Jim Mashek

PURPLES WALK IT OFF AGAINST RUSSELL COUNTY, 12-2; WHITT GLOSICK, GATAHS FOLLOW SUIT, IN 5-4 VICTORY OVER FRANKLIN-SIMPSON

Maybe it was inevitable, but given the level of competition, it was anything but.

The KHSAA 4th Region Baseball Tournament championship game will pit crosstown rivals, Bowling Green High School, and its neighbor a few miles away, the Greenwood Gators.

They’ve already played three times this season.

But the stakes have been raised for this one.

Fifth-ranked Bowling Green (33-5 overall) and Greenwood, ranked No. 23 statewide by MaxPreps, will put all their cards on the table on Wednesday evening at WKU’s Nick Denes Field.

The winner moves on to next week’s KHSAA state tournament, to begin Thursday at Lexington’s Kentucky Proud Park. The loser will close the books on an outstanding season and move on to the 2026-27 academic year.

Rare air, to be sure.

Bowling Green took the field against tradition-rich Russell County High School, on Tuesday evening, and spotted the Lakers a first-inning run, on a wild pitch that got away from Purples catcher James Yarbrough.

That’s pretty much it, as far as Russell County highlights.

The Purples used a disciplined offensive approach to bury the Lakers, 12-2, before an overflow crowd at The Nick.

And more folks turned out for the second semifinal, pitting Greenwood against Franklin-Simpson High School.

That one had plenty of ebb and flow, and the Wildcats seemed poised to make something happen in the late innings.

Greenwood senior Whitt Glosick had other ideas.

Glosick sliced a two-out pitch from Franklin-Simpson’s Jordan Brandon into shallow right-center field, a line-drive single that scored Greenwood’s Kioshi Une from third base. The drama brought the jubilant Gators out of their dugout and onto the Nick Denes Field for a wild celebration, as Greenwood reached the KHSAA 4th Region championship game for the first time since 2008.

Greenwood 5, Franklin-Simpson 4.

After winning last week’s KHSAA 14th District title tilt, a 10-1 drubbing of the Purples at South Warren High School, Jaggers tried to keep things in perspective and offered the obvious:

“We’d like to break through,” he said.

Someone is going to break through on Wednesday evening. It’ll either be the resilient Gators, who have won 11 of their last 12 games, or their fierce rival from Rockingham Avenue, the BGHS Purples. Bowling Green has won 12 of its last 13 games, with the loss coming at Greenwood’s hands in the 14th District championship game.

“We executed tonight, from the top to the bottom of the lineup,” BGHS coach Nathan Isenberg said. “We played very unselfish … I thought we played well.

“We have to do it again, (Wednesday) night …”

So there you have it.

Greenwood, ranked No. 23 statewide by MaxPreps, improved to 27-10 with its tense victory over Franklin-Simpson. At 33-5, Bowling Green’s overall record is rivaled only by the likes of No.1-ranked Trinity (35-3) and Whitley County (31-7).

“We want it all. Every day, we’re trying to buy another game,” Jaggers said.

First pitch at The Nick is scheduled for 6 p.m.

BOWLING GREEN 12, RUSSELL COUNTY 2 (FIVE INNINGS)

The Purples left nothing to chance in crushing the Lakers’ hopes, exploding for eight runs in the second inning on their way to a walk-off win of their own.

Sophomore shortstop Colt Isenberg, the younger of Nathan and Rhea Isenberg’s two sons, brought the crowd to its feet with a walk-off RBI triple, a line drive when all the Purples needed was a single.

“Dude was paddin’ his stats,” BGHS senior pitcher/first baseman Logan Johnson said.

Johnson was sporting a wide grin while giving his younger teammate the business. The 6-foot, 195-pound senior right-hander will be the Purples’ starting pitcher against Greenwood on Wednesday night, but Nathan Isenberg has several options when he goes to the BGHS bullpen.

“It’s been our goal, everybody’s goal, since Day One,” Johnson said. “Get to the state tournament, see what we can do …”

Bowling Green collected 18 hits — four of them for extra bases — against Russell County pitchers Tanner Stringer and Tate Reynolds. The Purples used two pitchers themselves, with junior right-hander Grayson Rodgers working the first three innings before giving way to BGHS senior Hudson Nottmeier.

Nottmeier, pitching for the first time in about two weeks, simply challenged the Lakers’ batters and let his defense take care of the details.

“We just go out and play our game,” Nottmeier said.

Given all the variables in baseball — luck included — that’s a tall order indeed.

But Bowling Green understands the task at hand.

“The fun thing about this group, is they like to be coached,” said Greg Scheer, Nathan Insenberg’s first-year BGHS pitching coach.

Scheer has mentored the young and veteran arms alike. He accompanied eighth grade phenom Henry Phillips to the BGHS bullpen on Monday, when the Purples were stopping Barren County, 6-2, in quarterfinal play. Isenberg has given Scheer plenty of autonomy,

The Purples are looking for their first 4th Region title since 2021, when they defeated Franklin-Simpson, 7-1, in the championship game at WKU’s Nick Denes Field. They’re also looking for the school’s first state championship since 1965, just three or four generations before these BGHS teenagers were decked out in purple and gold.

Bowling Green had several individual standouts, including senior catcher James Yarbrough, who went 3-for-3 while providing sturdy defense behind the plate, along with fellow seniors Hudson Nottmeier, (2-for-3, three RBI, two innings pitched), senior third baseman Matt Mosley (3-for-4, two RBI), sophomore shortstop Colt Isenberg (3-for-4, along with several key defensive plays) and senior first baseman Logan Johnson (2-for-3, three RBI).

Isenberg made a leaping grab of a line drive off the bat of Russell County’s Alden Brumbley to deny the Lakers the chance at a big inning in their first at bat. BGHS right-hander Grayson Rodgers retired the next RCHS batter he faced, DH Luke Walters, on a ground ball to limit the Lakers to just a single run in the top of the first.

“It was kind of a little duck snort to shallow left field,” Isenberg said with a grin.

Bowling Green answered with two runs in the bottom of the first, before blowing the game open with its eight-run blitzkrieg in the second.

The Purples sent 11 batters to the plate in that frame, and there was no lookin’ back.

“We just wanted to chip away, get some runs in every inning,” Colt Isenberg said.

The Purples came close enough, and now they’ll be playing for a chance to go to the state tournament.

“Once we got the kinks worked out, it was pretty smooth sailing,” said junior BGHS right-hander Grayson Rodgers, who remained unbeaten in five decisions.

BGHS coach Nathan Isenberg said senior right-hander Logan Johnson (6-2, 0.93 ERA) will be his starting pitcher in the 4th Region championship game against Greenwood.

GREENWOOD 5, FRANKLIN-SIMPSON 4

Not to be outdone, Greenwood took the field against nearby rival Franklin-Simpson for the third time this season, again with much bigger stakes than the Wildcats’ previous two victories over GHS coach Jason Jaggers’ squad. That included a 5-4 triumph over the Gators at Greenwood’s Corey Hart Ballpark/Aaron Fletcher Field, one of the Wildcats’ final non-district games of the season.

“In high school ball, it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season,” Greenwood second baseman Jackson Lee said.

Greenwood scored its first four runs in somewhat conventional fashion, two on sacrifice fly balls from GHS teammates Ethan York and Griffin Veazey. The Gators also made a star out of sophomore pinch runner Corbin Johnson, who scored twice as a courtesy runner for Veazey, Greenwood’s sturdy senior catcher.

Including the winning run.

Greenwood’s players and coaches, along with their parents and fans, almost had to be chased off Nick Denes Field, with the 11 o’clock hour looming, and the Gatahs had reason to embrace the victory.

“These kids have a belief,” Jaggers said. “They just believe, man … They don’t quit.”

That persistence paid off against Franklin-Simpson.

Senior pitcher/infielder Whitt Glosick, one of the Gators’ team captains, worked the first five innings on the mound before moving to second base for the top of the sixth inning.

Only trouble, however, is that Greenwood senior right-hander Henry Justice was struggling with is location, and the Wildcats had just pulled to within one run of tying the game. Franklin-Simpson DH Jaxon Gass ripped a pitch from Justice into right-center field for a two-run double, making it 4-3 and bringing Jaggers out of the Greenwood dugout.

At that point, Jaggers made an interesting move.

Glosick returned to the pitcher’s mound, and he’d give up a run-scoring double to the Wildcats’ Owen Lockley before retiring the side in the sixth.

With the score tied at 4, however, Glosick retired the Wildcats in order in the top of the seventh.

That created a buzz in the stands, and wouldn’t you know it, Greenwood shortstop Kioshi Une led off the bottom of the seventh with an infield single.

(Une went 3-for-3 with two runs scored on the night, but he also had a base running mistake that cost Greenwood a critical out in the third inning.)

Jackson Lee would get down the sacrifice bunt, sending Une to second base and keeping the Gators out a potential double-play ground ball.

Henry Justice followed with a high hopper to shortstop, and Une got to third base before the Wildcats’ Brady Delk could make a play on the lead runner. Justice was out by a step at first base, bringing Glosick to the plate with the potential winning run at third base.

Glosick took an aggressive approach and lined the pitch from Franklin-Simpson’s Jordan Brandon into right-center field, bringing Une across the plate and the rest of the Gators out of their dugout.

The winning pitcher delivered the game-winning hit, and believe it or not, he had a premonition about making something like that happen.

Glosick, you see, is a bit undersized, and a few months ago, he decided he wouldn’t pursue a college baseball career.

“This is my last run,” Glosick said moments before the stadium lights were dimmed. “We’ve got a group text, of our (Greenwood) seniors, and I told them this was our time.

“When I was on deck, I told Coach (Jason) Jaggers that we were going to walk this off …

“I don’t know if he heard me.”

Glosick’s line drive single closed the door on the Wildcats, who finish another solid season under veteran coach Matthew Wilhite with a 26-13 record. At that point, the Gatahs could turn their attention toward their crosstown rival, Bowling Green High School. Jaggers said the Gators’ coaches were still evaluating their options, as far as a starting pitcher, but that was little more than window dressing at this point.

“As tough as that game was,” Jaggers said, “we’re right where we want to be.”

Batter up.