1 Favorite. 3 Contenders. 2 Sleepers. 2 Dark Horses.
Handicapping the Field for the 4th Region Baseball Championship
By Perry Swack
Favorite
Bowling Green
Bowling Green has looked the part of the favorite in the 4th Region as the Purples look to win their second region title in three seasons. Coach Nathan Isenberg’s club was 15-1 against region foes at the time of publication, sweeping contenders Greenwood, Warren East, Barren County and South Warren while also beating Russell County and Franklin-Simpson. The Purples’ dominance has come at both the plate and on the mound. BG is ranked second statewide in hits (315), third in runs (306), third in RBI (253), and fifth in batting average (.360). On the mound, Bowling Green has the third-most strikeouts in the state (282) and is sixteenth in ERA (2.05).
Seniors Eli Burwash and Carson Myers continue to lead the Purples in both hitting and pitching. Burwash is batting .414 with 46 hits, 46 runs, 11 doubles, five home runs, and 23 stolen bases. Myers leads the team with 43 RBI, ten doubles, and four home runs. Burwash (7-0), Myers (6-1), Brady Key (6-0), and Campbell Bush (5-0) are all having outstanding seasons on the hill, led by Bush’s 0.56 ERA. Burwash (0.74) and Myers (0.70) each have sub-1.00 ERAs and are among the state leaders in strikeouts with 69 and 66, respectively. A deep pitching staff and a talented lineup are a major reason why the Purples are the favorites and will look to make a deep run into the state tournament.
Contenders
Russell County
Russell County will look to win its first region baseball title since 2009. The Lakers have reached three-straight region finals and have won three district titles in a row. Nathan Lawson is having a season to remember, ranking among the state leaders in home runs (8), doubles (13), slugging percentage (0.849), and RBI (47). He is also 6-0 on the mound with 66 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.68. Cody Luttrell and Nick Aaron are pitching well, with records of 6-2 and 4-1 on the season. Luttrell had struck out 59 batters at the time of publication. Isaac Roy is batting .362 with 34 hits, five doubles, and 26 RBI, while Aidan Antle also has 34 hits with seven doubles and a batting average of .358. The Lakers went 11-2 against region foes this year, losing 5-3 at Bowling Green, splitting with South Warren, and beating Franklin-Simpson. Coach David Rexroat’s boys will be ready for anything this postseason.
Warren East
Warren East went 12-6 against 4th Region foes and 5-3 against 14th District opponents to earn the 2-seed in the district tournament over South Warren. The Raiders finished the season with the region’s third-most potent offense at 7.59 runs per game. Chase Carver leads the club with 30 runs, while Maddox Tarrence and Tray Price have each crossed the plate 28 times. Carver leads the team with a batting average of .392, while Nolan Ford leads the Raiders in both RBI (25) and home runs (3). On the mound, Brady Dragoo and Tanner Goad have led the way for Wes Sanford’s team. Dragoo struck out 66 batters in only eight games, going 6-1 and finishing the season with an ERA of 1.21. Goad went 5-3 over nine starts and finished with an ERA of 3.10. East last won the 4th Region title in 2011 and have had only one tournament appearance since then. However, the Raiders will certainly be a contender should they reach the event. It will all come down to the district battle with South Warren.
South Warren
The defending 4th Region champions (from 2019) are also a contender to the crown after winning more than 20 games in 2021. The Spartans started the season 1-3 but managed to roll off ten-straight wins into the early part of May. They then lost five of seven games – including a sweep at the hands of Bowling Green and Warren East – but picked up steam heading home as they had won six in a row at the time of publication. Although they may be behind Bowling Green and Russell County in various statistical rankings, South is among the state’s best in batting average (.339), runs (840), hits (285), doubles (61), triples (12), and RBI (200). Seven players have at least 26 hits and are batting .338 for the Spartans, led by Tanner Graves who is batting .350 with 26 RBI and 12 doubles. On the mound, Coleman House and Cooper Myers have led the way as House is 6-1 with a 1.97 ERA and Myers has struck out 33 batters and holds a 2.63 ERA. Coach Chris Gage’s club will face a win-or-go-home showdown with Warren East. If they get out of that, they’ll be confident they can make a deep run.
Sleepers
Greenwood
Greenwood is ranked in the top five of the region’s RPI ratings from KHSAA; however, the Gators went 3-5 in district play and will therefore be in the 4-5 game with Warren Central. The winner plays Bowling Green with a berth in the region tournament on the table. Bryson Brockman has been the most consistent hitter for GHS this spring, batting .413 with 31 hits, 30 runs, and 20 RBI. Cade Thornton has done damage at the plate as well, batting .324 with 20 RBI, five doubles, two triples, and a team-leading four home runs. Caden Whittle leads coach Jason Jaggers’ pitching staff with 49 strikeouts, while Matthew Brown leads the club with a 7-1 record and an ERA of 2.17 (and 47 Ks of his own). Should Greenwood be able to knock off Bowling Green and qualify for its first region tournament berth since 2017, it will feel confident about its chances – the Gators are 8-2 against non-14th District sides.
Franklin-Simpson
Franklin-Simpson started with a 2-5 record but rebounded to win six in a row near the end of April. The Wildcats went a perfect 6-0 in district play to lock up the 13th District’s #1 seed. Dalton Fiveash has been on fire at the plate, batting a region-leading .532 (eighth in the state) and slugging .919 (twelfth statewide). The senior has also been dominant on the mound, going 4-1 with 64 strikeouts in 35 innings and an ERA of 1.60. The Wildcats went 6-8 against the other teams on this list, meaning they’ll have the experience to make a deep run at WKU in early June.
Glasgow
Glasgow picked up the biggest win of the season among 4th Region teams when it gave Bowling Green its only region loss on May 13 in a 9-5 victory. The Scotties clinched the district’s top seed behind the efforts of Camron Hayden and Cole Stephens among others. Hayden is batting .378 with 34 hits, 25 runs, 25 RBI, nine doubles, and three home runs. Stephens checks in at .410 with 34 hits, 21 RBI, and nine doubles as well. Pitcher Tyler Lane has pitched the second-most innings in the state of Kentucky with 68 on the season at the time of publication. If the Scotties get the performance they got from their players in wins over Barren County, Warren East, and Bowling Green this season, they’re a strong sleeper candidate in the 4th Region.
Dark Horses
Barren County
Barren County posted its first winning season since 2016, winning more than 20 games for the first time in five years. The Trojans went 12-7 in region play and 5-1 in district play. They picked up wins over Greenwood and Glasgow. Brennan Hicks is batting .416 with 37 hits, 30 RBI, and eight doubles. Blake Cook went 5-2 with an ERA of 2.20, striking out a team-leading 2.20. The Trojans put together four separate win streaks of at least three games this season. They went 2-7 against the other teams on this list; however, Blake Crabtree’s club can do some damage and will be a tough out in the region tournament.
Logan County
Logan County lost four of its first five games and sat at 7-8 near the end of April. The Cougars then flipped a switch, winning their next nine games to clinch the 2-seed in the 13th District Tournament. Coach Ethan Meguiar’s club knows how to put the bat on the ball, ranking among the state’s elite in batting average (.325), doubles (53), and home runs (15). Macon Barrow and Zach Yates have led the charge as both are hitting over .400 with Barrow leading the team in hits and doubles, while Yates leads the way in RBI and home runs. Logan County last won the region tournament in 2013 and will look to do so again this year.
