Seventh heaven: PRP back on top of Kentucky high school baseball

For the seventh time, Kentucky’s high school baseball trophy will reside in the south end of Louisville.

Pleasure Ridge Park defeated McCracken County 4-1 in the final game of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop State Baseball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Kentucky Proud Park. The Panthers improved to 7-4 in the finals and secured their first title since 2017.

That was the last time they made the championship game, and it was the last of their six title teams coached by program architect Bill Miller, who died the following year.

“I don’t get tired of talking about PRP baseball and Bill Miller,” said Panthers coach Brad Burns, who took the reins in 2020 and played for Miller in the 1990s. “Without him, we don’t do any of this. I was blessed to have him in my life for a long time, blessed to be able to give his eulogy at his funeral, and blessed, now, to hopefully carry on some of the things that he was proud of, that would make him proud.

“Just the way that our guys go about things. That’s the main thing. Winning and losing, whatever, but we’re happy that we can carry on that tradition from here.”

Leadoff hitter Kobie Howard and Brayden Bruner, batting in the three hole, combined for five of PRP’s six hits. Howard, recognized as the tournament MVP, connected on his first three at-bats and got hit by a pitch on his fourth. He scored three times, too.

Howard finished 11-for-17 (.647) at the plate and scored nine runs over the tournament’s four games.

“I was feeling good at the plate,” Howard said. “Every time I was on deck, I was just like, ‘I’m hot.’ … I’ve just been seeing the ball good and finding the barrel.”

Howard, PRP’s shortstop, didn’t grow up with familial ties to the program like many of his teammates and the men coaching them. But the junior fondly remembers a PRP camp he attended as a young kid. He left with an ill-fitting Panthers hat.

“My head was always little, so I remember that hat because it always didn’t fit,” Howard said with a grin. “I got here and I have one that fits.”

Grayson Roll threw a complete game for the Panthers, allowing only three hits against a McCracken County team that had 23 through its first three tournament games. The Mustangs (34-10) knocked off Owensboro Catholic in Friday’s semifinal round with a nine-run, 10-hit performance.

Roll reined them in.

“My changeup was moving a lot, so I knew if I could dot the corners of the plate, we’d get a lot of flyouts and groundouts,” said Roll, who had just two strikeouts. “I don’t really get nervous, but it’s a lot of pressure. I went to sleep last night, took a few deep breaths, and just came out.”

McCracken’s lone run came on a sacrifice fly by Miller Green in the top of the sixth. The Mustangs’ best threat came early, in the second inning, when they loaded the bases thanks to a throwing error and a hit batter. A grounder left all three runners aboard in what was, at that time, a 1-0 game led by PRP.

The Panthers added their second run in the bottom of the third; Bruner singled to bring in Howard, who had scored on a fielding error for PRP’s first run. They padded their lead with a pair of scores in the fifth.

McCracken County, which has played in every state baseball tournament since it opened in the 2013-14 school year, fell to 0-3 in its finals appearances.

“I saw something where both teams get a vote on how the game ends, and then the scoreboard gets a vote,” McCracken County coach Zach Hobbs said. “Today the scoreboard went against us, but I’m proud of these guys. They’ve competed all year. To play in our program and have the expectation to be in this game every year, it’s a different level (of pressure) than most people probably understand. And these guys accepted that.”

PRP’s seven titles put them in sole possession of second place on the all-time list behind fellow Louisville powerhouse St. Xavier’s nine. Only three of the players in the Panthers’ championship lineup — catcher Hank Burns, first baseman Cooper Burkhardt and designated hitter Asious Kavich — were seniors this season. Joey Dudeck, their ace pitcher who threw a complete-game in PRP’s upset of Trinity on Friday, was a freshman.

The Panthers in 2025 will vie to become the first Kentucky team to repeat since Harrison County managed the feat in 1998. PRP was the last program to do it before that; the Panthers won their first three titles from 1994-96.

“Hopefully the guys come back and do the same thing next year,” Burns said. “And I don’t mean win, I just mean go to work every single day. That’s what they’ve done. We’ve got a good group of leaders, we’ve got a good group coming back. Hopefully those guys will do the same thing.”

This story was originally published June 15, 2024 at 7:12 PM.