ASHLAND —
All throughout the high school season players, parents and coaches talked of the dramatic impact the new, less powerful aluminum bats were having on their teams. For Post 76, it turns out those effects have carried over into the summer season
But lucky for the Sixers they have plenty of quality pitching and a stable of steady fielders. The combination of the two helped the Post 76 claim the Cliff Webb Memorial Tournament championship Sunday in a 3-2 win over the Nicholasville Phillies.
“Pitching and defense is what we have to do,” Post 76 coach Mike Delaney said. “The new bats have really leveled everybody out.”
After pitching six shutout innings in the Sixers’ 5-0 win against the Huntington Hounds on Friday, Dylan Delaney came back to start Sunday’s finale and threw a scoreless first inning before giving way to reliever Luke Farrar.
Farrar, a Fairland High School product, pitched four innings giving up two earned runs on six hits.
The Phillies, which features mostly West Jessamine players, had several other chances to score against Farrar, but the hard-throwing right-hander was able to wiggle out of trouble.
In the fourth inning, Nicholasville had runners on second and third with only one out, but a strikeout and a groundout to shortstop got Farrar and the Sixers out of the jam.
One inning later the Phillies threatened again. Already having scored one run on a Trey Merida triple, the visitors had the game’s tying run on third with two outs. Merida would be left stranded as Farrar would get Christian Beckley to pop out to shortstop for the final out of the inning.
“I thought he pitched really well, especially in the heat,” Delaney said.
It was plenty hot for the first five innings with temperatures in the 90s, but a thunderstorm rolled in midway through the sixth inning and they game was called.
“It was just going to take too long to get the field ready, and I didn’t want them to have to wait,” Delaney said.
Despite the storm that ended the tournament, Delaney couldn’t have been more pleased with how the weather cooperated over the weekend.
“Other than it being really hot, I couldn’t be happier,” he said.
While Sixers hitting is still not where Delaney would like, the bats showed some signs of life. They had seven hits in five innings, plus another hit in the bottom of the sixth before players were forced to leave the field.
16th Region Player of the Year Logan Salow led the offensive charge going 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and two runs scored.
Salow did it in the field as well. He took a hit away from the Phillies’ Ryan Layne in the fifth inning with a picture perfect diving catch in the right centerfield gap.
Marshall signee Alex Thackston was the only other Sixer to have more than one hit, including a double.
It would be Thackston that would score the winning run when he came around to score on Drew Kidd’s single to left field in the fourth inning.
Kidd also helped anchor the defense that committed one error. On the other hand, the Phillies had some trouble in the field committing three defensive miscues, two of which helped lead to runs.
PHILLIES 001 010 — 2 7 3
SIXERS 101 10 — 3 7 1
Jones, Tre. Merida (4), Tro. Merida (5) and Ward, Peters (3). Delany, Farrar (2), Kidd (6) and Fritz. W – Farrar. L – Jones. 2B: Tro. Merida (P), Salow (76), Thackston (76). 3B: Tre. Merida (P).
Local Sports
Post 76 takes Cliff Webb title
Pitching, fielding lead 76ers in weather-shortened game
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63rd softball: Greenup leans on bunting, baserunning; Russell wins
Immersed in another district contest with little breathing room, Greenup County softball coach Eric Keeton resorted to the strengths of his lineup: bunting and baserunning.
Two bunts and a swinging bunt helped the Lady Musketeers scratch across three runs in the fifth inning of a 6-2 victory over Raceland in the 63rd District Tournament opening round on Monday night at Russell High School. Top-seeded Russell defeated Lewis County, also 6-2, earlier in the evening. -
Boyd pounds out 11 hits to go along with Grimm’s shutout, 14-0
Robbie Shivel might be a little sore after Monday night, but it was Fairview that left the game battered and bruised.
Boyd County belted out 11 hits to go along with Dylan Grimm's complete-game gem as the Lions roared past Fairview, 14-0, in the opening round of the 64th District Tournament at Ashland's Alumni Field. The game lasted five innings. -
Different look, same results for Lady Lions
A longtime fixture in the 64th District softball championship game, Boyd County looked different this return trip.
The Lady Lions defeated Fairview 10-5 in Monday’s district semifinal, which doubled as an Autism Awareness Night. Boyd County players wore light blue shirts and colorful, jigsaw puzzle socks for the event, which had to be rescheduled more than once due to weather problems. -
Musketeers explode in final 2 innings to beat Raceland; good times continue for Lewis
Through the first four innings of its 63rd District Tournament opener, Greenup County found itself hitless. The Musketeers made up for it over the next two innings.
Greenup County scored eight runs on eight hits in the final two innings to defeat Raceland, 9-1, at Russell High School on Monday. -
The will to win
Opponents get the same look from Emily Stewart whether it’s softball, basketball or soccer season.
Steely eyed and lips pursed, the Boyd County senior is keenly focused and all business between the lines. -
THE WEEKLY CYCLE: Holding the key to upset city?
It takes only one game. Few are more firm believers in that fact than the small schools that find themselves in underdog roles year after year.
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Locals struggle to make impact
Some days you are the windshield and some days you are the bug.
It is a saying that proved to be all too true for Rowan County on Friday night at the KHSAA Class 2A State Track and Field Championships at the University of Louisville’s Owsley Frazier Cardinal Park. -
Womack eliminated in state semis; Rose Hill, Russell doubles also ousted
Fairview senior Kennedy Womack wasn’t her consistent self in Saturday morning’s state tennis semifinals at the University of Kentucky’s Hilary Boone Tennis Complex.
As a result, the top seed fell to Lexington Sayre sophomore Madeline Rolph 6-1, 6-0.
Womack was obviously disappointed with her finish, especially after losing in last year’s state finals, but she was happy for her good friend Rolph. -
FLYING HIGH
If Fairview could have fielded a combined track and field team at Saturday’s Class A State Track and Field Championships, the Eagles and Lady Eagles would have had a record day. Instead, the Fairview girls had to “settle” for fifth, while the boys’ claimed 10th.
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Womack eliminated in semifinals
Top-seeded Kennedy Womack was eliminated in the semifinals of the State Tournament on Saturday at the University of Kentucky tennis courts.
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