Brought to
you by BSN and Sponsored by Appalachian Regional Health Care!!!
April 7, 2019, JJ Baker – Bluegrass Sports Nation Baseball Columnist
It seems as though the KHSAA Boy’s and Girl’s
Sweet Sixteen just ended, and we look up and have completed three weeks of the
2019 high school baseball season! This third week saw many of the teams in the
14th Region traveling during their spring break week. Several teams
in our area were in a cold and wet Myrtle Beach for the week, while others
stayed a little closer to home, but still got some quality games in against
non-region opponents.
This was a tough week for the region as a whole. The win/loss
total for the week for all 14th Region teams, after games were
completed on Saturday, was a sub-par 15 wins and 24 losses. There is no longer
an undefeated team to be found in the region. There were only 4 teams that had
winning records this week. Letcher County Central finished 1-0, Leslie County
was 2-1, Wolfe County was 2-1, and Estill finished the week at 3-0. The poor
records should indicate a little better competition being played by the region
as a whole, though. Traveling, the way the teams did this week, will only
strengthen the region and tournament at the end of the season. Playing better
teams will expose weakness and show a team what needs to be worked on as
post-season play looms in the distance.
The All- A will be in full swing this week also. Cordia, Knott,
Buckhorn, Hazard, Leslie, Breathitt, Jackson City, Wolfe, Lee, and Owsley will
be working toward an All A 14th region title and a shot at the 13
Region All A Champion in the sectionals. That sectional game will be hosted at
the 13th Region winner’s
home field. Top contenders, barring an upset, should include Hazard, Knott
County, and Breathitt to move onto the sectional.
There were some bright spots this week within the region. The
Powell County Pirates have been plodding along after losing 5 seniors off of
last year’s
roster with 3 of those being pitchers. The Pirates have tried to combat the
lose of pitching due to graduation by attacking
opposing teams at the plate. They are putting up some gaudy numbers at
the plate to back that style up. Three Pirates ( Daniel Poe, Nate Skidmore, and
Wyatt Clark ) have already racked up 15 hits. If they can keep up that pace,
that will put them at a 50-60 hit season! Few players in the state will reach
the milestone of 60 this season. Poe is lighting up the state sheet hitting an
amazing .441, with an OBP of .486. Clark is leading the team with 11 RBIs and
Jon Brooks has lead the team in runs scored with 13. Skidmore has been a terror
for pitchers and catchers also. The future EKU Football Colonel has stolen 10
bases and has a Quality at Bat percentage (QAB%) of 64%. As youth fades into
experience the Pirates should be a tough out by the time post season play roles
around.
Check back next week as we will review the 4th week
of the 14th Region sponsored by Appalachian Regional Health Care!
Week 3, 14th Regional Scoreboard:
53 District (Cordia, Knott Central, Letcher Central)
Cordia:
Wolfe – 17, Cordia – 2
Knott County Central:
Boyd – 18, Knott – 5 ( 5 innings )
Clay – 6, Knott – 4
Russell – 7, Knott – 4
Letcher County Central:
Letcher – 6, Belfry -4
54 District (Buckhorn, Hazard, Leslie, Perry Central)
Buckhorn:
Buckhorn – 16, OBI – 6 (5 innings)
Lee County – 13, Buckhorn -12
Hazard:
Hazard – 10, Richlands (VA) – 2
Union City (TN) – 15, Hazard – 9
Fluvanna County (Palmyra, VA) – 13, Hazard – 2 (5 innings)
Leslie
Jackson City – 3, Leslie – 13 (6 innings)
Leslie – 3, Betsy Layne – 5
Leslie – 15, Wolfe – 0 (5 innings)
Perry County Central:
PCC – 2, Fredrick Douglas – 9
PCC – 4, Western Hills – 12
PCC -2, Rockcastle – 7
Morgan County – 2, PCC – 5
Montgomery – 12, PCC – 5
55 District (Breathitt, Jackson City, Wolfe)
Breathitt
Breathitt – 4, Powell – 7
Breathitt – 11, Prestonsburg – 12
Breathitt – 19, Jackson City – 6 (5 innings)
Breathitt – 0, Sheldon Clark – 13 (5 innings)
Breathitt – 0, Sheldon Clark – 10 (5 innings)
Jackson City:
Jackson City – 3, Leslie – 13 (6 innings)
Breathitt – 19, Jackson City – 6 (5 innings)
Wolfe
Wolfe – 13, Elliot – 0
Wolfe – 17, Cordia – 2 (3 innings)
Leslie – 15, Wolfe – 0 (5 innings)
56 District (Estill, Lee, Owsley, Powell)
Estill:
Estill – 6, Jackson County – 5
Lee – 1, Estill -15 ( 5 innings)
Estill – 16, Morgan – 3
Lee:
Lee – 1, Estill – 15 (5 innings)
Lee – 13, Buckhorn – 12
Lee – 10, Menifee – 13
Owsley:
Powell – 20, Owsley – 0 (3 innings)
Powell:
Breathitt – 4, Powell – 7
Powell – 20, Owsley – 0 (3 innings)
Lewis County – 10, Powell – 7
Powell – 0, Rowan County – 10 (6 innings)
Check bluegrasssportsnation.com every Monday for a recap of the Baseball action in the 14th Region!
