McCracken County slams its way into state baseball finals against Trinity

After McCracken County gave up five runs in the first two innings of its state semifinals game against Danville, senior Ben Higdon was called to the mound to try to help keep the Mustangs within striking distance.

He did that. And he did some of the striking himself with the biggest blast of the day.

Higdon’s grand slam with two outs in the top of the fifth inning was part of a 10-run rally that turned a 7-4 deficit into a 15-10 win and propelled the Mustangs to their second straight KHSAA State Baseball Tournament championship game

“That is probably the single-handed greatest moment of my life,” the Memphis commit said of his towering blast, which landed on the awning of the “Pepsi Party Deck” over the right field fence at Lexington Legends Ballpark. “Hopefully, I’ll top that tomorrow, but that’s just an awesome (feeling), awesome atmosphere. I’m blessed to be able to be here. And blessed to be able to have that moment.”

McCracken County, ranked No. 4 at the end of the season by Prep Baseball Report, will face No. 1 Louisville Trinity in the finals. The Shamrocks defeated Lyon County 10-3 in Friday’s late semifinal.

“From Day 1 with these guys, we’ve focused on no matter what the score is, we’re never out of a fight. Man, they’re awesome,” McCracken Coach Zach Hobbs said. “They don’t give up on each other and they believe.”

No. 2 Danville roughed up McCracken County starter Josh Tucker in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Jaden Larmour walked on four pitches, Ethan Wood singled and after a sacrifice to get them into scoring position, Christian Howe scored them with a home run to left field for a 3-1 lead. Danville scored two more in the second before Higdon relieved Tucker in the third. Higdon gave up two more runs in the fourth.

But McCracken was having success at the plate as well, scoring a run in the first and second innings and two in the third that prompted Danville to pull starter Howe, one of its “Division I arm” aces, off the mound.

McCracken senior Brandon Dodd led off the fifth inning innocuously with a walk against Danville reliever Landon Smothers. By the time the inning was over, Dodd added a two-run single and 14 Mustangs had come to the plate. Five more runs scored after Higdon’s grand slam.

“I’ve never seen a team effort like that, whatsoever,” said Dodd, who was part of McCracken’s run to the finals in 2019. “To get bases loaded and Ben Higdon comes clutch like that, it’s just amazing. Even after that to have guys hitting like that, it’s just a great team win.”

Danville (40-4) became the sixth team to win 40 games in a season, but is the first of those to not win a state title. Still, the Admirals had a historic year with several players earning NCAA Division I offers.

“It was a great season. You really feel for the seniors to go out, but there’s only one team that doesn’t end the year with a loss. McCracken County’s a great team,” Danville Coach Paul Morse said. “You had two heavyweights going at it and that’s why you ended up playing a three-hour, 25-minute, seven-inning game with 30-plus hits and 25 runs.”

McCracken (35-5) has made the state baseball tournament every year of its existence since 2014 with three semifinals and a finals appearance. On two of those trips, the Mustangs have eliminated Trinity along the way (the 2019 semis and 2017 first round). The 2019 Mustangs fell short of the ultimate prize, losing out to Tates Creek. Dodd made the final out in that game. Whatever happens, Dodd feels his team is ready.

“We’re definitely more prepared, definitely more experienced the second time coming around, Dodd said. “I’m definitely more ready to go in this one. We’ve got more fight, especially for the ones in 2020 (teammates who didn’t get to play because of the season was canceled). I want to fight for those guys, too. It means a lot to me.”

Trinity defeats Lyon County

No. 16 Lyon County stood toe-to-toe with No. 1 Trinity for four innings in their state semifinals game Friday, but the Shamrocks kept jabbing away until, finally, breaking the Lyons’ defense.

Josh Castleman’s two-run single in the fifth inning was the fifth hit among the first six batters for the Rocks, four coming consecutively after a walk. The six-run outburst broke the scoreless tie and Trinity went on to win 10-3 to earn the program’s third state finals appearance.

Trinity had left seven runners stranded in the previous innings, surely frustrating the Rocks’ supporters, but Coach Richard Arnold said his team knew it would eventually have success.

“We hit the ball hard early and they made good plays, but there was no frustration,” Arnold said. “Just stay the course and keep getting the barrel on balls. … We go six runs, two runs and two runs in the last three innings, and that will win a lot of games.”

Eight Trinity hitters knocked in runs with Ethan Hodge and Castelman leading the way with two RBI each. Mr. Baseball winner Daylen Lile, a Louisville commit, went 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.

“It was a matter of just breaking the ice,” Arnold said.

Lyon (30-8) responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Lyons loaded the bases with no outs to start. Travis Yancy hit a two-run single, but Corey Cissell followed a batter later by grounding into a double play. A run scored to cut the lead to 6-3, but the momentum was broken.

“We fought. We had a tough schedule, and we’ve made history,” Lyon Coach Ricky Baker said. This was Lyon County’s first baseball state tournament appearance. “For our younger guys, you learn from this season, and you know what to do in the offseason to get better, and that’s what we’ve got to do.”

Trinity (40-2) is 0-2 in state finals and 0-2 against McCracken County in the state tournament. The Rocks are looking to break both those streaks.

“They are a juggernaut, right now,” Arnold said of McCracken. “They have really played well late in the season, but I think we have, too. … It looks like it’s the two best teams left. And that’s the way it should be.”