Baseball is a funny game and just like any sport just as there are the GREAT teams that everyone talks about in the 5th Region, there are also the teams that came close and didn’t. The 2013 Nelson County Cardinals were one of those teams that we will discuss.
They were comprised of a great blend of youth and experience along with some great arms and some up and coming talent. Coach Kelly Wood, after returning from a five-season absence, inherited a Cardinal team which went 12-22 in 2012, but suddenly started to look like one that could make some noise in the 19th District.
Wood had some experienced arms in the rotation like Dylan Beasley and a couple of juniors that were making a splash Jared Proctor and Alex Briney. Khalil Bourn was a capable leadoff batter and speedy in the outfield and senior Zach Sinclair was consistent and gave Wood another arm in the rotation. Junior Tyler Spalding was getting plenty of time on the mound and could play anywhere while both Hunter Smith and Hunter Childress were playing well too.
After losing to Bethlehem in the 19th District Final for the second straight season, the Cardinals were about to make a deep run in a 5th Region Tournament that was loaded with stars. After knocking off Campbellsville 10-0 in the first-round game, Nelson County would face another surprise team in home standing North Hardin. The Trojans had just knocked off Green County in round one in a wild game and now were riding a wave of confidence.
Woods’ Cardinals took it to the Trojans using pitcher Alex Briney, who kept North Hardin off balance most of the night and the Cardinals defensive made a couple of early plays to squash Trojan scoring chances. Nelson County finally got to North Hardin pitcher Lance Baker and the Cardinals won by a surprising 7-0. Despite an 18-17 regular season, the Nelson County baseball team was just one win away from winning the Region championship and making a trip to Lexington to the KHSAA State Baseball Tournament.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. Central Hardin, the Cardinals next opponent was strong, talented and simply just too much for Nelson County and the 10-0 final score in just six-innings was evidence of this. It didn’t help matters when pitcher Proctor was hit by a pitch in the head. The Bruins, as their Final Four finish at State will attest were playing on a different level with starting pitchers like Drew Harrington and Josh Krupinski along with a batting lineup that resembled “Murderers Row” in the 5th Region were simply just GREAT.
Still, there was plenty to be proud of in a Cardinal team which grew leaps and bounds in just one season and lots to look forward to next season as plenty of Wood’s guys were returning and were drawing interest from college scouts.
If 2013 was a pleasant surprise, then how else could you label 2014, but with great potential that suffered through some REALLY bad luck. Not that things got off to a bad start as the Cardinals went 11-7 through the first month of the season. Proctor, Briney and Spalding were really developing into a solid rotation and throw in Taylor and Wood had four guys he could count on for a long or a short series. Jonathan Breeding had a hot bat and catcher Zech Mauldin was having a great season as well.
Then it happened. On April 22nd, Nelson County was involved in a wild game with district rival Bethlehem losing 16-9, but that wasn’t the bad news as middle reliever Spalding came in late in the game for the Cardinals to try and slow down the deluge of runs by the Eagles and a sharp line drive struck him in the head and knocking him unconscious. The injury was so serious that Spalding was not only lost for the rest of the game, but would never play again.
Then a season ending injury to Proctor further compounded things for Wood as he was struck on the hand by a line drive just before the end of the regular season. Injuries weren’t the only problem that plagued Nelson County in this what should have been a championship season as weather, suspended District games that needed to be made up were also one. That season, several District matches had to be postponed and finished at a later date to set district tournament seeding meaning longer hours for the players. The Cardinals had to finish up a district game between Bethlehem which went 16-innings on May 17th and then play their first District playoff game on the 20th which went 10-innings before losing to Bethlehem in their second meeting in just three days losing 9-0. To make matters worse, Briney, who would pitch in that game would be made unavailable to pitch game one of the Region Tournament on May 26th against Elizabethtown, so junior Parker Taylor took the mound and was shelled by the Panthers, 10-0 (5-innings) thus ending their season.
One has to wonder what would have happened if injuries and the black cloud that hung over the team during the last several weeks had not happened. Surely, Nelson County had a solid rotation and could have hung with most of the competition in the Region Tournament. Unfortunately for them, 2014 there were two other really good teams in that Region and both Bethlehem and Elizabethtown were able to stay healthy and would prove why they were 1 and 2 in the ratings by reaching the Region Final.
Also for the Cardinals, 2014 was the beginning of the end for at least two years as Nelson County would graduate eight seniors (mostly starters) and the immediate decline was evident as the Cardinals finished 15-13 and 18-16 including two straight District losses in the semi-finals. Wood would be gone after the 2016 season and David Sparrow, who had coached the team just before Wood came back in 2012 would be there when Nelson County made another run to the Region Championship going 21-19 and reached the final until losing to eventual champ Marion County.
Several of the 2014 team would go on to play at the next level and there’s no doubt they were a talented bunch. I did run into Dylan Beasley once after that season. He was currently playing college football and while we talked about the good old days, I wondered how things might have been different in 2013 if they could have won the Final against a very talented Central Hardin team and if that might have carried over into 2014. For that matter, what if the 2014 team’s rotation hadn’t been decimated and how far might they have gone. I’m sure they would be remembered in a different vein and for some reason, that thought crossed my mind while I watched the 2017 Cardinals play the Knights in the Region final.
Somehow “what if’s” always are a staple in sports scenarios which may be why the 2013 team and the 2014 team will be thought of that way and why we will always wonder “What If” as well.
