LOUISVILLE – Bullitt Central ended 22 years of frustration on the baseball diamond on Monday, scoring five times in both the sixth and seventh innings to defeat DeSales in an opening round game of the Sixth Region Tournament.
Bullitt Central had not won a game at the regional level since the 2001 season when the team was in the Eighth Region. The program joined the Sixth Region in 2006, but had lost in the opening round three times.
There are ties between that 2001 team and this year’s team. Bullitt Central sophomore second baseman Taylor Coffman is the son of Brian Coffman, a standout on that 2001 team and Taylor is the grandson of John Coffman who coached the Cougars in 2001.
With the victory, Bullitt Central (12-19) advances to Wednesday Sixth Region semifinals. The Cougars will battle Fern Creek (14-16) in the second of the two games that day at Patterson Stadium on the University of Louisville campus.
It was not easy for Bullitt Central. DeSales came into the game with a 29-10 record and was the top ranked team in the Sixth Region. Perhaps even more importantly, the Colts were two-time defending Sixth Region champions.
However, the Cougars had some confidence on their side as they had beaten DeSales 7-6 back on April 12 in Shepherdsville.
This was not your traditional regional tournament game. While 21 runs were scored by the two teams, the squads combined for just ten hits. But, there were only two errors in the game, both by the Colts.
Bullitt Central used four pitchers in the game and they walked nine batters as well as hitting a batter. DeSales used five pitchers and those five walked eight Cougar hitters. In addition, Bullitt Central batters were hit by five pitches including Coffman twice.
In fact, the eventual winning run for Bullitt Central came on a hit batter in the top of the seventh. DeSales had scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game.
Bullitt Central then broke the game open with five runs on just one hit in the seventh. The frame started when junior Beau Cook walked off new pitcher Blake Ernspiker. Cook walked after fouling off two pitches before getting a ball. The only hit of the inning came when Anderson Smith, a sophomore, grounded the ball through the left side of the infield, allowing Cook to get to third base.
The Cougars then loaded the bases when senior Blake Pedley was hit by a pitch. What would be the winning run, then scored when Coffman was hit by a pitch. Coffman had taken two strikes early in the count before laying off three balls before being hit. Senior Elijah Hammond was the next Cougar at the plate and he walked on five pitches, forcing in the second run of the inning.
DeSales made a pitching change, but it didn’t help. The new pitcher, senior Justin Wilkins could not find the plate, walking Jordan Powell on four pitches. The Cougars then did what was needed as junior Shane Carnes hit a sacrifice fly that scored Coffman. Junior Dylan Pierce did the same, hitting a sacrifice fly that drove in Hammond.
Powell, who had moved to the mound with one out in the sixth inning, then earned the win when he retired the Colts in order in the bottom of the second. Powell got back-to-back strikeouts before inducing a pop-fly to end the game.
Bullitt Central had trailed for much of the game. DeSales scored a run in the bottom of the first and the Cougars answered in the second. However, the Colts scored three times in the third. The Cougars added runs in the fourth and fifth to pull within 4-3 before the Colts pushed ahead 6-3 after five innings.
That led into the big finish. Bullitt Central scored five times in the sixth. DeSales did rally with two runs in the bottom of the frame to tie the game. Coach Chris Ryan’s team then put the game away with the big seventh inning uprising.
In the bottom of the sixth, DeSales started the inning with a single, a walk before the first out came on a sacrifice bunt. However, another walk loaded the bases. The first run of the inning then came when pitcher Blake Pedley walked Carman Fichetola on four straight pitches, the second consecutive DeSales batter to reach on four pitches.
At that point, Ryan went to Powell. The sophomore got the second out of the inning on a ground ball back to the mound, but he had no play at the plate so got the out at first. Powelll then got out of the jam by striking out Caleb Thompson on a full-count pitch.
To get the lead, Bullitt Central had gotten some help from DeSales in the top of the sixth. That inning started with an out, but then Smith singled on a full-count pitch, Pedley then walked. After freshman Colin Waltrip walked to load the bases, Hammond hit the ball to third base and the ball was misplayed, allowing a run to score and leaving the bases loaded.
DeSales opted to make another pitching change. That didn’t work as Powell walked on five pitches to make it a one-run game. Carnes was then out on a caught foul ball for the second out of the inning. With the runners off on the crack of the bat, Pierce’s double to right field scored three runs and put the Cougars ahead 8-6. The team’s first lead of the contest.
Bullitt Central finished the game with six hits. Half of the Cougars’ hits were by Smith and he drove in a run. Pierce had two hits and drove in five runs. The other hit was a solo home run by junior Grayson Reichert in the second inning.
Two runs were scored by Powell, Smith, Pedley and Hammond.
Reichert was the starting pitcher and he pitched four innings, giving up six earned runs while striking out seven. Waltrip then pitched one inning before having trouble in the sixth inning. Pedley came in and got one out before Powell got the final five outs to secure the win.
Bullitt Central will now get another shot at Fern Creek in the second semifinal on Wednesday set for an 8 p.m. start. The two teams played back on April 24 in Shepherdsville with the Tigers earning an 8-3 win. That setback came at one of the lowest points of the season for the Cougars as the maroon and gray were in the midst of a seven-game losing streak.
Fern Creek, which lost to Bullitt East 5-3 in the championship game of the 24th District Tournament, advanced to the semifinals with a 7-2 win over Pleasure Ridge Park on Monday.
The Sixth Region championship game is set for 8 p.m. on Friday at Patterson Stadium.