Ever since Apollo baseball found itself in a 5-0 first-inning hole to kick off their 9th District Tournament run against Owensboro, the Eagles have flexed their resiliency. This was on full display when they roared back to beat the Red Devils 11-5 and again in the State Tournament when they shocked No. 2 Whitley County and outslugged Campbell County.
Yesterday was their biggest test, falling behind early 6-0 against the number one team in the nation -Trinity (Louisville). With the wheels on the verge of falling off, the Eagles punched back with four unanswered runs, becoming the first team in this year’s State Tournament to score against the Shamrocks, and even brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh.
Unfortunately, a groundout to second base ended the Eagles’ rally and season, a 6-4 loss in the State Tournament semifinals.
“They are not afraid,” Head Coach Heath Hicks said. “They took the number one team in the nation down to the wire. It is pretty special. …They just bought in from October 1 on, and over the last nine months, they believed and worked hard towards a common goal. They came up just a hair short. This team means the world to me. It’s the most fun I have had in 16 years of coaching, is coaching this group.”
Entering the semifinals, the Shamrocks had outscored their first two round opponents 16-0 and seemed on the verge of continuing that trend against Apollo. Grayson Willoughby opened the scoring with an RBI double and then later scored alongside Nolan Hosking on a sacrifice fly and defensive error.
After throwing 34 pitches in the first inning, the Eagles’ Isaac James settled in and posted back-to-back scoreless innings. Trinity doubled their lead in the fourth on back-to-back RBI singles by Max Phillips and Gray Davis and Willoughby’s second RBI double of the game.
Ross Milburn, who entered for Apollo with two outs in the fourth, shut the door the rest of the game. The junior allowed four total baserunners and struck out a pair over 3 1/3 shutout innings.
“Isaac battled his tail off and did a great job,” Hicks said. “That team scores on everyone, and for him to go up there and give us what he did is incredible. Ross came in and was phenomenal. He left it all out there. As a coach, that’s all you want.”
After starting the game 0/9 at the plate as a team, the Eagles’ Gunnar Hendricks walked in the fourth to become Apollo’s first baserunner of the game. An inning later, they broke the Shamrocks’ scoreless streak, thanks to a two-run double by Millburn.
“The only way to get back into anything is together. It’s not just one person or one individual,” Hicks said. “Having 19 guys behind you and supporting you when it’s not going as you planned. That’s everything.”
Down to their final three outs in the seventh and trailing 6-2, Ace Lillpop worked a one-out walk to finally chase Trinity starter Konnor Stargel from the game. Facing Phillips out of the bullpen, Geordyn Stevens singled before Millburn crushed a pitch 319 feet to left field, just one foot short of a three-run homer. Lillpop cleared the bases with a two-run double, but Hendricks grounded out to end the game.
Apollo is losing three seniors to graduation in Stevens, Ryleigh Logan and Gage Logsdon,
“All three mean the world to me. They gave their heart and soul to this program and gave us everything that they had. They were leaders on and off the field. They will be missed, and I am super proud of them. There is no doubt in my mind they will be super talented at whatever they choose to do.”
