The Daviess County Little League 9-10-year-old All-Star is playing in the state championship today in Lexington. The squad will take on Morehead at 11 a.m. CT for a chance to bring some hardwood back to Owensboro for the first time in more than a decade.
The young team dominated the District 1 tournament and has continued their winning ways at state. With another win, the squad will finish the All-Star season undefeated.
Head coach Kyle Watkins said it’s a crazy feeling, especially since the team just started playing together a little over a month ago.
“They’ve worked extremely hard since then. And in that short time, we won a very challenging district tournament with some of the best players and teams in the entire state,” Watkins said. “Now, we’ve worked our way into the final game of the state tournament. I just really can’t say enough about these boys. I’m extremely proud to be coaching them.”
The team opened up pool play on Saturday with a 12-5 victory over North Oldham. Jake Watkins secured the win on the mound, while hits by Luke Abbott, J.P. Hedges, Collin Swope, and Kaden Knott propelled the team to victory.
With hot bats for Abbott, Maxey, Bryar Stone, and Watkins, they defeated Morehead Little League 11-0 on Sunday. Monday saw the squad defeat Paintsville 12-1, with Jaxen Bickett claiming the win on the mound. Carson Ashby, Maxey, and Stone all secured pivotal hits.
Tuesday’s victory was slightly more interesting, as the team edged out Lexington Eastern 6-4 in the semifinals. Watkins and Abbott led the charge on the mound, while Knott, Stone, Mason, Maxey, Ashby, and Watkins all tallied hits.
Coach Watkins attributes their success to staying focused and playing “clean” baseball, and that’s what they intend to do in the championship game.
“To be successful (in the championship), we just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” he said. “Our pitchers need to throw strikes. Our defense needs to be strong. And we need to hit the baseball. We call it clean baseball.”
