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Little League State Baseball: Ashland falls in state semis; Russell goes 1-2

the daily independent, ashland, ky.
·5 min read

Jul. 20—LA GRANGE — The Ashland 12U baseball Little League All-Stars put forth a valiant effort in the Little League state tournament semifinals but came up short, 3-2, against Lexington Eastern on Tuesday at Walsh Park.

The Russell-Flatwoods 11s wrapped up their postseason run a day prior, falling to North Oldham, 12-4, in pool play. Russell went 1-2.

Ashland 12U

Ashland turned in a 2-1 pool play record with wins over Prestonsburg and Valley in order to advance to the semifinal round.

In Monday's 14-5 win over Prestonsburg, Ashland racked up nine hits and a pair of six-run innings.Tevin Smith, Jaylan Strader and Asher Moore tallied two hits apiece. Strader and River Lynch each had three RBIs.

Hunter Good and Moore split pitching duties against Prestonsburg. Good gave up two hits and a run while striking out two in two frames. Moore collected six punch outs in four innings, relenting three hits.

In Tuesday's semifinal matchup, Ashland notched the first run and shut out Eastern through three innings.

Eastern finally got its offense going a bit in the fourth, plating all three of its runs in the stanza.

Ashland scored again in the fourth, closing the gap to 3-2.

Ashland managed three hits — Smith, Good and Strader accounted for one each. Smith had both RBIs.

Henry Chiles and Jack Fletcher took the bump for Eastern. Chiles lasted 1 2-3 innings before giving way to Fletcher. Fletcher piled up a dozen strikeouts, including one to end the game. Eastern committed zero errors.

"To be in that position to possibly win the game is all you ask for as a coach," said manager Rob Lynch. "We were prepared for that moment. Sometimes it just doesn't bounce your way."

Lynch said Ashland persevered through pressure-filled situations on Tuesday thanks to timely defensive plays.

This marks the third State appearance for several members of the team. The group went as 10U when a bunch of them were 9 years old. COVID-19 canceled the 2020 tournament. They returned last year and represented District 6 as 12U, and went again as the 12U representative this summer.

"I think it just shows the amount of work they've put in to get to that moment," said Lynch, who cited the example that they'd experienced 36 practices and/or games since June 12. "It gives the blueprint of what these kids need to do if they want to compete on a state level against some of the best teams in the state."

Lynch said playing for him is not easy. He said he surrounds himself with coaches who are also demanding.

"We're trying to pull the most potential out of players while, in turn, teaching life skills at the same time," Lynch said. "This group, if they keep working on their baseball skills, will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

"What a great experience," he added. "You just can't match the pageantry and atmosphere of a Little League All-Star state tournament."

Ashland's roster consisted of Jaylan Strader, Josh Sutton, Brennan Ward, Brandon Bush, River Lynch, Hunter Good, Carter Anderson, Reed Runyon, Hunter Fetty, Chandler Kisor, Asher Moore, Laylan Gillum and Tevin Smith.

Russell 11U

After defeating Corbin and losing to Eastern, Russell's 11s faced a must-win against North Oldham.

It was a tight contest for four innings before North Oldham opened the floodgates in the bottom of the fifth. Up 4-3, North Oldham's Leo Quinones lined out to center fielder Rylan Pickett to set up what appeared to be another promising inning for pitcher Eli Craft and his defense.

However, North Oldham recorded seven of its 13 hits in the fateful fifth, crossing the plate eight times.

Russell scored once in the sixth as the 12-4 outcome was sealed.

Christian Scott went 3 for 3 — including two doubles — with two RBIs for Russell. Brevin Snyder was 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run, and he made a number of dazzling plays at second base.

Russell accounted for 11 hits and struck out only twice in 29 plate appearances.

Manager Kevin Peterman said his group of 10 was "small but mighty."

"They have the heart of giants," Peterman said. "They battled through the losers bracket (in District 6) when a lot of people never gave them a chance, but they proved all of them wrong and made the trip to North Oldham with one thing on their mind — to make noise at the state tournament."

Luke Melvin earned the pitching win on Saturday against Corbin. Russell called upon Scott and Boone Martin in a loss to Eastern in Game 2.

Craft, who earned a complete-game victory in a similar situation against Morehead in the district finals, got the ball against North Oldham.

"(Craft) is no stranger to this kind of situation," Peterman said. "He pitched a jewel (against Morehead) and this game was no different. He was on point, hitting his spots, and we played some of our best defense of the tournament.

"North Oldham is a great ball team, but I don't believe they are better than us," he added. "Hat's off to them, they got the job done and are moving on, but you better believe this team will be back hungrier than ever next year."

The Russell 11s: Christian Scott, Luke Melvin, Brevin Snyder, Asher Brand, Rylan Pickett, Chris Whitt, Atreyu Qualls, Boone Martin, Emmit Thompson, Eli Craft and Sawyer Bonzo.