11th Region baseball quarterfinals: Three close calls and one major upset

Clinging to a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning with runners on second and third and two outs, Henry Clay starter Chardy Tierney had plenty of reasons to be nervous.

Moments earlier, Tates Creek’s Chase Moore hit a two-out RBI single to finally get the Commodores on the scoreboard. Dj Carter came across with the run after reaching earlier on his own hit and advancing into scoring position on a wild pitch.

Tierney subsequently walked Tates Creek catcher Jose Ramos during an at-bat in which two more wild pitches helped put Moore at third base.

Then Tierney got two strikes on Tates Creek’s Thomas Seigler before allowing Ramos’ courtesy runner into scoring position on a passed ball.

But never mind that. Tierney struck out Seigler looking to end the threat. Henry Clay went on to defeat Tates Creek 3-1 in front of their home crowd to advance to Tuesday’s 11th Region Tournament semifinals at Bryan Station High School.

“I was more nervous in the first inning to be honest,” Tierney said of the Tates Creek (15-17) threat to get back into the game. “I mean you get a little nervous in big situations, but it’s mainly about getting out the nerves in the first inning.”

Henry Clay had to eke out runs against Tierney’s future Eastern Kentucky teammate Carson van Haaren, Tates Creek’s ace who gave up one run each in the first, third and fifth innings on five hits and four walks.

“He’s a great arm and we knew what we were going to get, but we were prepared because we’ve been seeing great arms for the last month,” Henry Clay coach Jordan Tarrance said. “I thought we did a great job not chasing. Sometimes it just takes two hits and that’s what we did, we had two big hits.”

In the first inning, Mason Draper singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch to set up Isaac Rone’s hard-hit ball to the left side that skipped by the shortstop and let Draper score. In the third inning, Nore Day jumped on the first pitch he saw for a two-out RBI single to center. That scored Brandon Calvert who was on base as a courtesy runner thanks to a leadoff walk to Draper.

“I just knew he was going to throw me something in the zone,” Day said. “He could have walked me, but he threw a first-pitch slider and I sat back and hit it right up the middle.”

Day got hit by a pitch in the fifth inning and moved up after a walk to Alex Elmadolar. A wild pitch and a passed ball brought Day in for a 3-0 lead.

“We needed that extra run,” Day said.

Despite Henry Clay’s difficulties against Tates Creek in the sixth, Tarrence felt confident with Tierney on the mound.

“When we scored two, I thought that would be enough. When we scored three, I knew we were going to win,” Tarrence said. “I’m really proud of him. He’s had an amazing career and he’s one of the best pitchers to ever play at this school. I don’t think he gets enough credit because there are so many good pitchers in this city.

The Blue Devils (25-13) were set to face Franklin County at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the region semifinals at Bryan Station High School.

Monday’s other quarterfinals

Franklin County 4, Madison Central 1: The Flyers (17-19) got RBI from Jeremy Walters, Jack Ross and Landen Armstrong in a stunning defeat of the No. 20 Indians (23-12) in Richmond.

Kaelin Farr allowed just one run on three hits and struck out nine for the win. Jacob Golson pitched a scoreless seventh inning for a save.

The Flyers scored their first run in the third inning after back-to-back singles by Kylon Penn and Cameron McDonald were followed by a walk to Walters. Penn scored on a ground out for a 1-0 lead. In the fifth inning, McDonald walked and scored on Walters’ double to right field. In the seventh inning, Golson’s walk was followed by back-to-back singles by Jack Ross and Armstrong to help set the final margin.

Carson Travis scored for Madison Central on Nick Pietromonaco’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Great Crossing 6, Scott County 5: The Warhawks (23-8) executed a double steal to cap a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning and walk off with a win over their county rival Cardinals (20-18).

Elijah Fryman broke for second base to draw the attention of the Cardinals’ defense and set up Bishop McKinney’s run home for the win. Great Crossing tied the game 5-5 moments earlier when an error let Fryman reach base safely with two outs and allowed Zach Morris to score. Morris had reached base on a walk and advanced into scoring position on a hit by McKinney.

Brenton Alcorn led Great Crossing with two hits, two RBI and a run scored. Nate Adkins also had a hit, a run and an RBI for the Warhawks.

Scott County took a brief lead in the sixth inning when Paul Garner was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Shawn Rowe hit a solo homer to lead off the fifth inning for the Cards.

Lexington Catholic 6, Madison Southern 5: Owen Jenkins doubled twice, scored two runs and knocked two more in as the 11th Region defending champion Knights (24-11) fended off a late rally by the Eagles (14-19).

Burkley Bounds also had a pair of RBI for LexCath. Joey Prisinzano pitched four innings for the win. Caleb Cobb led Madison Southern with two hits and two RBI.

11th Region Tournament

At Bryan Station

Tuesday

5:30 p.m.: Franklin County (17-19) vs. Henry Clay (25-13)

8 p.m.: Great Crossing (22-8) vs. Lexington Catholic (24-11)

Wednesday

6 p.m.: Championship game

11th Region softball quarterfinals: Lafayette outduels Station; LexCath escapes Douglass