Six of the eight teams entering this year’s 3rd Region Baseball Tournament, which is set to kick off this morning at 10 am at Trinity (Whitesville), are narrowly separated in the RPI standings – making for a very competitive field.
Muhlenberg County sits atop the region’s RPI standings, finishing the season 20-7 and going 9-2 against region opponents. Sitting atop the rotation is Dalton Brigance and his 0.67 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings. Right behind him is Talan Cartwright, who has a 1.17 ERA on the mound, while hitting .393.
They will take on Owensboro in the first round, whom they swept in the regular season (5-4, 3-0). The Red Devils are a balanced team, hitting .318 with 11 homers and 150 RBIs across 27 games. Evan and Eli Hampton are the catalysts at the top of the lineup, combining for 71 hits. The team’s primary leadoff, Evan Hampton, is hitting .374 with a team-high 37 hits, and is a perfect 8-8 in stolen bases. Right behind him is his brother Eli Hampton, who leads the team in RBIs (32), homers (8), and walks (18).
On the mound, Cayden Ray, Will Rickard, and Will Hume have combined for 120 1/3 of the team’s 175 1/3 innings, posting respective ERAs of 1.04, 1.82, and 2.30. At the top of the rotation is Ray, who leads the team in starts (9), ERA, strikeouts (73), and wins (9).
Next to the Mustangs and Red Devils in the bottom half of the bracket are Grayson County and Meade County. The two have yet to play each other this season, but all eyes should be on the Cougars’ Gage Napier and the Green Wave’s Austin Stansbury. The two aces both have sub 1.40 ERAs and 40+ strikeouts on the year.
On the top side of the bracket, Breckinridge County and Edmonson County are the first matchup of the morning. The two teams met in the first game of the season, with the Fighting Tigers winning 10-0. While the Fighting Tigers have the slight edge, they will need to find a way to limit Edmonson County’s Hunter Wilson. He leads his team in batting average (.642), homers (7), doubles (6), hits (32), RBIs (29), innings pitched (45), ERA (2.49), wins (4), and strikeouts (84).
Next to them in the top side of the bracket is McLean County and Owensboro Catholic. The Aces beat Owensboro to win the 9th District Championship, while the Cougars dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to Muhlenberg County in the 10th District Championship.
The two teams have yet to meet this season, but the Aces have the edge in playoff experience. A year ago, they won the All “A” and reached the semis of the State Tournament, before finishing runner-ups in this year’s All “A”.
“Catholic is obviously a quality team and we will need to play clean baseball for the most part,” McLean County head coach Darren Lynam said. “We need to limit our walks and errors and keep the ball in play at the plate. In tournament play it’s one game at a time, no matter who you are playing. We have to win the first one to move on to the second one.”
As a team, the Aces are hitting .279, with 10 homers, 150 RBIs, and 147 walks, compared to McLean County, which is hitting .283, with two homers, 152 RBIs, and 123 walks. On the mound, Owensboro Catholic has recorded a team ERA of 2.05, with 162 strikeouts across 197 2/3 innings, compared to the Cougars’ 2.50 team ERA, with 200 strikeouts over 184 2/3 innings.
The two are evenly matched at both the plate and on the mound, and a key matchup to keep an eye on is the Aces’ Barrett Evans vs. the Cougars’ rotation. Both McLean County’s Bozarth (0.83 ERA, 50 strikeouts) and Lee (1.12 ERA, 56 strikeouts) have been virtually unhittable throughout the season, while Evans has been one of the Aces most consistent bats. The junior is hitting .366 with three homers, and 16 RBIs. He has also drawn 24 walks and is a perfect 6-6 in stolen bases.
