St. Xavier is the best baseball program in state history. It just won another title.
The best baseball program in Kentucky state history keeps on winning.
The St. Xavier Tigers claimed a record ninth state baseball championship on Saturday night at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington.
St. X defeated Russell County 11-1 to win the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Baseball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare.
Ranked No. 3 in the state, St. Xavier (34-10 overall) is now 37-10 in 18 all-time state tournament appearances.
The Tigers’ previous baseball state titles came in 1942, 1945, 1949, 1951, 1981, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
“It’s been four in the last eight years,” St. Xavier head coach Andy Porta said. “We’ve won 16 straight games up here in Lexington, which is really cool.”
This state title for the Tigers came after breaking through against a dominant Russell County pitching staff.
Russell County (the No. 17-ranked team in the state, which finishes with a 31-7 overall record) hadn’t allowed a run in 15 straight innings entering Saturday’s championship game.
That streak stretched to 17 innings before it vanished.
St. Xavier scored five runs in the third inning off Russell County senior pitcher Cody Luttrell, who entered the night a perfect 12-0 on the season.
“We felt pretty good that someone wasn’t going to shut us out,” Porta said.
Run-scoring singles by Cooper Smith, Jake Bennett, Landon Akers and Ben Purnell got the runs across for the Tigers in the third inning.
St. Xavier also put a five-spot on the scoreboard in the fifth.
Purnell hit a three-run double to left field, senior John Paul Jardina added an RBI double to left-center field and junior Zach Marks scored a run with a single up the middle.
Smith also hit a triple in the game, his 13th of the season, and Bennett ended the season with a state-best 67 RBI.
On the mound, St. Xavier sophomore Jake Gregor (a Louisville commit) largely kept the Russell County bats at bay.
He improved to 5-3 on the season with a four-inning outing that featured four strikeouts, no walks and just one run allowed.
The Lakers, who were making their first state tournament appearance since 1968, scored their only run of the game in the fourth inning on an RBI single by senior Nick Aaron.
The Russell County comeback effort might have gone better had it started sooner, but the Lakers had a run taken off the board in the third inning after an apparent sac fly became a double play after the runner tagging from third base was ruled to have left early after a St. X appeal.
The 2,703-person crowd at Kentucky Proud Park on Saturday was largely clad in red and white in support of Russell County, with a lengthy line stretching around the stadium before the gates were opened one hour prior to first pitch.
“It’s just so special to see so many people from our community here,” Russell County head coach David Rexroat said. “We had a big crowd and they supported us the whole season. Just so proud of them and the seniors and all of the families. Big support from the community.”
Even as the obvious end encroached on the Russell County season, those who came to support the Lakers were vocal.
Rousing cheers came from those near the Russell County dugout along the third base line as the Lakers prepared for their final at-bats of the season, down 10 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
After the game was over, Russell County team members walked over to the large group of fans and saluted them with a tip of the cap.
St. X completes banner year in athletics
St. Xavier — an all-boys school in Louisville — will end the 2021-22 school year having won state championships in five KHSAA-recognized sports.
The Tigers won state titles in baseball, football, swimming and diving, tennis and track and field.
St. X also won club sport state championships in lacrosse, powerlifting and volleyball this school year.
