“The state title has been on our minds since we were little,” Scales said. “Ever since we started walking the halls at Catholic, we knew that it was one thing that we wanted. Because we only have one at Catholic and we wanted to bring it back.” Luke Scales and his fellow senior class will have another chance at just that, after the seniors were responsible for eight of 10 RBIs as Owensboro Catholic defeated Breckinridge County 11-5 to grab its second straight 3rd Region Championship.
It was the Aces who quickly gave themselves a chance to do some damage in the first, getting a leadoff single from senior Luke Evans and a subsequent RBI single from senior Everett Munsey to take a 1-0 lead. With no outs in the inning, senior Luke Scales infield single led to runners on the corners before senior Sam McFarland’s grounder to the pitcher allowed Scales to advance to second.
But Owensboro Catholic wasn’t able to come through with runners in scoring position, as senior Isaac Seeger got a pop-up and a strikeout to keep Breckinridge County’s deficit at 1-0 going into the second inning. The Aces got right back to work in the bottom of the second, getting a two-run triple from right to make it a 3-0 with one out.
Munsey walked the following at-bat and then stole second, before a wild pitch plated Evans. Scales then slashed a grounder that the Fighting Tigers’ third baseman snagged, but his throw home to get Munsey sailed.
Munsey scored while Scales made it to second, making it a 5-0 game with one out for McFarland at the plate. He singled to right to plate Scales, while making it to second himself after the throw home got away from the catcher.
The infield came in shortly after to get freshman Brady Atwell to ground out to short, but Castlen’s second at-bat in the inning was a two-run single that gave Owensboro Catholic an 8-0 lead. He was thrown out trying to score on a single two batters later, but the Aces’ damage had been done with a seven-run inning.
Breckinridge County finally got to senior Hayden Ward in the top of the third, drawing two walks before a one-out single from sophomore Wyatt Burnett loaded the bases. A sac fly to center from Seeger made it an 8-1 game, but a big pop-up to Mundy ended the scoring threat going into the bottom of the third.
Owensboro Catholic took advantage of the solid pitching from Ward to expand its lead, starting with a one-out RBI single from Mundy. The following at-bat Atwell came through with two outs, just barely placing a liner inside the left field line to score two and give the Aces an 11-1 lead.
However, the Fighting Tigers weren’t going away that easy. Three straight singles to start the inning loaded the bases with no outs, leading to the end of Ward’s day on the mound.
Junior Grant Parson replaced him, as an error on Evans and a hit by pitch allowed a run each to make it 11-4. A run scored during the following at-bat on a double play to make it 11-5, but Parson was able to get another groundout to stop the bleeding.
Following a rough first inning out of the bullpen allowing multiple runs that ended up being counted towards Ward because of previous hits before he exited, Head Coach Jody Hamilton tried to calm down Parson in the dugout.
“The first inning he went out there and his heart was beating so fast he wasn’t even breathing” Hamilton said. “He was in the dugout after he got out of that mess and I said ‘Grant, I want you on the mound at the end of the game, so don’t make me come out there to get you.’”
It worked for the junior righty, as Parson was able to buckle in and bounce back. He went on to hold Breckinridge County scoreless for the remainder of the game, securing back-to-back regional championships for Owensboro Catholic with an 11-5 win.
“First of all, let me see we need to give praise and glory to God for putting these boys in this position and giving them the ability they have and the opportunities that they have,” Hamilton said. “You don’t win championships of any kind without a strong base and they have a great parental base and they have a great school system. And you know, there’s two things that drag you down as a coach. One is discipline—which I never had a discipline issue all year—and the other is motivation. I never had to motivate them.”
Ward allowed four earned runs on five hits, while walking two and striking out two in the start for the Aces. Meanwhile, Parson allowed an unearned run on two hits, while walking two and striking out four in four innings.
Hamilton being able to help Parson keep his cool and lock in for Owensboro Catholic was massive for their success on Thursday, but this is no surprise from the first-year coach for the Aces players.
“He’s such a good person,” Scales said. “He’s like our grandad. We show up everyday and he’s taking care of us and he loves us. That’s for sure. He loves the game and he’s telling us exactly what to do and putting us in the right place every time.”
It was the seniors who led the way offensively for Owensboro Catholic, as Evans and Castlen had a pair of RBIs along with freshmen Brady Atwell, while Munsey, Scales, McFarland and Mundy all chipped in one each. With eight of the 10 RBIs coming from seniors, it’s evident that this tight-knit group has a state championship on their mind after they fell short in the 2020-21 campaign.
“After last year losing to Lyon County in such a hard way, it hurt,” Evans said. “I still think about it all the time and it stuck with us. This year we want to do something different. We want to do something that we haven’t done at this school in the past 37 years and win a state championship. That’s our goal and we plan on starting off right next Thursday in Lexington.”
Scales seconded this notion along with his fellow seniors, saying it’s been a goal for the Aces from the jump this season. And this time around, Scales thinks that they are in just the right position to make it happen when they begin the hunt for a state championship next week in Lexington.
“We’re on top of the world right now,” Scales said. “That’s what you want going into the state tournament for sure. You want the team bonding and you want to roll right into the state tournament and that’s exactly what we’re doing right now. We’re hitting it well, we’re seeing it and our defense—I think we have the best defense in the region for sure… I think it’s the best in the state for sure.”
