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Cardinals are runners-up in district tournament The Wayne County High School baseball team advanced to the regional tournament last week, marking the first time since 1991. The Cardinals finished as runners-up in the 47th District Tournament, defeating McCreary Central in the opening round and losing a thriller to Russell County in the finals. Cardinal pitcher Ryan Steele pitched a one-hitter, as Wayne County shut out McCreary Central 11-0 in the opening round of the district tournament. Barry Cooper hit an over the fence home run to spark the Cardinal offense. Cardinal baseball coach Kevin Jones also pointed out another key to the win was a big defensive play by James Foster midway through the contest. Foster made a diving catch to save a couple of runs. The win set up perhaps one of the best district final matchups Wayne County or Russell County has ever played in. The Lakers are a 47th District powerhouse year in and year out and they had defeated Wayne County fairly easily during regular season. But this game was different. ³It was a defensive battle,² said Jones. ³This probably the first game Iıve been involved with or watched when both teams never committed an error.² Both team were scoreless after seven and the game went into extra innings. At the bottom of the eighth inning, Russell County scored their lone run for the 1-0 win. ³Robert Corder pitched all eight innings and only gave up one earned run,² said Jones. ³He pitched a great game and kept Russell County off balance the entire game.² Corder, Steele and Cooper were named to the All-District Team, following the championship game. Regional tournament action began on Monday, May 30. Russell County lost 1-0 to Garrard County in the opening round. Wayne County faced Danville in their opening round tilt. Jones pointed out that Danville is always one of the best teams in the region and it wasnıt any different this season. With a couple of All-State players and some Division I prospects, Danville was a favorite in the contest. ³Theyıre a good team,² said Jones, after Wayne County dropped an 8-2 loss to Danville. ³We made some base running mistakes and we probably didnıt play our best game.² But Jones hope that the success of this season is something that the program can continue to grow on. The team finished the season 12-11, which is the first winning record for the program in nearly a decade. ³Hopefully, this is the first step,² said Jones. ³Next year when we compete in the region, we want to do one or two games better.² Wayne County loses three seniors this year, but the program returns the corps of its pitching roster with Steele and Corder. Cooper, who was named to the All-Region team also returns for the Cardinals. Add a comment |
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