Sayre pulls off stunning semis rally and rolls on to win All ‘A’ Classic state baseball finals

It took a five-run rally in the bottom of the last inning on a chilly Sunday morning in Campbellsville for Sayre to even reach the All “A” Classic state baseball championship game later that day.

But once there, the Spartans made the most of the opportunity by topping Walton-Verona 7-2 to capture the school’s first All “A” title in any sport.

“Our theme throughout our high school and baseball career has been ‘Make History,’ and this is just another step,” said senior Addison Stockham, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player. “Something like this, regardless of how the rest of our season ends, we can look back at this. … This team will always be 2023 All ‘A’ state champions.”

Stockham pitched Sayre into the semifinals with a 6-0 complete-game shutout win Saturday against defending champion Pikeville in the quarterfinals at Campbellsville High School.

He then smashed a bases-loaded hit against Beechwood’s drawn-in infield Sunday morning to score the tying and walk-off winning run and cap their semifinals miracle comeback from 5-1 down in the seventh inning.

The critical semifinals rally began with back-to-back doubles by Travis Smith and Reed Beatty, a walk to Brock Coffman, another double by Charlie Slabaugh, a single by Raymond Saatman and a walk to Grady Johnson. All that trimmed Sayre’s deficit to 5-4 for Stockham’s at-bat with still no one out.

“He throws me a curveball, and I hit it about 100 miles an hour right at the second baseman,” Stockham said. “He didn’t have time to react. It hit off his heel and bounced off into the outfield … and then we went nuts.”

Walton-Verona topped Owensboro Catholic 5-4 in 10 innings in the second semifinal game, but a planned 1:30 p.m. finals first pitch got pushed to 5 p.m. due to weather.

Sayre’s bats remained hot, regardless. The Spartans scored a run in each of the first four innings to stake a 4-2 lead against Walton-Verona going into the sixth. Beatty, a sophomore third baseman, led off the top of the sixth with a solo home run and senior twins Grady and Graham Johnson each tacked on RBIs via a sacrifice fly and single, respectively, for a 7-2 margin.

“I’m so blessed beyond belief to be able to be their coach,” Sayre Coach Kevin Clary said. “They showed so much resiliency, high character, refusal to quit and a desire to be the best they can be every single day. They inspire me on a daily basis.”

Sophomore right-hander Owen Murphy also played a huge role in both wins Sunday. In relief of Saatman against Beechwood, he pitched 4⅓ scoreless innings to keep Sayre in the game and get the win.

“I felt great in the pen, so I was like, ‘You know what? Let’s go out here, play the game, I know I can beat these guys. Let’s show it,’” Murphy told PBR Kentucky in a video interview after the Beechwood win. “In a big game like this, I had to show up for the team. It felt good.”

Against Walton-Verona, Murphy threw 2⅔ innings without allowing a run and got help from his defense with a key inning-ending double play in the bottom of the sixth.

“He came in this morning, threw 56 pitches and completely shut the door on Beechwood,” Clary said. “He came to me in the third or fourth inning (of the finals) and said, ‘I’m fresh, I’m good. I can close this game up tonight.’ When a young man like that tells me he wants the ball — he had that certain look on his face — I was going to give it to him.”

With an All “A” championship in hand, No. 6 Sayre still has goals this season that include a third straight 42nd District title and an 11th Region tournament championship and corresponding state tournament bid beyond that.

For now, however, the Spartans have until Wednesday’s road game against Corbin to celebrate this achievement.

“It’s a huge accomplishment for the guys in our program and more importantly for our school,” Clary said. “For a school with only 240 kids to achieve something of this stature, it’s pretty special and we’re proud of them.”