Trinity set to defend state baseball title against Boyd County
The Baseball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare championship game is set, with Louisville’s Trinity Shamrocks going for a second title in a row at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Kentucky Proud Park.
The No. 1 Rocks (23-13) will take on No. 19 Boyd County (29-7), a program they took down 5-0 last year in the state semis. Boyd County hasn’t reached a state final since 2001, when the Lions won it all.
Trinity will likely start Kentucky commit Grayson Willoughby (11-0), this year’s Mr. Baseball and a projected early-round prospect in July’s Major League Baseball draft. Willoughby was last year’s state tournament most valuable player.
Boyd could counter with juniors Jace Manning (4-1) or Brayden Nunley (6-0).
Boyd earned its fourth championship game appearance with a 6-2 win over No. 3 McCracken County on Friday. Trinity topped unranked Apollo 6-4. Rankings are according to PrepBaseballReport.com. Here’s how the teams advanced to the final.
Boyd County 6, McCracken County 2
Grant Slater delivered a two-run double down the right-field line to help ignite the decisive inning against McCracken County and pitched five solid innings in a 6-2 win that sent the Lions to the championship game for the first time since 2001.
Boyd County scored all six of its runs in the second after Brody Biggs led off with a double. Three consecutive hits followed from the lower half of the Lions’ order, including a run-scoring infield single by Jace Manning and a bunt single by Kaleb Kelley to load the bases.
After Cameron May got hit by a pitch to put another run across for a 2-0 Boyd lead, Slater hit his double to score two. A throwing error on McCracken starter Joshua Penrod put Conner Davis on base and ended Penrod’s day on the mound. Cole Adams followed an out later with an RBI single for a 5-0 lead. Josh Kelley pushed across the final Boyd run by drawing a walk with the bases loaded.
McCracken (33-9) scored both runs off Slater, a Brian Hill sacrifice fly in the second inning and a Caden Kern RBI double in the fourth. Slater allowed seven hits and three walks and struck out six for his sixth win of the season. Jake Dixon allowed just one hit and a walk in two innings of relief.
Trinity 6, Apollo 4
Grayson Willoughby’s RBI double in the top of the first inning set the tone for the defending champion Shamrocks as part of one of two three-run frames that proved enough to hold off upset-minded Apollo (40-3).
Max Phillips led off the first with a single and was followed one out later by Nolan Hosking’s walk to set up Willoughby. Hosking and Willoughby scored when Cade Partin’s sacrifice fly drew a throwing error on the play. Trinity went up 6-0 in the fourth on RBI singles by Phillips and Grayson Davis and another run-scoring double by Willoughby.
Trinity starter Konnor Stargel pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on two hits and four walks before giving way to Max Phillips for the final two outs. Phillips gave up a two-run double to Ty Lillpop with two on and two out, but closed it out with a groundout on the next pitch.
Baseball State Tournament
At Kentucky Proud Park
SATURDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP
3:30 p.m.: Trinity vs. Boyd County.
