PLAYING FOR KEEPS IN THE 14TH DISTRICT
They’ve been working for the last three months or so. Batting practice, infield/outfield, bullpen sessions, weight training. Bus trips, weekend tournaments, and when the time comes, KHSAA 14th District play.
Time to put that grind in the rear-view mirror.
The KHSAA 14th District Tournament unfolds Monday evening, with No. 1 seed Bowling Green High School making the short trip down Nashville Road to face host school South Warren at 5 p.m. Warren East, the second seed, will square off with Greenwood in the nightcap, and the stakes could not be any higher.
Win, you keep playing, into the Memorial Day weekend and the KHSAA’s 4th Region Tournament at WKU’s Nick Denes Field.
Lose, and you call it a year, pack your gear, and make plans for the summer.
It’s an unusual format, at least compared to other states’ high school baseball formats. The larger schools in Texas, Georgia, Alabama and other Southern states all use a best-of-three series to Jim which teams advance in the playoffs, at least in the formative stage in the postseason.
AN IMPRESSIVE 5-1 RECORD WITH A 2.08 ERA.
Bowling Green (23-8) is the Commonwealth’s fifth-ranked team, sporting a deep, talented pitching staff after an unbeaten regular season in 14th District play. The Purples have a top-flight college prospect in senior shortstop/pitcher Patrick Forbes, who has signed with the University of Louisville and leads KHSAA players with 14 home runs on the season.
South Warren, on the other hand, won just one game in 14th District play. The Spartans did finish 17-14 overall, while winning eight of their last 12 games, not including forfeit victories over Warren Central, which didn’t finish regular-season play.
South coach Chris Gage has built a solid program, however, and the Spartans are certainly capable of winning Monday and bringing Bowling Green’s impressive season to a screeching halt.
Also, a victory over BGHS would mean the Spartans would advance to the KHSAA’s 4th Region Tournament, at WKU. The championship game scheduled for Tuesday will determine the seeding for regional play, and South Warren will be playing at home.
And playing with house money.
“We have nothing to lose,” Gage said Sunday night. “We’ve been in the other role before, too. Bowling Green has Division I arms, and they’re a very talented offensive team, too.
“You’ve just got to go out and play.”
BGHS coach Nate Isenberg was far from pleased with the Purples’ performance in their final regular-season game, an 11-1 setback to Henderson County in five innings. On Bowling Green’s home turf. So Isenberg and his squad hit the practice field on Sunday, which they did at Warren East, Greenwood and South Warren, too.
“I’ve told the kids, several times, ‘Don’t scoreboard watch’ when we get to the district tournament,” Isenberg said. “There’s gonna be upsets. Count on it.”
Bowling Green sports an impressive .374 team batting average, easily the highest of the four 14th District teams in the tournament. Patrick Forbes, who has drawn plenty of attention from MLB scouts over the last few weeks, leads the way with a .600 batting average, 14 home runs and 55 RBI.
In 30 games.
WILL PITCH AT WKU NEXT SEASON.
The rest of the Purples’ lineup includes singles-and-doubles hitters, including senior center fielder Turner Nuttmeier (.392, 13 extra-base hits, 45 RBI), senior first baseman/DH Nathaniel Roof (.385, 37 RBI) and senior infielder Blake Ginter (.386, 41 runs scored). Freshman first baseman/DH Drew Isenberg, the son of the BGHS head coach, hits NINTH in the batting order and is hitting the ball at a .458 clip with 17 RBI and just two strikeouts in 48 at bats.
Nate Isenberg hasn’t announced a starting pitcher, but it’s believed he will go with either senior right-hander Dawson Hall (6-2, 3.56 ERA) or junior left-hander Dillon Maners (5-1, 1.96 ERA). Out of the bullpen, Patrick Forbes (2-1, 2.76 ERA) has recorded 45 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings, while Isaiah Head (2-0, 4.32 ERA in 11 1/3 innings pitched) and senior right-hander Tate Franks (5-1, 3.00 ERA, 28 innings pitched) are other possibilities.
Bowling Green may be a strong favorite, even a prohibitive favorite, in the 14th District Tournament, but South Warren certainly is capable of knocking off the Purples.
“I think our guys will be ready to rebound after that poor game with Henderson County,” Nate Isenberg said, “but it’s ‘one game at a time.’ I think we can be as good as any team in the state, but you can’t have that ‘bad day.'”
Chris Gage would be quick to agree.
“We didn’t play very well in district play,” Gage said, “and Bowling Green has a lot of pitching depth, and typically that will work to their advantage. I’ve got a really likeable group of kids. We haven’t seen Dillon Maners this year, so it’s definitely a possibility in this game.”
Gage is outspoken about his disdain for the KHSAA’s format for the state baseball tournament, with one classification for schools of all sizes — like the storied KHSAA Sweet 16 Basketball Tournament — and sudden death games throughout the bracket.
Gage points to the success of longtime Glasgow coach Sam Royse, who has built a strong program over the years despite the school’s relative small size. (In football, the Scotties play at the Class 3A level, compared to 5A for South Warren, Bowling Green and Greenwood, and 4A for Warren Central, Warren East and Franklin-Simpson).
“We’ve played schools from Georgia, from Tennessee, from Florida, and they have either a double-elimination format or best-of-three series,” Gage said. “In Kentucky, we basically play a basketball tournament.”
The KHSAA did implement one change for the 2022 state tournament, as the 15 games will be played at the University of Kentucky’s stadium, Kentucky Proud Park, which opened in 2019. In the last few seasons, the state tournament was held at the run-down Wild Heath Field, the home of the independent leagues’ Lexington Legends.
In the second 14th District Tournament game, Warren East (20-13) will tangle with Greenwood (19-10). Warren East coach Wes Sanford hasn’t announced a starting pitcher, but it’s likely to be senior Austin Comer (4-1, 2.94 ERA) or junior Chase Carver (5-2, 2.41). Carver and Comer also play shortstop, and the Raiders are batting .299 as a team with 69 stolen bases in 82 attempts.
45 STRIKEOUTS IN 25 1/3 INNINGS PITCHED.
“You have one bad day, you’re done,” Sanford said. “We have an idea about our starting pitcher, but we don’t want to say just yet.”
Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers, following suit of the other 14th District coaches, hasn’t disclosed his starting pitcher, either. Sophomore right-hander Blake Marks has been particularly effective of late, and he’s compiled a record with a 2.08 ERA. Other possibilities include senior right-hander Caden Whittle and sophomore 5-1right-hander James Russell (3-2, 2.70 ERA).
The Gators sport a .309 team batting average with seven home runs, 49 extra-base hits and 75 stolen bases in 88 attempts.
The championship game will be held on Tuesday evening.
