This year’s 3rd Region baseball tournament is full of potential champions. Though a handful of teams could be considered favorites, the regular season and district tournaments proved any of them are capable of coming out on top.
Click here for a complete bracket.
The tournament, hosted by Owensboro at Shifley Park’s Jacks Hicks Field, kicks off at 10 a.m. with 9th District champion Owensboro Catholic (21-14) taking on Meade County (16-20), runner-up from the 11th District.
The Aces put together a nine-game win streak in April before dropping seven of their next eight, but they enter the region tournament having won four in a row. Head coach Derek Hibbs knows they can’t afford to let up.
“One thing with our region is everybody is good,” he said. “We won district and had a good week, but we have to come back and execute just like we have been or we could go home early.”
Meade County was back-and-forth all season in the win-loss column, but Hibbs said he expects his team to have to earn the win.
“I’m expecting a really good game,” he said. “I think our guys will be ready. I think the confidence from this week will stay within us. We can’t take anything for granted. We have to focus on the current opponent and go take care of business each day.”
Game two of the tournament will feature two-time defending champion Muhlenberg County (12-20), runner-up from the 10th District, and 12th District champion Butler County (17-16).
Muhlenberg County suffered a long mid-season slump before finding a little bit of late success, but they struggled all year against region opponents. Butler County won the 12th District to return to region after missing out a season ago. They were streaky all season — both in wins and losses — but enter having won three in a row.
Owensboro (23-10) will look to bounce back from a loss in the 9th District championship with an early afternoon game against Ohio County (21-16), winners from the 10th District. Though the Eagles have limited opponents’ offenses over the second half of the season, the Red Devils enter as the region leader in runs scored (244).
Owensboro head coach Logan Johnson said his team knows what is at stake, so they want to be the aggressor early.
“They’re going to bring their best game, so we want to make sure we’re on top of our game,” he said. “We need to clean up any defensive problems and make sure we’re ready to hit in the first inning of the first game.”
The Red Devils won 15 of their last 18 games and had an 11-game win streak, but they fell short of repeating a district champs. Johnson said they can use that as motivation to stay focused in the region tournament.
“We have to put that behind us,” he said. “We have to turn that loss into something positive. We have to make it fuel for our fire to get ready for this tournament and make sure all the guys are playing their best ball.”
Round one will wrap up with Breckinridge County (24-5) versus Grayson County (19-19), a pair of teams that have trended in opposite directions.
Breckinridge County won their last 11 games on the way to back-to-back 11th District championships, and they are tied with Owensboro for the best record against region foes. Grayson County followed up a seven-game win streak with a handful of losses before finishing runner-up in the 12th District.
The second round of the tournament is scheduled for Tuesday, with the championship set for Wednesday.
Follow @OwensboroSports on Twitter for live updates, and like “Owensboro Times Sports” on Facebook for all our coverage.
