CORBIN — The 13th Region Baseball Tournament is set, and will begin Monday at Corbin High School.
Whitley County (32-4), and Corbin (24-9) will enter the tournament as favorites while teams such as North Laurel (16-16), Clay County (19-11-1), Middlesboro (16-10), and Harlan County (17-12) have a good shot at making noise as well. Both Knox Central (16-12), and Barbourville (11-14) are teams to keep an eye on.
Host Corbin and Harlan County will open the tournament Monday at 6 p.m.
The two teams didn’t play each other this season, and the Redhounds will enter the game as favorites.
Corbin has three players (Walker Landrum, Kade Elam, and Noah Cima) batting over .400 while it’s pitching staff is loaded with arms. Cruz Cima is 7-1 with a 3.09 ERA while Bradric Helton is 5-3 with a 2.62 ERA, and 64 Ks. Jeremiah Gilbert is 6-2 with a 3.17 ERA.
“It’s always a tough road, everyone that’s made it to this point has a few good arms and are capable of beating anyone,” Corbin coach Cody Philpot said. “We’ll have to be ready but I love my guys and we’ll give it our best shot every time out.”
The Black Bears are a dangerous first round opponent. Jonah Swanner leads the way at the plate with a .439 batting average while garnering 29 hits, 24 runs scored, and 24 stolen bases. Tristan Cooper, and Alex Creech both have six wins on the season. Cooper has 80 strikeouts, and a 2.09 ERA while has 70 Ks, and a 3.36 ERA.
The nightcap on Monday features red-hot Clay County against Barbourville. The two teams didn’t play each other this season.
The Tigers enter the game riding a three-game win streak while winning eight of their last 10 games.
They’re led by 13th Region Player of the Year Brandon Crawford, who is batting .475 with 10 home runs, 41 runs scored, 38 hits, 37 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. He also has five wins, and one save on the mound along with a 76 strikeouts, and a 1.75 ERA. Eighth grader Luke Hillard has come on strong as well, going 5-3 with 47 Ks, and a 1.33 ERA.
Knox Central versus North Laurel will begin things Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Jaguars won both meetings between the two teams on March 27, 9-3, and April 10, 5-3.
Walt Hellard leads North Laurel with a .337 average while 32 hits, 25 runs, and 24 RBI. EJ Allen leads the Jaguars with four runs, and three saves. He also has a 2.56 ERA.
“Of course, we were wanting to stay away from Corbin first round, and we did,” North Laurel coach Darrin McWhorter said. “But we are playing a Knox team we have played and beat twice, but Casey Bright is the great equalizer. We have seen him in both games and had very little success against the lefty pitcher. Hopefully, we can have more success this time around.”
Brady Engle leads the Panthers with a .388 average while driving in 21 runs with 37 hits. He also scored 31 times, and stolen 27 bases. Casey Bright leads the way on the mound, with a 4-2 record, and 3.23 ERA.
The nightcap on Tuesday will feature Whitley County vs. Middlesboro. The Yellow Jackets enter the game red-hot with a three-game win streak while winning six of their last seven games.
The Colonels saw their 12-game win streak come to an end with a 7-2 loss to Corbin in the 50th District title game.
The two teams haven’t met this season as the Colonels are led by Sam Harp’s .467 batting average. He’s collected 49 hits, 44 RBI, 11 doubles, two triples, one home run, and 16 stolen bases.
Bradyn Bargo is 9-0 with a 1.74 ERA while Mason Croley is 11-1 with a 1.62 ERA while Grant Zehr is 7-1 while garnering a 1.75 ERA.
“We play Middlesboro during the first round, and we have not played them this year,” Whitley County coach Jeremy Shope said. “We will gather some information on them and get ready to go. Our guys are going to be itching to get after it. We will have some good days of work to get ready.”
Middlesboro is led by Conner Winterberger. He’s batting .456 with nine stolen bases, 26 hits, 23 runs scored, nine double, and two home runs.
Case Bayless leads the way pitching with a 4-3 mark while holding a 4.12.
13th Region Baseball Tournament
At Corbin High School
First round
Monday, May 22
Corbin vs. Harlan County, 6 p.m.
Clay County vs. Barbourville, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, May 23
Knox Central vs. North Laurel, 6 p.m.
Whitley County vs. Middlesboro, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, May 24
Semifinals
6 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Thursday, May 25
Finals
L4 Security 13th Region Media Network
Tournament Rankings
1. Whitley County
2. Corbin
3. Clay County
4. North Laurel
5. Middlesboro
6. Knox Central
7. Harlan County
8. Barbourville
13th Region RPI Tournament Team Ratings
1. Whitley County (.68319)
2. Corbin (.61515)
3. North Laurel (.54298)
4. Clay County (.54119)
5. Harlan County (.52662)
6. Middlesboro (.51142)
7. Knox Central (.50808)
8. Barbourville (.4367)
