Jim Mashek

RAIDERS FINISH SEASON WITH RUNNER-UP TROPHY, 24-14 RECORD

Warren East High School’s baseball squad held its last team meeting of the season underneath the scoreboard lights at WKU’s Nick Denes Field, not to mention Douglas Keen Hall and the university’s tallest dorm, Pearce-Ford Tower.

Veteran coach Wes Sanford tried to get his players to look past Thursday night’s 10-5 loss to Cody Luttrell and the triumphant Russell County Lakers, a tradition-rich squad heading to the KHSAA’s state tournament for the first time since 2009.

The Raiders made a lot of things happen this postseason, knocking off fifth-ranked Bowling Green High School 4-3 in the KHSAA 14th District championship game, not to mention decisive victories over Franklin-Simpson and Clinton County in regional play at Western Kentucky University.

They’ll return loaded for bear in 2023, but that was little solace for East players such as junior infielder/pitcher Drake Young, who took the loss in relief of senior starter Austin Comer.

The Raiders finish the season 24-14.

Russell County scored in every inning but the fifth, collecting 11 hits to sideline Sanford’s squad one victory short of the KHSAA’s prestigious state tournament starting next week in Lexington.

“They’re a really good offensive team,” Young said. “Comer threw his butt off. Nobody expected us to be here … except for us. We really came together as a team this year.”

Longtime Russell County coach Dave Rexroat was certainly impressed with the Raiders, who grabbed a 5-3 lead in the top of the third inning with a 4-spot against Luttrell, the senior left-hander who remained unbeaten in 11 decisions.

The Lakers tied things up in the bottom of the third, when Young moved from third base to the pitcher’s mound in hopes of stopping the bleeding.

Instead, Russell County kept hacking away, forcing Wes Sanford to change pitchers four times over the course of the night.

Sanford wanted his Warren East squad to embrace the journey, to think about the future, and celebrate their accomplishments on the field.

The Raiders dedicated the 2022 season to teammate Tucker Stringfield, who died in a tragic ATV accident in October. They were a resourceful bunch, respectful of their opponents and always poised to put their collective best foot forward.

Logistically, Russell County had a significant advantage, but Sanford and his players didn’t want to talk about that. The Raiders’ semifinal game against Clinton County, Tanner Goad’s impressive 1-hitter in a 9-0 victory over the Bulldogs, was delayed by heavy rain on Tuesday, when the Lakers were riding high with a 7-3 victory over Bowling Green.

Luttrell was needed in that game, to close the door on the Purples, but the day off allowed the Lakers to stay behind in Russell Springs, while Rexroat scouted Warren East’s semifinal on a hot Wednesday afternoon on the WKU campus.

“Our kids were playing for more than a region title,” Sanford said. “They were playing for Tucker … Russell County is a really good team. We played them up at their place about a month ago, and they walked us off on a two-run single in the ninth inning.

“Tonight, we just needed to throw more strikes. They were better than us tonight. We’re proud of what we’ve done, on the field, but sometimes it’s not your night.”

Rexroat stressed patience against Austin Comer, the Raiders’ starting pitcher playing in his last game at Warren East. The Lakers struck for two runs in the first inning, on Nathan Lawson’s RBI single to the left-field corner and cleanup man Isaac Roy’s subsequent sacrifice fly.

The Lakers used a sacrifice bunt, a bloop single to center field and a safety squeeze from leadoff batter Trace Stringer, scoring Evan Hammond, to extend their lead to 3-0 in the second.

“We stayed back, in the batter’s box,” Rexroat said. “We kept hitting line drives and hard grounders. We knew going in that Warren East was a good hitting team.

“When we got to 5-5 (with two runs in the bottom of the third), Cody found another gear on the pitcher’s mound. He started throwing his curveball for strikes. They probably squared it off against Cody as well as anyone we’ve played this season.”

Trouble is, the Lakers could square it better.

Russell County had just ONE extra-base hit, catcher Isaac Roy’s two-run double that hit the fence in left-center field with no outs in the bottom of the fourth. That prompted another pitching change for the Raiders, even though junior infielder/pitcher Colton Edwards had worked just 11 2/3 innings on the mound before Thursday’s championship game.

Warren East catcher Wyatt Nesbitt said Cody Luttrell worked both sides of the plate, and the Lakers’ senior left-hander recorded eight strikeouts, half of them called third strikes.

“(Luttrell) hit his spots. He hit the corners,” Nesbitt said. “The umpire gave him the corners. He made it work.”

Sanford brought the Raiders’ Cam Ford and Tray Price out of the bullpen before it was over, but the Lakers continued to work the count and stay comfortably in front.

“They had really good at bats against Austin Comer,” Sanford said. “They moved up in the batter’s box, took away his curveball. We needed an egg (scoreless inning) on the scoreboard. We couldn’t get the momentum back.

“They’re a relentless offensive team.”

The Lakers (28-6) lingered on the field well after the final out, and they’ll face Madison County on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the University of Kentucky’s baseball facility, the Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington.

Mayes Gosser, the Russell County center fielder, finished with a team-high three hits, while teammates Nathan Lawson, Evan Hammond and Maxon Gosser each added two hits.

“They had Cody Luttrell on the mound and he’s really good,” Sanford said. “He didn’t give an inch. We still had good at bats, but he kept throwing strikes.”

Sending Russell County to the state tournament in the process.