LONDON — Ethan Allen and Spencer Bargo powered Whitley County to another 13th Region championship Thursday while the Colonels’ pitching staff shut down one of the hottest teams in the state.
Allen went 2-for-2 with two RBI and Spencer Bargo added two hits with three RBI as Whitley County blanked Knox Central, 8-0, in the championship game of the 13th Region Baseball Tournament at North Laurel.
The Colonels snapped Knox Central’s 21-game winning streak while capturing the program’s third regional championship in school history, adding to titles won in 2021 and 2023.
Whitley County improved to a program-best 38-3 on the season while Knox Central finished at 28-7.
“So proud of our boys and how they’ve been able to handle being one of the top-ranked schools in the state all year,” Whitley County coach Jeremy Shope said. “They seem to always answer in some of the biggest moments. I’m so glad our school and community get to relish in another regional title. It’s not an easy thing to accomplish. There are a lot of hours put into our program. Our boys are a tight knit group that loves to compete.
“We had to beat a really good baseball team tonight,” he added. “We knew going in that we were going to have to play good baseball in order to be able to pull this off. We got good pitching and good defense. We also had some timely hits that produced runs. Very proud of how everyone in our dugout was up for the challenge. We will enjoy this achievement and then we will go back to work. We want to keep extending our season. There are no guarantees this time of year so we are trying to relish in the moment. Go Colonels.”
The Colonels finally broke through in the third inning with two runs before exploding for six more in the fourth to put the game away.
Allen doubled twice, drove in two runs and walked twice while Bargo finished 2-for-3 with three RBI. Cooper Parman added a hit and RBI while Caden Mountjoy also drove in a run.
Dee Parker scored twice and added a double while Kip Allen, Henry Bowling, and Ty Petrey each collected hits. Landen Rose crossed the plate twice as Whitley County finished with 10 hits.
On the mound, Ethan Allen set the tone by tossing four scoreless innings while allowing eight hits and striking out four. Luke Hillard closed the door with three shutout innings of relief as the Colonels combined to strand 11 Knox Central baserunners.
Despite being shut out, the Panthers collected 10 hits.
Hayden Melton led Knox Central by going 3-for-4 while Brady Engle and Jathan Collins added two hits apiece.
Whitley County now advances to the KHSAA State Baseball Tournament and will face Apollo in the opening round at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, June 5 at Legends Field.
