15th and 16th District Baseball Check-In
By Perry Swack
With district play heating up, we swing around the 4th Region and take a look at each baseball district and where it stands after the first round of games last week. Districts have adopted a home-and-home round robin schedule for the regular season. Most inter-district affairs are played on consecutive weeknights with each team hosting. A weekly schedule is listed below, in addition to the district standings. Today we look at the 15th and 16th District.
16th District Standings
Barren County 4-0
Warren East 2-2
Glasgow 2-2
Allen County-Scottsville 0-4
Upcoming Schedule
April 29 at 5:30 – Barren County @ Glasgow
April 29 at 5:30 – Allen County-Scottsville @ Warren East
April 30 at 5:30 – Glasgow @ Barren County
April 30 at 5:30 – Warren East @ Allen County-Scottsville
Overview
Barren County sits atop the 15th District after sweeping Warren East and Allen County-Scottsville in consecutive weeks. Three players are batting above .400, led by Jordan Harris (.452), Sutton Hyde (.417), and JP Hyde (.414). The freshman Harris leads the Trojans with 28 hits and 19 RBI. Junior Joey Meyers is 5-0 on the mound with a 2.18 ERA and 32 strikeouts on the season. The righty threw a complete game in the opening victory over the Patriots, striking out seven and only allowing one run.
As for Allen County-Scottsville, Brantly Bray’s club is led by junior Eli Stamper. The multi-sport athlete leads the Patriots in batting average (.364) and hits (12). Although ACS utilizes an array of pitchers, junior Jay Desman has only allowed five runs in four appearances and currently holds a team-best 2.76 ERA with 16 strikeouts and only four walks.
After entering the 15th District a season ago, the Raiders of Warren East are looking to advance to the 4th Region Tournament for a fourth-straight year. Senior Ayden Barrick has led the team in batting average at .391, hits with 25, RBI with 16, and home runs with three. However, Barrick has missed the last week of games for the Raiders. In his absence, players like Maddox Tarrence and Kavien Hinton have kept pace. Tarrence leads the team with 20 runs scored, while Hinton has logged 20 hits and is tied with Barrick with 16 runs knocked in. Matthew Escalera threw a complete game with five strikeouts and zero earned runs in WE’s 12-4 win over Glasgow on Monday.
Glasgow picked up two district wins over ACS last week, but the Scotties have dropped their last four games – including two at the hands of Warren East. Senior Zachary Poore leads the club in batting average (.404), RBI (17), home runs (3), and bases on balls (12). Senior third baseman Weston Caroll is batting .391 with 27 hits, 19 runs, and has seven doubles on the season. The Scotties play Barren County next week with an opportunity to improve their district seeding for the postseason.
16th District Standings
Russell County 6-0
Clinton County 1-1
Cumberland County 1-2
Monroe County 1-4
Metcalfe County 0-2
Upcoming Schedule
Wednesday at 5:30 – Cumberland County at Russell County
Thursday at 5:30 – Clinton County at Monroe County
April 30 at 5:30 – Monroe County at Metcalfe County
April 30 at 5:30 – Clinton County at Cumberland County
Overview
Russell County has been the class of the 16th District again this season, starting its season at 18-3 and 6-0 in district play. Sophomore Carter Stapp has taken a leap after a strong freshman year and is batting a team-best .452 with 28 hits, 28 runs, 21 RBI, and 12 extra-base hits. The Laker lineup has very few holes with senior Trace Stringer is also batting over .400 and has 30 hits, 16 RBI, and 23 stolen bases to date. The dual-threat is 6-0 on the mound in 32 innings with 27 strikeouts and a 1.97 ERA. Coach David Rexroat’s club is favored to win its 14th district title in 15 seasons this season.
Clinton County currently sits in second at 1-1 and travels to Monroe County on Thursday for a district battle with the Falcons. Senior Walker Casada and sophomore Caleb Thrasher lead the way at the plate with Casada batting .382 and 21 hits. Thrasher is batting .370 with 20 hits and 16 RBI. Junior Nick Poore went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI in the Bulldogs 9-8 win over Monroe on Tuesday.
The Falcons of Monroe County are led by Travis Wood and Brison Nuckols among others this season. The junior Wood is hitting .415 with a team-best 23 runs and 22 hits. The sophomore Nuckols is hitting .365 with 19 hits, 18 runs, and a team-best 19 RBI. Monroe is looking to reach the 4th Region Tournament for the first time since 2018.
Cumberland County sits at 1-2 in district play after splitting with Monroe County last week and dropping the opener to Russell County on Tuesday. Burk Sells and Lance Willen are each batting over .420 and have scored 12 runs apiece on the season. Sells has been the Panthers most-pitcher with an ERA of 3.56 and only ten earned runs in 19 and ⅔ innings pitched.
Metcalfe County was off this week in regard to district play but will have a home-and-home with Monroe County next week. Daniel Garrett’s club is led by Collin Shive with a .306 average, 11 hits, nine RBI, and a home run. Maddux and Chance Garrett have been strong on the mound, only allowing a combined 15 runs in over 41 combined innings pitched. Maddux has struck out 16 opposing batters and has a 2.49 ERA, while Chance has only allowed 15 hits and holds a 2.62 ERA.
