LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) – A Shelby County High School baseball team with eight seniors, most of whom have played together all their lives, saw the season of a lifetime continue on Saturday afternoon in the KHSAA Clark’s Pump and Shop State Baseball quarterfinals at Counter Clocks Field.
They did it while ending the season of a lifetime for Louisville Eastern High School, which upset St. Xavier, one of the championship favorites, to earn its first regional championship since 1997. Once at state, the Eagles reached the final 8, before falling behind 5-0 in the first inning of a 9-2 defeat to the Rockets.
Shelby County, back at state for the first time since 2007, was the championships’ second-highest rated RPI team coming into the tournament, and improved to 31-9 with the win. They advance to next Friday’s state semifinals in Lexington.
When coach Steve Kingsolver took over the club in 2020, the season was wiped out by COVID. A year later, the team went just 7-20. But he knew he had talent, even if it was young.
“I’ve known what we had coming up,” Kingsolver said. “I’ve known that we had a significant senior class. And they’ve played the lead role for us. . . . I knew the potential was there. I knew it was possible. But anybody, to get any type of success in the postseason, it takes a lot of luck. Single elimination, man, the ball bounces the wrong way one time and you’re going home.”
Shelby County starting pitcher Jack Wills got the win in Saturday's 9-2 victory over Eastern.
It didn’t take the Rockets long to take control Saturday. They sent 10 batters to the plate in a 5-run first inning, chasing Eastern starter Andrew Whitmer. A two-run double by Jaxson Carter was the big blow. They scored three more in the second, sparked by an RBI single down the left field line by Myles Strong.
“We like to come out aggressive,” Strong said. “That's our whole thing. If we jump on them early, they get rattled. And then usually we stay up the rest of the game. A lot of our really close games are when we don't score in the first inning. A lot of people, once they're down, they stay down and they lose confidence. But it feels great to put up a 5-spot in the first inning.”
Eastern scored when an RBI double by Carson Shee brought Jake Lind home in the first, and added a run when Ben Brown singled home Braydon Nettles in the second. But the Eagles couldn’t find enough offense after their slow start, ending their historic season at 28-13.
Coach T.J. Graves, while disappointed after the loss, couldn’t help but reflect on what his players accomplished.
“First inning was a killer, man,” he said. “Needed that double play. Needed a couple of plays in the end. Didn’t get them. But listen, all that needs to be said is I'm so thankful my kids brought us on this ride. I'm going to get emotional on you, but they’re never going to forget this. I'll never forget it. I'm just so thankful they took us on this ride, man. Never thought I'd be here. It's an unbelievable feeling and I'm just so thankful.”
Eastern High School's Ryan Stitch pitches in relief during Saturday's state baseball quarterfinals in Lexington.
Graves said he hopes what his program accomplished this season will be just the beginning.
“I hope this opens the floodgates now for Eastern, I really do,” Graves said. “Because we're going to continue to get good athletes. We're going to get good players. And I hope this opens up to the eyes of the people here. They experienced it so now they know it can happen. . . . It sucks right now -- it's a terrible feeling. But they got to do what so many great Eastern players didn't get to do because of our region. I hate that expression of keep your heads up, but man, we just need to keep our heads up. This is a phenomenal accomplishment for these kids.”
Jack Wills gave up just 1 earned run in 4 1/3 innings to pick up the win, improving to 7-1 on the season. Carter White pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the save.
The Rockets have played a quality schedule this season, and enter the semifinal round with confidence, experience and pitching depth.
“We know we're right there with any team in the state,” Strong said. “Of course, Apollo and LexCath are really good teams. But we know that we're right there with them. And we believe we can beat anybody in this tournament. . . . It feels good to be top 4 now.”
Having come from 7-20 to one game away from the state final, Strong said the group is looking forward to a week of “hard and hot practices.”
“All of us have grown up playing together our whole life,” he said. “So we're as tight as they come. We don't just hang out when we’re playing baseball, we're hanging out outside of baseball, the whole team. We're just really great friends, and we stick together.”
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