For quite some time now, Region 4 softball has been controlled by two District 14 teams: South Warren and Warren East.
Year in and out, the two sides are competing neck and neck with one another, both in District 14 and Region 4. They’ve met in two of the past three regional tournament championships — and it’s very likely that the Lady Raiders and Spartans collide yet again in the 2018 edition of the region title game.
But before a championship is set, the two clubs will first have to get past their opening round and semifinal opponents.
South Warren (20-7) — the District 14 runner-up — will face District 16 champion Russell County (13-19) at 1 p.m. Monday, while District 14 champion Warren East (26-4) will meet District 15 runner-up Barren County (18-10) in the nightcap at 7 p.m. at the WKU Softball Complex.
“We got rained out against them this year, so we didn’t get to see them, but we did play them twice last year,” Warren East coach Phillip McKinney said of Barren County. “Coach (Daryl) Murphy has done an excellent job there since Day 1. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
“I looked up a few of the teams they played, and they’ve played some similar teams that we’ve played, but we just haven’t played each other in quite a few years,” South Warren coach Kelly Reynolds said of Russell County. “It’ll be interesting to see how things go.”
While Warren East won the title in 2015, South Warren has captured the past two as it defeated Greenwood in 2016 and came out on top last year with a 3-2 thrilling championship victory against the Lady Raiders.
After the way its season ended in 2017, Warren East has used that as motivation entering this year’s regional tournament.
“We’ve talked about it all year long,” McKinney said. “It’s never take anything for granted — and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’ve gotta get through Monday night.”
The other two quarterfinal matchups include Allen County-Scottsville (23-10) vs. Logan County (17-10) at 11 a.m. and Franklin-Simpson (16-22) vs. Metcalfe County (8-11) at 5 p.m.
Region 4 softball tournament 
at WKU Softball Complex
Monday’s games
Allen County-Scottsville vs. Logan County, 11 a.m.
Russell County vs. South Warren, 1 p.m.
Franklin-Simpson vs. Metcalfe County, 5 p.m.
Warren East vs. Barren County, 7 p.m.
Tuesday’s games
Semifinals, 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Wednesday’s game
Championship, 6:30 p.m.
–Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @TMansfieldST.–
