State baseball, softball pairings set
It will be much more difficult for a 12th Region baseball team to put together the kind of state tournament run enjoyed last year by Mercer County, which made it all the way to the state finals before falling to Central Hardin.
Parings for the state baseball tournament and state softball tournament were drawn today, and the baseball draw did the 12th Region no favors. The 12th Region champion will play the winner of the 7th Region in the first round of the state tournament June 4 in Lexington.
The 7th Region is home to six of the 26 teams currently ranked in the latest Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association poll, including No. 1 Male. There’s also No. 3 St. Xavier, No. 8 Eastern, No. 15 Louisville Christian, No. 20 Trinity and No. 22 Ballard. The 12th Region’s only ranked teams are No. 9 Danville and No. 12 West Jessamine.
The 12th Region fared better in the softball draw, landing a first-round game against the winner of the 8th Region on June 7 in Owensboro. Neither the 8th nor the 12th Region has any teams ranked in the current Kentucky Softball Coaches Association poll. Oldham County (8th), Boyle County (12th) and Pulaski County (12th) are the only teams receiving votes from those regions.
