Three teams from Northern Kentucky will compete in the All “A” Classic state baseball and softball tournaments this weekend. The baseball tournament will be held at Campbellsville High School on Saturday and Sunday while the softball tournament will be played at Jack C. Fisher Park in Owensboro with pool play on Saturday and the final eight teams playing in a single-elimination tournament on Sunday.
Walton-Verona and Beechwood baseball qualified out of their respective region and sectional tournaments while Beechwood softball advanced by winning the Ninth Region All “A” tournament for the first time in program history.
All “A” state tournament bracket: https://www.allaclassic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-Baseball-Statewide-Brackets-2.pdf
Walton-Verona (16-4) will play the host Campbellsville in the first round on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Bearcats made light work of their Eighth Region All “A” foes, outscoring Owen County, Eminence and Carroll County, 20-3. They then rallied to defeat Highlands Latin 9-5 in the sectional game to get to this point. The Bearcats enter on a roll, having won seven of their last eight games.
“We’ve had some games that have really put some stress on us lately and that’s a good thing. We definitely see this as a tournament we’re focusing on winning and helps us prepare for district and regionals. We feel we have a good shot as anybody,” Bearcats coach Clinton Coleman said.
Ethan Mills, Lance Coleman and Cayden Smithers have led the Bearcats offense with all three hitting over .300 and combining for six home runs and 49 RBI. They also boast a pitching staff ranked fifth in the state with a team ERA of 1.99.
“Pitching and defense has carried us from start of the season up until this point,” Coleman said. “We’ve got four solid guys we know we’ll get good outings out of. Knowing that they’ll come in and throw strikes and our defense has done well behind them.”
If the Bearcats win their quarterfinal matchup, they would play either St. Mary’s or Owensboro Catholic in the semi-finals at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Catholic defeated the Bearcats in the 2021 All “A” championship, leaving a bit of a chip on the five seniors’ shoulders who started that game as sophomores.
“We don’t really address it other than the fact telling the team that we have some unfinished business down there. We’re happy to be here, but we’re not happy to just be here and have some unfinished business,” Coleman said.
This is the Bearcats 10th appearance in the All “A” state tourney, posting an 11-9 record.
The other local baseball team in the tournament is the Beechwood Tigers. Other than having the state leader in home runs and top five ranked in RBI in Cameron Boyd, the Tigers as a team are also averaging 9.6 runs per game, which ranks fifth in the state.
“Offensively we’ve been getting guys on, bunted well and faced good pitching so hopefully that prepares us. We’re putting the ball in play to get runs in. Hitting it to the right side, fly balls,” Tigers coach Kevin Gray said. “The way he’s (Boyd) swinging it is incredible. He’s really seeing it well. Guys know who he is and he’s still hitting their best pitches, hitting missiles. When guys get on base with him up we feel pretty good about it.”
The Tiger pitchers are led by senior Matthew Kappes, who is currently ranked 10th in the state in wins with five on the year.
Beechwood is making their 12th appearance at the state tournament, defeating St. Henry 10-4 in the Ninth Region All “A” championship before defeating Bracken County 10-0 in the sectional game. The Tigers have won five All “A” state titles, the last one coming in 2019. The Tigers are 29-6 in All “A” tournament play.
The Tigers open up play with the Hazard Bulldogs in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 10 a.m. If they win that game, they will play the winner of Sayre and Pikeville in the semi-finals at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. Pikeville defeated Beechwood in the championship game of last year’s All “A” tournament.
“We haven’t brought it up much. A lot of these guys were there last year and know how bad we played in the championship game. Every break went the other way and we didn’t make our own breaks. The semifinal game with Danville was one of the most intense that I’ve ever coached in,” Gray said.
Despite losing two of their top players prior to the season even beginning, Mitchell Berger out for the season due to injury from football season and Brice Estep transferring to a high school in South Carolina, the Tigers currently sit at 17-4 and are 12-1 in Ninth Region play.
“I’ll be honest, I’m a bit surprised where we are now. Those guys were first team All-State players. We’ve got sophomores and an eighth grader doing the job. If someone would have told me before the season we’d be 17-4 right now, I’d say they’re crazy. But that’s a compliment to the kids and the work they do. They’re good, hard working kids that listen and want to learn and get better. That’s a recipe for success,” Gray said.
If either or both teams would make the championship, that game would be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
Beechwood will also be represented in the All “A” Classic state softball tournament. The Tigers will take on Ballard Memorial, Highlands Latin and Raceland in pool play. They would have to finish top two in the pool to advance to the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Pool Play Schedule: https://www.allaclassic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-Pool-Play-Assignments-1.pdf
The Tigers defeated Holy Cross, Bellevue and Newport Central Catholic by a total score of 45-6 to claim the Ninth region All “A” title. Their offense is led by Addison Durrett, Laney Hartidge, Lynden Noll, Katelynn Murphy and Brooke Moore, who have 70 of the team’s 99 hits on the season.
“We do best when we make contact and hit the ball and put it in play. Hitting a hard ball and make the defense make a play. We approach things where the first at-bat sets the tone and the second at-bat sets the tone with adjustments and making contact. Don’t swing just to swing,” Tigers coach Mary Beth Odom said.
Senior Brooklyn McGuire has started most games in the circle and has 35 strikeouts on the season.
Unlike their baseball counterparts, this is a new experience for the softball team as they’ll make their first trip to Owensboro.
“It’s been awesome. We’ve celebrated and basked in the greatness of winning, but we know we still have a job to do. We’re excited to see different competition, travel more than 20 minutes for a game, stay overnight and do some team bonding,” Tigers coach Mary Beth Odom said.
Beechwood enters with an 8-8 record and averaging 8.8 runs per game. An area they’ll need to improve to be successful this weekend is on the defensive side, allowing 8.5 runs per game.
“We’ll challenge them to pitch to their spots. Challenge the defense to support our pitchers. They need to have their back and we’re challenging them to dive for a ball, stop the ball and lay it all on the line for your teammates,” Odom said.
Beechwood starts off on Saturday at 10 a.m. against Raceland. They’ll play Ballard Memorial at 1:30 p.m. and Highlands Latin at 5 p.m.