South Warren faces off with 14th Region champion Breathitt County on Friday afternoon
By Perry Swack
With a 7-3 win over Bowling Green in the region championship, South Warren won its fifth title in twelve seasons. Dating back to 2003, no other 4th Region program has been more successful than the Spartans and their five region titles. Coming into 2023, coach Chris Gage had to replace four of the team’s top five batters and two of the squad’s top pitchers from 2022. The Spartans didn’t blink going 5-1 in one of the state’s toughest districts. The club dropped the 14th District championship game, but rebounded to defeat Franklin-Simpson, Barren County, and Bowling Green en route to the championship.
It was mid-April and the Spartans had lost consecutive games for the second time this season. Losing 5-0 at home to Bowling Green had put South in an 0-1 hole in the district and a loss at BG the next night would put them two games behind the Purples in the standings. After collecting only four hits in the opening game, Coach Gage needed a strong showing from his bats. The Spartans found themselves down early but rallied with a five-run fourth inning to help blow the game open and win, 9-6. Senior Dalton Sisson went 3-for-3 with 3 RBI at the plate and pitched six innings allowing only six hits in the win.
The victory over the Purples propelled South to win their remaining five district games and clinch the all-important 1-seed in the district tournament. In the region semifinals against Barren County, the team again found their backs against the wall. Down 2-1 in the sixth with two outs, senior Andrew Milam laced a two-run double to give the Spartans the lead for good and into the region finale.
Against Bowling Green in the title game, South used some more sixth-inning magic to take over the game. Down 3-2, the Spartans put together five-straight hits that turned the game on its head and led to five runs as the program won its fifth region title since 2012.
Now the Spartans set their sights on a new goal – the state title. They will face off against 14th Region champion, Breathitt County (22-14), on Friday afternoon at 1:30 EST at the Counter Clocks Field in Lexington (former home of the Lexington Legends). A win over the Bobcats would move the Spartans into the quarterfinals against the 13th Region champion Whitley County (35-4) or the 5th Region champion, LaRue County (22-14). Should South Warren secure its first trip to the state semifinals, it would return to Lexington on June 9 for the semifinals and finals (June 10) at Kentucky Proud Park.
South Warren will have a send-off for the team on Thursday, June 1st at 8:30 AM CST at SWHS.
