CORBIN — It’s been 31 years since Pleasure Ridge Park (PRP) rallied from a 6-0 deficit to defeat Corbin,10-8, in the KHSAA State Championship game back in 1994, and now the two teams will square-off once again on Friday at 5 p.m. during first round action of the 2025 KHSAA State Tournament.
The Panthers (26-6) enter the contest with a seven-game win streak and haven’t allowed a run in four games, and only one run during their past six games.
Corbin possesses a three game win streak, carrying a 20-17 record into Friday’s battle.
The Redhounds enter the game as underdogs, but that doesn’t seem to concern coach Cody Philpot or his players.
“I don’t know that anything could change this groups’ demeanor,” he said. “They know who they are, love each other and expect to go win no matter their opponent. That was true even through some of the low points of our season. I don’t think it’s going to change now.
“This past week, we played well,” Philpot added. “We started to hit all the way through the lineup and we’ve been good defensively, that was something that hurt us at some points earlier in the year but the guys have improved and have some confidence right now.”
Even though Corbin’s current players weren’t born when the 1994 championship matchup between the two schools took place, Philpot said it has been brought up in discussions.
“It’s been mentioned some,” he admitted. “We’ve had some alumni call in and talk about that game, so we’ve had some conversations about it with the guys so they know some history of the program. That isn’t going to change how our guys approach the game but we’d love to avenge that loss for our community.”
PRP will bring in one of the best pitching staffs in the state.
The Panthers possess four pitchers that have won at least four games — Grayson Roll (6-1), Logan Strong (5-2, and one save), Joey Dudeck (4-0), and Brayden Bruner (4-0, and one save).
Roll has a team-best 46 Ks and a 1.05 ERA while Strong possesses a 3.64 ERA and has struck out 33 batters. Dudeck has pitched 23 innings, and hasn’t allowed a single run. His ERA is 0.00, and he hasn’t allowed only eight hits while striking out 30 batters. Bruner’s ERA is 2.33 while striking out 29 batters.
Kobie Howard leads the Panthers with a .460 batting average while 46 hits, 44 runs and 29 stolen bases. Bruner leads the team with 35 RBI, three home runs and 31 stolen bases. He is batting .423. Ravon Lee also has three home runs along with 34 hits, 33 RBI, and 33 runs scored.
“We’ll have to play a clean game,” Philpot said. “They try to put a lot of pressure on opponents and like to run a lot, so we’ll have to control the running game. The easiest way to do that is to keep them off base. Offensively, we’ll have to continue to do what we’ve been doing and execute when given the opportunities.”
