LEXINGTON — Final Four bound.
Whitley County’s baseball team continued to make program history on Saturday by notching its first-ever Final Four appearance in the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Baseball State Tournament.
The Colonels (37-4) fought back from a 4-0 deficit to defeat South Warren, 7-4, in quarterfinal action on Saturday.
“It’s just a special win for our program, our school, and our community,” Whitley County coach Jeremy Shope said. “The way we competed, we consider us as a bunch of blue-collared guys. No matter the situation, you get down or your up, you just battle, battle, and battle. Our guys brought it tonight, and they competed. No matter the outcome, we were going to be proud of them. We get another week of practice, and we get to play another game.”
Matthew Wright’s two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning broke open a four-all tie and gave Whitley County the lead for good while highlighting a five-run fifth inning.
Grant Zehr got the job done on the mound, recording the win while picking up a save just a day before during the Colonels’ first round win over LaRue County.
Zehr pitched a complete game, allowing only six hits, and four earned runs. He also delivered a two-run single in the third inning that began Whitley County’s rally.
The Colonels will face-off against Henderson County (20-17) during Friday’s semifinal action at 6:30 p.m. at Kentucky Proud Park.
After two scoreless innings to begin the game, South Warren got on the scoreboard first.
The Spartans tagged Whitley County four four runs to take a 4-0 edge in the top of the third inning.
A run-scoring single by Camden Page gave South Warren a 1-0 lead while a groundout by Ty Croghan increased the Spartans’ lead to 2-0. Ethan Reynolds followed with a two-run homer, increasing his team’s lead to 4-0.
The Colonels remained focus, and began chipping away at their deficit.
Zehr’s two-run double in the bottom of the third inning, cut Whitley County’s deficit to 4-2, as Bryce Anderson, and Andrew Stack each scored.
The game remained at 4-2 until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Colonels exploded for five runs.
Shane Parker led the inning off with a single and scored on Sam Harp’s single to make the score, 4-3. Zehr later scored after Mason Croley reached on a fielder’s choice to tie the game at four apiece.
A two-run triple by Matthew Wright, scored both Harp, and Croley to give Whitley County its first lead of the contest at 6-4. A run-scoring double by RJ Osborne one batter later, scored Wright while giving the Colonels a comfortable 7-4 edge heading into the sixth inning.
Zehr took over during the final two innings, and shut down South Warren’s bats allowing Whitley County to move on to Friday’s Final Four.
