With the baseball and softball seasons in their last week of regular season play, it’s time to start looking forward to the postseason.
Most, if not all teams know who their first round district tournament opponent will be in hopes of making their respective regional tournament. From there, they’ll need to win three games in the regional tournament to advance to the state tournament to be played in Lexington.
BASEBALL
The 2024 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Baseball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare will return to the home of the Lexington Legends at Legends Field on June 6-8 for first and second round action. The tournament will then conclude at UK’s Kentucky Proud Park June 14-15.
The draw for the tournament to see which regions were paired with which was held on Tuesday. Of local interest, the 9th Region drew the 16th Region in a first round matchup while the 10th Region drew the 11th Region and the 8th Region drew the 4th Region.
It’s a tough draw for the 9th if things shake out where the favorites come out of their region. The 16th Region features Boyd County, the No. 2 ranked team in the state in the latest Prep Baseball Report Kentucky/Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association Poll. Covington Catholic is ranked No. 9 in the latest poll while Ryle comes in at No. 21. Beechwood is the four-time reigning 9th Region champion while Dixie Heights and Highlands are certainly contenders to come out of the region.
Campbell County is 5-0 in 10th Region play and with their battle tested schedule, could very well be making a trip to Lexington for the fifth time since 2016. If the Camels do make it out of the 10th, the 11th Region’s top team is Frederick Douglass, ranked 10th in the state. Other contenders in the 11th include Lexington Catholic, Madison Central and Great Crossing, all ranked in the top 25.
Simon Kenton and Walton-Verona are the local hopefuls to make it out of the 8th Region, the two in the top five for RPI in the region while Woodford County, Oldham County and Spencer County sit above them. If either the Pioneers or Bearcats make it out of the 8th, they’d be looking at the 4th Region with Bowling Green the favorite to come out of there. The Purples are the 11th ranked team in the state. Greenwood is also a ranked team out of the 4th Region, sitting at 23rd.
SOFTBALL
The 2024 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Softball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare will be played at John Cropp Stadium at the University of Kentucky June 6-8 in first and second round play with the semifinals and championship round played June 14-15 at The Cropp.
In the softball draw, the 9th Region drew the 7th Region, the 10th Region drew the 11th Region and the 8th Region drew the 2nd Region.
Another tough draw for the 9th, the 7th Region features four teams ranked in the top 20 of the state led by Male at No. 6 in the latest KHSAA coaches poll that was released on April 29. Eastern comes in at No. 10, Ballard at No. 14 and Assumption at No. 17. Highlands is the back-to-back region champion out of the 9th, but Notre Dame and Dixie Heights have shown resistance down the final stretch of the season with victories over the Bluebirds. Ryle, Cooper and Conner certainly serve as threats as well.
It will be an uphill battle for any NKY team to make it out of the 10th Region with Campbell County (13-7) and Scott (12-10) having the best chances to do so. If they are to get out of the region, they’d have to get past back-to-back champion Harrison County or Montgomery County, the two teams ranked seventh and eighth in the state, respectively. If one of them do pull the upset and make it out of the region, they’d be looking at an 11th Region opponent with Lexington Catholic the favorite to come out of the 11th. LexCath is ranked No. 4 in the state. Madison Central is No. 12 and Great Crossing is No. 18.
Simon Kenton owns the No. 1 seed in the 32nd District while Walton-Verona will have to try and get past Grant County to make the 8th Region tournament. The Pioneers are 1-3 against 8th Region foes outside of their district. The 8th Region’s first round state opponent would be the 2nd Region, led by Henderson County who is ranked No. 2 in the state.