The Western Kentucky Warriors traveled to Glasgow, KY, to play in the USSSA State Championship last weekend. The Warriors qualified to play in the 16U AAA Division by placing 2nd in the Western KY Invitational in Murray earlier in June.
During the state tourney, the Warriors played three different teams from Louisville made up of players from Trinity, St. Xavier, Butler, Male, Manual, and Whifield Academy. On Saturday afternoon, starter Ethan Smith battled the Kentucky Select going 4-1/3 innings and striking out two. Austin Johnston closed out the fifth inning for the Warriors.
Smith pitched well but the Warriors’ offense sputtered, managing only three singles, one each by Seth Hendrix, Tyler Harris, and Coleman Ladd, before losing 5-0.
Smith induced 7 groundouts, led by the sharp play of shortstop Zack Baird and second baseman Jay Edwards. The tandem turned two critical double plays to keep the Warriors close.
The Warriors started out strong in their second game on Saturday behind righty Trevor Shoulders against the Akadema Attack. Shoulders went 4-2/3 innings, giving up only three hits and two runs and the score tied 2-2.
The bullpen couldn’t hold the Attack and they went on to win the game 6-2.
Leading hitters for the Warriors were William Miller with two singles and Hendrix with an RBI single. Once again, solid defense kept the Warriors close. Third baseman, Hendrix, made several nice stops with William Miller, Dalton Lykins, and Thomas Miller running down several hard hit balls in the outfield.
On Sunday, the third seeded Warriors met the Louisville Metro Bats, losing 12-3. The Bats jumped out early on the Warriors who were only able to mount one rally in the third inning. Warriors pitchers struggled against the hard-hitting Bats. Ladd and Ridge Brown each had RBI singles and Edwards also had a single for the Warriors. Harris recorded three walks and two runs in the contest.
The Warriors travel to Murray this weekend for the Freedom Fest Tournament July 4-6.
