The Owensboro Catholic Aces and Lady Aces won’t have to travel far for this weekend’s All “A” Classic State Championship.
The baseball championship starts today at Chautauqua Park with four first-round games followed by the semifinals and finals on Sunday.
The softball championship starts today with pool play at Jack C. Fisher Park as the top two in each pool with advance to Sunday’s bracket portion of the tournament.
BASEBALL @ Chautauqua Park
Owensboro Catholic v Crittenden County, 12:30 p.m.
The Owensboro Catholic Aces take their 11-2 record into this weekend’s final eight of the All “A” Classic State Championship as they’ll take on the Crittenden County Rockets for a chance to play in Sunday’s semifinal against the winner of St. Henry/Louisville Holy Cross.
The Aces have won seven-straight games since dropping both games of a doubleheader to Mount Juliet (Tenn.) on April 10, their only two losses of the season.
Since that stretch, Catholic has outscored its opponents 75-7.
Coach Derek Hibbs said his players know what the goal is but they also know there’s work to be done.
“We take every team we play seriously but from a goal standpoint, banners have been one of the talking points,” he said. “It’s one of our goals here next weekend. We want to win three, add the 2021 up there. The guys are hungry.”
Crittenden County comes into today with a record of 10-2 as the Rockets losses have come against Lyon County and Breckinridge County.
Maddox Carlson leads the Rockets on the mound with a record of 4-0 and a 1.62 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 21.2 IP. Carlson is also hitting .488 with a home run, 20 RBIs and 20 runs on the year.
At the plate, Logan Bailey leads CC with an average of .511 with 13 RBIs and 22 runs.
Hibbs it’ll be a tough weekend of baseball.
“There’s going to be eight good teams there,” he said. “You can never tell with baseball. Stuff happens but I like our chances.”
Sam McFarland (0.76 ERA) and Finley Munsey (0.82 ERA) are both 3-0 on the mound for the Aces this season with the two also having 21 strikeouts each.
McFarland is also getting it done at the plate with a .500 average and 20 hits on the year with 15 runs scored. Braden Mundy leads the team with three home runs and 15 RBIs.
The Aces will also have the advantage of playing at home this weekend.
Hibbs said that sense of normalcy will be good for his team.
“The city of Owensboro has done a lot as far as getting some of these teams in here, trying to host tournaments post-Covid,” he said. “It’s going to be exciting having a lot of people here. I’m looking forward to it. I know administration is looking forward to it. We were talking to the All ‘A’ guys, it’s fun. Missing out on it last year, we’re amped up and ready to go to host this thing.”
Catholic plays Crittenden County at 12:30 p.m. at Chautauqua Park.
SOFTBALL @ Jack C. Fisher Park
Owensboro Catholic v Lyon County, 10:30 a.m. (Blue Field)
Owensboro Catholic v Nicholas County, 4. p.m. (Red Field)
Owensboro Catholic v Holy Cross, 7:30 p.m. (Yellow Field)
Participating in the All “A” Classic State Tournament is a rarity for the Lady Aces as prom or some other event usually takes place on the same weekend but coach Jeremy Phelps and his squad are excited for the opportunity as they enter today with a record of 7-5.
The Lady Aces will be riding a five-game winning streak when they take the field this morning against the 2nd Region Champion, the Lyon County Lady Lyons.
Phelps said they’re excited for one thing.
“Just the opportunity,” he said. “I’ve got three seniors that were on the team as 8th graders, coach George’s (Randolph) last year when we went to state and finished fourth in state. Those girls got to experience all the things we do building up to and making it a special week.”
With only three seniors on the roster and four with any experience in big games, Phelps said the last few weeks have been important for his team given their opponents.
The Lady Aces have already taken on state powers in Male and Pulaski County, along with playing four district games in the last two weeks.
“Them experiencing that, it’s going to help tremendously toward the end of the season,” Phelps said.
Give the pool play format, Phelps said it’s important to focus on one opponent at a time and for Catholic, their eyes are first set on the Lady Lyons.
“That’s kind to be the mindset, which could be kind of tough with the rain expected and not knowing about delays and how long you’re going to be there,” he said. “The way this format is, you have to be one of the top two teams to come out of your pool. We can’t control anything except that first game so that’s on the coaches and that’s on the players to make sure they’re ready. You don’t want to put yourself in a bad spot with the two remaining games, worried about how you’re going to do.”
Phelps said one boost they have going into the weekend is the help of a third pitcher in Brooke Hamilton, in addition to Hadley Phelps and Alexis Hatchett.
All three pitchers have two wins in the circle for the Lady Aces this season.
At the plate, it’s also been a collective effort for Catholic.
Bailey Hamilton, Hannah Carter and Brooke Hamilton all have double-digit hits this season as the Lady Aces have four players with at least two home runs with Carter leading the team with four dingers on the year.
“In the last two weeks, it’s been somebody different,” Phelps said. “It’s been a couple different hitters each night that have brought something to the table.”
Catholic plays Lyon County at 10:30 a.m. on the Blue Field at Jack C. Fisher Park.
Baseball Bracket
Softball Pool Play Schedule
Softball Bracket
