‘This team should be very proud.’ LexCath’s baseball season ends in state tournament.

Ben Roberts
·6 min read

The top-ranked team still standing in the Kentucky state baseball tournament fell in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon.

Lexington Catholic, the 11th Region champions, lost 7-3 to Apollo at Counter Clocks Field, the Knights’ 2023 season ending two victories shy of a chance to play for another title.

Though for a proud program with three state championships but just once trip beyond the districts since 2016, this season was ultimately both a success and a possible steppingstone to greater things in the future.

“This team should be very proud of what we’ve accomplished,” LexCath Coach Scott Downs said. “In two years, we’ve turned this program around, and I think there’s brighter things in the future for us. I’m proud of the seniors. They’ve come out and battled. I’m proud of everyone.”

In this one, the Knights continued to battle. They just couldn’t get any runs across the plate until it was nearly too late.

Lexington Catholic’s Jackson Wasik (5) throws the ball to teammate Max DeGraff to turn a double play against Apollo during the state tournament at Counter Clocks Field on Saturday.
Lexington Catholic’s Jackson Wasik (5) throws the ball to teammate Max DeGraff to turn a double play against Apollo during the state tournament at Counter Clocks Field on Saturday.

Apollo started the scoring in the top of the first inning with Sam Holder’s two-out bloop single to shallow left field putting the Eagles up 1-0. And that was the tally all the way until the fifth inning, when Apollo broke the game open.

Garrett Lanham led off the top of the fifth with a walk and eventually came around to score on a fielder’s choice double play. The Knights looked like they would get out of the inning with minimal damage, but what appeared to be the third out on a bang-bang play at first base instead resulted in a safe call. Downs immediately rushed out of the dugout to argue — to no avail — and Apollo was able to add two more runs before the inning finally came to an end. The LexCath coach acknowledged the play got his players a little unnerved.

“A little bit. But I think I did, too, a little bit,” he said. “It’s a big part of the game. Whether you’re safe or out — two runs came in after that, and I think it changed a little bit of the momentum. But they fought. These kids fought, and they battled back, and we were still in this game ’til the end. So that’s really all we can ask for.”

Lexington Catholic Max DeGraff jumps over an Apollo runner at second base during the KHSAA Baseball State Tournament at Counter Clocks Field on Saturday.
Lexington Catholic Max DeGraff jumps over an Apollo runner at second base during the KHSAA Baseball State Tournament at Counter Clocks Field on Saturday.

Instead of a 2-0 score going to the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles had a 4-0 lead. And Apollo starter Will Strode proved tough on the mound throughout the afternoon. He worked his way out of a couple of jams with runners in scoring position and didn’t allow his first run until the sixth. By that time, the Eagles had built a 6-0 lead.

Lexington Catholic scored two in the sixth and one in the seventh, but that’s all the Knights could muster against Strode, a junior right-hander and Kent State commitment.

Strode threw all seven innings, giving up seven hits with two earned runs and five strikeouts.

Apollo will return to Lexington next weekend in search of its first state championship. The 3rd Region champions from Owensboro are playing in their eighth state tournament, and this will be the Eagles’ fifth trip to the semifinals, but the school has an 0-4 record all time in the semis.

Apollo’s Will Strode pitches against Lexington Catholic during the KHSAA Baseball State Tournament at Counter Clocks Field in Lexington on Saturday.
Apollo’s Will Strode pitches against Lexington Catholic during the KHSAA Baseball State Tournament at Counter Clocks Field in Lexington on Saturday.
Apollo’s Josh Mayes scores a run against Lexington Catholic during the KHSAA Baseball State Tournament at Counter Clocks Field on Saturday.
Apollo’s Josh Mayes scores a run against Lexington Catholic during the KHSAA Baseball State Tournament at Counter Clocks Field on Saturday.

Saturday’s other games

Shelby County 9, Eastern 2: The Rockets jumped on the 7th Region champions from Louisville from the get-go in the morning game Saturday, scoring eight runs over the first two innings and coasting from there.

Shelby County (31-9) did all the damage it would need in the top of the first, with junior second baseman Jaxson Carter’s two-run, bases-loaded double the highlight of the inning. The Rockets led Eastern 5-0 before the Eagles (28-13) got their first turn at the plate, and four of those runs came with two outs. Senior first baseman Myles Strong was 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored, and junior left-hander Jack Willis (7-1) gave up one earned run in 4⅓ innings for the win.

This is Shelby County’s eighth appearance in the state tournament and will be the school’s sixth trip to the semifinals. The Rockets’ lone championship came in 1979.

Henderson County 7, Harrison County 4: Trailing by one run going into the final inning, Henderson County managed to score four times in the top of the seventh to advance to the state semifinals.

The go-ahead run scored on a single by senior second baseman Brennan Cates, and sophomore right fielder Dax Wilson provided the insurance later in the inning with a two-run double that set the final score of the game.

Henderson County (20-17) had lost four of its last five games entering the postseason, while four-time state champ Harrison County had a 16-game winning streak snapped with Saturday’s season-ending loss.

Whitley County 7, South Warren 4: The Colonels put up five runs in the fifth inning to surge past South Warren and claim a spot in the semifinals in their first trip to the Kentucky state tournament.

Junior shortstop Matthew Wright went 3-for-3 with a triple and two RBI to pace Whitley County (37-4) at the plate. That triple scored two runs in the pivotal fifth inning, and he later came around to tally the final run of the game on a double by sophomore third baseman Ronald Osborne.

At No. 8 in the state, Whitley County is the top-rated team from the final coaches’ poll of the season to advance to the semifinals.

All four of South Warren’s state tournament appearances have now ended in the quarterfinal round.

Kentucky baseball state tournament

At Counter Clocks Field in Lexington, June 1-3

At Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, June 9-10

Tickets: gofan.co/app/school/KHSAA

Streaming video: KHSAA.tv (via subscription); Go.PrepSpin.com (pay per view)

Streaming audio: KHSAA.net

Thursday’s games

Eastern 7, Bullitt East 5

Shelby County 3, McCracken County 0

Lexington Catholic 6, Raceland 3

Apollo 3, Beechwood 0

Friday’s games

Whitley County 4, LaRue County 3

South Warren 4, Breathitt County 3

Harrison County 2, Pikeville 1

Henderson County 6, Pulaski County 1

Saturday’s quarterfinals

Shelby County 9, Eastern 2

Apollo 7, Lexington Catholic 3

Henderson County 7, Harrison County 4

Whitley County 7, South Warren 4

Friday, June 9

12:30 p.m.: Shelby County (31-9) vs. Apollo (25-12)

6:30 p.m.: Henderson County (20-17) vs. Whitley County (37-4)

Saturday, June 10

7 p.m.: Championship game

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