LEXINGTON — The Whitley County Colonels are in unfamiliar territory when it comes to 13th Region teams advancing to the KHSAA State Baseball Tournament’s Final Four.
The Colonels (37-4) are the first 13th Region team to reach the semifinals of the state baseball tournament since 2002 when Middlesboro fell to Louisville Trinity.
The only other 13th Region teams to have reached the Final Four in the last 30 years are Corbin (1994), Clay County (1997), and Middlesboro (1999).
If Whitley County can get past Henderson County Friday, the Colonels will become the first 13th Region team since Corbin (1994) to reach the state title game. The Redhounds came up short against Pleasure Ridge Park, losing, 10-8.
The odds of Whitley County accomplishing the feat are pretty good, if you’re a fan of the KHSAA’s RPI rating system.
The Colonels entered the state tournament last week with the best RPI out of the 15 other participating teams.
As they enter Friday’s game against Henderson County, the Colonels possess a .68319 RPI rating while Henderson County has a .50246 RPI rating.
On paper, the game could be labeled a mismatch, but Henderson County has shown they belong in the Final Four after impressive wins over Pulaski County, and Harrison County.
The other two remaining teams in the state tournament, Shelby County, and Apollo, possess RPI ratings of .63915, and .58190, respectively.
Numbers, and ratings aside, Whitley County has got where it has because of the Colonels’ blue collared work ethic.
Whitley County is batting .343 on the season with two players batting over .400 — (Sam Harp, and Bryce Anderson), and of course, the pitching staff has been dominant.
Grant Zehr recorded a win and a save last week to improve to 9-2 while garnering a 2.18 ERA. Mason Croley continued his impressive season with a win, improving to 13-1 while possessing an impressive 1.63 ERA.
And let’s not forget the Colonels’ stellar defensive play last week. Whitley County made crucial
Play after crucial play during the first two games of the state tournament.
All of the ingredients are there for Whitley County to capture its first-ever baseball state title.
The Colonels have been able to soak things in the past couple of days while preparing to play at Kentucky Proud Park.
If they continue to play like they have been, don’t be surprised to see Whitley County celebrating a state championship on 350 Boulevard of Champions.
“Our kids believe and when you believe anything is possible,” Whitley County coach Jeremy Shope said last week. “We will go into this state tournament with one goal in mind — win. Baseball is a tough sport in a single elimination tournament. We just want to make sure that we have no regrets when it’s all over. We’re going to play our guts out.”
