The KHSAA released the state tournament pairings for the state baseball and softball tournaments on Tuesday during the live draw shows on khsaa.tv.
The state tournaments will get underway on June 1. The baseball tournament will take place at the University of Kentucky’s Proud Park while the softball tournament will be played at UK’s John Cropp Stadium.
First round action takes place June 1-2, quarterfinals on June 3. Semifinals will be played on June 9 with championship games set for June 10.
BASEBALL
For Northern Kentucky interest in the baseball draw, the 9th Region drew the 3rd Region in the first round.
The 9th region title is up for grabs between contenders Covington Catholic, Highlands, Ryle, Conner, and three-time defending champ Beechwood. Whoever comes out of the region will be matched up with the 3rd region on June 1, which consists of Hancock County, Apollo, Muhlenberg County and Owensboro Catholic in the top five in RPI for the region.
Campbell County, Bishop Brossart, Scott and Calvary Christian will be battling for the 10th region crown, two of the four making the region tournament. The Camels and Mustangs are the top two seeds in the 37th District, Campbell County having won the past two regional titles and are sitting at 23-9 on the year. The 10th Region will face off against the 15th region on June 2, which could potentially be Paintsville, Pikeville, Lawrence County, Johnson Central or Belfry.
Both Simon Kenton and Walton-Verona will be hoping to claim the 8th region trophy. The Bearcats won the 8th Region All “A” Classic before falling to Sayre in the All “A” Classic state championship. The Pioneers are 21-9 and have won four of their last five. The champion of the 8th region would take on the 1st region, which is filled with contenders McCracken County, Paducah Tilghman, Marshall County and Carlisle County.
SOFTBALL
In softball, Ryle, Cooper, Dixie Heights and Notre Dame will be trying to keep the Highlands Bluebirds from repeating as champions of the 9th region. Whoever wins the region will take on the 15th region winner between Pike County Central, Johnson Central, Shelby Valley and Lawrence County.
In the 8th region, Walton-Verona and Simon Kenton will try to down Woodford County to claim the region championship. Waiting for them in the state tournament would be the 7th region winner which is between Ballard, Eastern, DuPont Manual and Male.
The Campbell County Lady Camels are currently 14-5 led by their offense that is hitting over .400. Assuming the Camels get past Calvary Christian, Scott and Bishop Brossart will battle it out for the other 10th Region tournament spot. The winner of the 10th Region will take on the 5th Region in the opening round. The battle of the 5th region is between contenders Central Hardin, Bethlehem, Taylor County and Green County.
Both the baseball and softball district tournaments are set to start within the next week and will be followed up by the regional tournaments before the state tournament is set to start.