St. Xavier baseball walks away with Seventh Region title after Trinity pitching unravels

Jason Frakes, Louisville Courier Journal
·4 min read

The St. Xavier High School baseball program is on a mission to end a state championship drought that is four years old.

The Tigers made a statement Sunday night, rolling past rival and 2021 state champion Trinity 11-0 in the championship game of the Seventh Region Tournament at the University of Louisville’s Jim Patterson Stadium.

A battle between two of the state’s top programs — No. 2-ranked Trinity and No. 3 St. X — turned out to be a dud that was halted after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.

“We could play those guys a hundred times, and that probably happens once,” Tigers coach Andy Porta said. “It’s too good of a team over there. We’ll take it, don’t get me wrong. Nobody expected that. We didn’t expect that. Trinity didn’t expect that. Fans didn’t expect that. It happens.”

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Winner of a record eight state championships, St. X (30-10) will begin the quest for a ninth at 1:30 p.m. Friday when it faces Second Region champion Christian County (29-7) at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington.

It will be the Tigers’ first trip to the state tournament since winning their last title in 2018.

“It’s nice to get back because it was kind of a drought,” Porta said. “We had a run there where we were making sure we weren’t graduating anybody who hadn’t been to the state tournament, and we took a hit on that promise.”

St. Xavier's Cooper Smith (3) slides into home to score during action of their Seventh Region Championship baseball game against Trinity, Sunday, May 29 2022 in Louisville Ky. St. Xavier won 11-0 after he game was called at the end of the fifth inning, and will now play for the state championship.
St. Xavier's Cooper Smith (3) slides into home to score during action of their Seventh Region Championship baseball game against Trinity, Sunday, May 29 2022 in Louisville Ky. St. Xavier won 11-0 after he game was called at the end of the fifth inning, and will now play for the state championship.

Trinity finished 35-5 after four pitchers issued a combined 11 walks and hit two St. X batters.

The Shamrocks were without head coach Rick Arnold, who was serving the first of a three-game suspension after being ejected from Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Male. Kentucky High School Athletic Association rules require a three-game suspension for any coach ejected from a game.

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Ryan Wheat, in his seventh season as an assistant, led the Shamrocks on Sunday.

“It was a bad day to have a bad day,” Wheat said. “I think it was a situation where (our pitchers) were just wanting to be better and trying too hard.”

The Tigers sent eight batters to the plate and scored three runs to take control in the top of the first inning. Senior catcher Jake Bennett hit a two-run home run — his 13th of the season — for a 2-0 lead.

“I didn’t think I got it; I thought I hit it off the cap a little bit,” Bennett said. “But it kept going. Glad we could get some energy early and carry that through the rest of the game.”

John Paul Jardina added a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 advantage, and the rout was on.

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Trinity sophomore Jake Schweitzer (3-3), a U of L commit, lasted 1 1/3 innings and allowed four runs while walking six and hitting a batter.

Porta said his hitters followed the game plan to near-perfection.

St. Xavier's Jacob Bennett (5) celebrates with his team after hitting a two run home run during action of their Seventh Region Championship baseball game againstTrinity, Sunday, May 29 2022 in Louisville Ky. St. Xavier won 11-0 after he game was called at the end of the fifth inning, and will now play for the state championship.
St. Xavier's Jacob Bennett (5) celebrates with his team after hitting a two run home run during action of their Seventh Region Championship baseball game againstTrinity, Sunday, May 29 2022 in Louisville Ky. St. Xavier won 11-0 after he game was called at the end of the fifth inning, and will now play for the state championship.

“We told them it has to be down, below the belt,” Porta said. “You can’t swing at anything up. We still swung at some that were up and got ourselves out a couple of times, but they stuck to the approach for the most part and did a good job of seeing the ball down.”

Meanwhile, St. X junior Ty Starke (7-0), also a U of L commit, was stellar in his four innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out six.

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“He’s a unicorn,” Wheat said of Starke, a 6-foot-6 left-hander. “You can’t simulate the ball profile; you can’t simulate the extension. He’s as good as anybody I’ve seen in a really, really long time.”

The Tigers broke it open with six runs in the fourth inning, taking advantage of four walks by Trinity pitchers.

Now it’s on to Lexington, where St. X will put its stellar pitching staff up against the state’s best.

“I don’t know of all-time, but we have some of the best guys to ever touch the mound,” Bennett said. “I think we have a good chance because we’re deep in pitching. That’s something not a lot of teams have.”

ST. XAVIER         310   61 -   11   6   0

TRINITY              000   00 -    0    1   2

WP – Ty Starke (7-0). LP – Jake Schweitzer (3-3).

All-tournament team – Jake Bennett, Jake Gregor, Cooper Smith, Ty Starke (St. Xavier); Kyle Campbell, Chase Armstrong, Aiden Ecken (Trinity); Chase Chamberlain, Owen Walker (Manual); Nic Schutte, Nolan Hood (Male); Jack Perdue (Christian Academy); Trevor Geddes (Highlands Latin); Sam Bevin (Ballard); Braden Aulick (Portland Christian).

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA baseball: St. X walks away with 7th Region title over Trinity