LOUISVILLE – There were some missteps on Wednesday night but the Sixth Region semifinal saw the Bullitt Central Cougars take some definite “steps in the right direction.”
For the first time in 23 years, the baseball team would win a regional baseball game. But on this particular night, Chris Ryan’s team would suffer a heartbreaking 11-10 loss to the Fern Creek Tigers.
The game, which ended at 12:30 a.m. Thursday after nearly four hours of play, may have been one of the most bizarre contests in high school tournament play.
Down 8-4 in the top of the seventh, Bullitt Central would come back to score six runs on only two hits. But the Cougars would see Fern Creek come back to score three runs in the final frame to earn the berth in Friday’s regional championship game.
“We fight,” Ryan said of his team after the emotional loss. “We just didn’t execute when we needed to.”
In earning the first regional victory in decades on Monday, Ryan said he knows the program is making progress. It still hurts to be so close to a shot at making the state tournament.
“We lack some depth and that showed tonight,” said Ryan, whose team finished with a 12-20 record on the season. “We’re getting better. We’ve shown that we will fight to the end. We never gave up.”
With only three seniors, Ryan knows the program will bring a lot of talent back next season. He said getting better over the summer will be a key.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Ryan. “We just couldn’t get the key hit early in the game.”
Things started out like a normal game on a warm night in Jim Patterson Stadium on the University of Louisville campus. A large crowd was waiting for something to happen.
In the first inning, walks to Jordan Powell, Dylan Pierce and Beau Cook loaded the bases with two outs. But Tiger starter Colin Knoop got his third strikeout of the frame to end the threat.
Powell, the Bullitt Central starter, would not give up a run through the first four innings.
In the top of the fourth, the Cougars got on the scoreboard.
Cook led off when a single and advanced to second when a third strike pitch got away from the catcher. Senior Blake Pedley would deliver a single to right field.
Cook would hesitate around third but when the left-fielder bobbled the ball, the junior scampered home.
Bullitt Central would load the bases after a walk to Taylor Coffman and Powell was hit by a pitch. However, Knopp got Shane Carnes on a deep drive to center field.
The visitors got another run in the fifth inning.
Pierce’s line drive got past the center fielder, who made a diving attempt. With the ball rolling to the fence, the junior would roll into third base to lead off the inning.
With manager Jared Stout calling on Bradley Jones to take the ball, Cook delivered the second run with a sacrifice fly.
Fern Creek, the District 24 runner-up, took the lead in the bottom of the frame.
Reverting to some small ball, a single was followed by a bunt single and a sacrifice bunt. Jones would bring home Jackson Zurkhulen home on a sacrifice fly and Carson Allen’s single brought home Macada Marshall with the tying run.
Ashton Prechtel’s double put Fern Creek up 3-2.
Get ready for the game to take a very crazy turn.
Collin Waltrip, who came in relief in the fifth inning, walked. With two outs, courtesy runner Trevor Carnes would score when Shane Carnes’ double was misplayed in left field. That allowed the junior catcher to advance to third base.
Courtesy runner Cameron Thiel would score on Pierce’s RBI single.
Fern Creek would score five runs in bottom of the sixth frame.
Knopp was hit by a Waltrip pitch and Lucas Bolin followed with an infield single. Zuckhulen’s grounder was fielded by third baseman Grayson Reichert, who threw home to easily get the runner on the tag.
Pedley got the call to the mound and walked Marshall to load the bases. A walk to Cole Johnson scored a run to tie the game. When Jones was hit by a pitch, that made it 5-4 for the Tigers.
Ryan brought in sophomore Anderson Smith to pitch. That’s when things got real crazy. Allen hit what seemed to be a sacrifice fly to right field, which would have scored Marshall – no matter the umpire’s call. It appeared that when the outfielder was making the transfer to throw, the ball dropped out.
After some discussion, the Tigers had runners at second and third with two outs. That’s when Prechtel delivered a two-run single. The Cougars escaped further damage when Jason Kwon’s deep drive was caught at the wall, 402 feet away, to close out the inning.
Cougar fans, don’t pack up and leave despite the 8-4 deficit entering the final at-bats.
Bullitt Central would put six runs on the board with only two hits in facing four Tiger hurlers.
Cook and Pedley both walked. Cook would score on a wild pitch and Thiel walked to load the bases with one out.
Chaz Phillips came on to replace Drew Massey and promptly walked Smith and Powell. Ben Asher came in to get a strikeout for the second out.
With the bases loaded, Pierce’s single up the middle would drive home two Cougars to tie the score for a 9-8 lead. And Reichert’s triple gave Bullitt Central a 10-8 advantage entering the bottom of the seventh.
Ryan called on Pierce and he walked Knopp. When the count was 3-0 on Bolin, the manager called on starter Powell to return to the mound.
Bolin worked the walk but the sophomore came back to strike out Zurkhulen and Marshall.
With two outs, Johnson drove a ball to right field which was misplayed, scoring two Tigers to tie the game.
Jones would end the game with a grounder which made its way through the infield.
With all the excitement, the teams combined for 16 hits on the 22 runs. Two Cougar errors proved to be too much to overcome.
“We’ve made a step in the right direction,” said Ryan. “We just needed to take advantage of some opportunities.”