By Patrick Ledington
Another great regular season in high school baseball has wrapped up. District champions
have all been crowned, now it is time for the region tournament.
Did you know that the 13th Region has two teams heading into the tournament with perfect
records in region play? The Whitley county colonels and the Knox Central panthers both ended
the season with a 0 in the loss column vs region foes. Let’s take a look at how each team got to
this point.
The Whitley County colonels have been the team to beat all year in the region, and state.
Whitley has a 35-3 record on the year and is a perfect 12-0 vs 13th Region teams. Kentucky
Prep Baseball Report currently has Whitley County ranked 2nd in their statewide power
rankings.
Whitley has already racked up the accolades this season, winning the Ky 2A state
championship and 50th district championship. Coach Shope’s squad was also well represented
in our L4 Security 13th Region Media awards. Jeremy Shope was named Coach of the year in
the 50 district while Luke Hillard, Kip Allen and Ethan Allen were named Co-Players of the year.
Dee Parker and Cooper Parman was also named members of the All 50th District 1st team.
Here is a look at the many places that Whitley County appears in the state top 20 rankings.
These rankings are as May 22nd and from the Khsaa website.
Cooper Parman: 16th Doubles
Ethan Allan: 14th Walks. 9th Runs. 9th ERA. 5th Wins
Henry Bowling: 19th Runs
Luke Hillard: 12th Wins
Team Stats
4th Batting Average
4th Runs
3rd Hits
7th Doubles
8th Triples
5th RBI
16th Stolen Bases
1st ERA
6th Strikeouts
As you can see Whitley County has been making noise individually and as a cohesive unit. The
Colonels are a tight knit group with guys like Luke Hillard,Ethan Allen, Kip Allen and Cooper
Parm growing up and playing baseball together from a young age. Whitley County is a well put
together ball club that does everything well, will we see them get another region crown? Are
they the 13th region’s best shot at another state title?
The other unbeaten team is the red hot Panthers from Knox Central. KC is boasting a 26-6
record on the year. That includes a perfect 18-0 vs region opponents. Mike Bright’s squad is
entering the region tournament on a 19 game winning streak, and doing it in dominant fashion
having a +166 run differential in those games.
Knox Central won the 51st district championship this season, and was 5-0 in district play this
season. The Panthers racked up in the L4 Security 13th Region Media awards. Mike Bright was
named coach of the year in the district, while Trevor Smith was named player of the year. Noah
Gray, Hayden Melton, Matthew Powenski, Easton Ramsey, Brady Engle, and Tate Marcum were
all named to the All District 1st team. KC also made some noise in the state rankings, here are
the Panthers appearing in the top 20.
These rankings are as May 22nd and from the Khsaa website.
Trevor Smith: Doubles 14th, RBI 13th
Brady Engle : Walks 11th
Hayden Melton: RBI 7th, Saves 17th
Team Stats
Batting Average 10th
Runs 7th
Hits 19th
Doubles 6th
Home runs 15th
RBI 7th
Stolen Bases 20th
The Knox Central Panthers have put together a really solid season and are listed as a “team to
watch” in prep baseball reports power rankings.The Panthers might just be the hottest team in
baseball right now with their 19 game winning streak and winning 23 of their last 24. The
question is can they keep that momentum going through the region tournament?
After today’s regional draw, we know that these two teams are on opposite sides of the bracket.
Are we ultimately heading to a championship game between the two teams undefeated in the
region? The Colonels since week 1 have been ranked atop the region, they are looking to go
wire to wire and win another region title.
There is a reason we play the games and if anyone has a chance to knock off Whitley, why not KC?
