field, he did a double take.

“I thought (Phillips) was a junior or something,” Cowan said.

Isenberg plans to start junior right-hander Grayson Rodgers in Tuesday’s semifinal game against Russell County. The Lakers represented the KHSAA 4th Region in the state tournament in 2024.

GREENWOOD 2, ALLEN COUNTY-SCOTTSVILLE 1

Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers chose to go with sophomore left-hander Ethan York in his squad’s quarterfinal game with Allen County-Scottsville, and the Patriots were able to get on the scoreboard on a second-inning wild pitch.

That prompted Jaggers to make the move to junior right-hander Mason Cosby, perhaps a little before he’d originally planned.

“We were hoping to go a little bit longer, with Ethan,” Jaggers said. “He didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but he fought like crazy. We didn’t make a couple plays behind him (in the second), and I thought that was the best time to make the change.

“If this is the regular season, we probably let (York) work through it. But it being the region tournament, we felt like we needed to change things up a little bit.”

Cosby answered the bell, and then some.

He allowed just one hit, a line-drive single by AC-S third baseman Kodie Stotts in the third, while striking out five batters and walking two. He also was the beneficiary of some solid glove work, particularly by sophomore third baseman Boston Howard.

Howard ended the game when the Patriots tried to steal third base with two outs in the seventh. GHS catcher Griffin Veazey made a perfect throw, and Howard applied the tag on AC-S outfielder Edy Chavez to bring the proceedings to a halt.

“I’ve pitched against (AC-S) before. I was just trying to throw strikes and trust my defense,” Cosby said.

Whitt Glosick, the Gators’ senior infielder/pitcher, went 3-for-3 while driving in a third-inning run on an infield single. Greenwood outfielder Henry Justice collected the other RBI with one-out single through the left side, also in the third.

“We had some trouble adjusting to (WKU’s turf) early, but I think we settled in,” Glosick said. “I don’t think anyone expected a game like that … It’s win or go home.”