Jason Frakes - Kentucky high school sports

KHSAA/KMA heat guidelines

2009-07-14T12:51:00.004-04:00

With fall-sports practices set to begin around Kentucky on Wednesday, here's a list of heat-related guidelines from the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and the Kentucky Medical Association:

KENTUCKY HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION HEAT GUIDELINES

HEAT INDEX UNDER 95 DEGREES
All sports:

Provide ample water. This means water should always be available, and athletes should be able to take in as much water as they want.
Optional 10-minute water breaks every 30 minutes.
Ice down towels for cooling.
Monitor athletes carefully for necessary action.

HEAT INDEX 95-99 DEGREES
All sports:

Mandatory 10-minute water breaks every 30 minutes. Otherwise, same as above.

Contact sports and activities with additional equipment:

Helmets and other equipment removed if not involved in contact or necessary for safety.
Reduce time of outside activity. Consider practicing later in the day.
Check temperature and humidity every 30 minutes to monitor for increased heat index.

HEAT INDEX 100-104 DEGREES
All sports:

Same as above, plus: Alter uniform by removing items if possible. Allow for changes to dry T-shirts and shorts. Reduce time of outside activity as well as indoor activity if air conditioning is unavailable. Postpone practice to later in day.

Contact sports and activities with additional equipment:

If necessary for safety, suspend activity.

HEAT INDEX 105 DEGREES AND HIGHER

Stop all outside activity; stop all inside activity if air conditioning is unavailable.

KENTUCKY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDATIONS

ESSENTIALS

Establish a written plan for emergency treatment of exertional heat stroke (EHS) and conduct drills in the implementation of the plan.
Know how to assess environmental conditions and determine when extreme conditions exist.
Identify a specific spot at the athletic facility that has shade.
Have immediate access to ice and bags to contain ice.
Have access to water and provide water breaks as outlined in the KMA/KHSAA Heat Illness and Prevention Policy.
Know the most effective sites for application of ice to the body.

HIGHLY DESIRABLE

Obtain and use, when environmental conditions are determined to be extreme, a tub or pool filled with water and ice before practice or game. Pool to be used in body immersion for maximal cooling, and have personnel trained in this technique.

DESIRABLE

Have a certified athletic trainer on staff to develop and implement these guidelines.
Have immediate access to water.
Provide shade breaks.
Provide fans when environmental conditions are determined to be extreme.
Have close access to an air-conditioned room.
Have access to and use iced towels that can be rotated to appropriate areas of the body, including the axilla (armpit), groin and back of the neck.

Manual's football schedule

2009-07-09T15:13:00.003-04:00

CORRECTION UPDATE: I messed up on Cincinnati Colerain, which was NOT a finalist in the Ohio Division I playoffs last year. In fact, it was Cincinnati Elder that lost to Cleveland St. Ignatius in the championship game. Elder, which is on Trinity's schedule this year, beat Colerain 27-20 in double overtime in the state quarterfinals. Despite that incorrect info, still say Manual has a pretty tough slate!

Writing a story for Friday's paper on some area football schedules and couldn't help but notice how tough Manual will have it in 2009.

Check out this schedule, which includes three defending state champions from Kentucky and an Ohio Division I quarterfinalist from last year:

Aug. 21 - Fort Thomas Highlands (5-A champ)
Aug. 28 - at Fern Creek
Sept. 4 - at Trinity (6-A champ)
Sept. 11 - at Cincinnati Colerain (Ohio Division I quarterfinalist)
Sept. 18 - Central (3-A champ)
Sept. 25 - at Seneca
Oct. 9 - at Pleasure Ridge Park
Oct. 16 - St. Xavier
Oct. 23 - Butler
Oct. 30 - Male

I'll admit that I haven't looked at every schedule in the state this year, but I can't imagine there being a tougher one. Locally, Trinity, St. Xavier, Ballard and Central all have solid schedules this year, but I'd argue that Manual's is the toughest.

Let me know what you think.

Counting down to kickoff

2009-07-07T15:38:00.003-04:00

Kentucky's high school football season will open six weeks from Friday, and I've started examining schedules and rosters and getting ready for the season.

One interesting tidbit is that nearly half of our Jefferson County-area teams (15 of 33) will take their bye weeks on the first weekend of the season (Aug. 21-22). The KHSAA has ruled that teams that schedule games that week can play just one preseason scrimmage. If teams are off that week, they can play two scrimmages but don't get an off week the rest of the season.

Here's the area schedule for the first weekend of the season. Early Game of the Week candidates are Highlands at Manual and Seneca at Central.

Friday, Aug. 21
Ballard at PRP, 7:30
Seneca at Central, 7:30
DeSales at Western, 7:30
Fairdale at Iroquois, 7:30
Kentucky Country Day at Paris, 7:30
Fort Thomas Highlands at Manual, 7:30
Oldham County vs. Conner at South Oldham Kickoff Classic, 7:30
Washington County at Shawnee, 7:30
Saturday, Aug. 22
Atherton vs. Trimble County at Henry County Dairy Queen Bowl, 8
Bullitt East vs. Paul Dunbar at North Hardin Joe Jaggers Bowl, 6
Holy Cross vs. Franklin County at Henry County Dairy Queen Bowl, 5:30
Moore vs. North Oldham at South Oldham Kickoff Classic, 6
Woodford County at South Oldham (Kickoff Classic), 8:30
Off - Butler, Christian Academy, Doss, Eastern, Fern Creek, Jeffersontown, Male, North Bullitt, Shelby County, Southern, St. Xavier, Trinity, Valley, Waggener

PRP football coaching search

2009-06-30T16:36:00.001-04:00

Pleasure Ridge Park High School is accepting applications for a new football coach to replace Jason Stinson, and the position likely will be filled within the next two weeks.

PRP principal David Johnson said Tuesday that he has received "five or six" applications for the job but that interviews have not started.

Johnson said he hopes to have a new coach in place by the start of practice. Kentucky High School Athletic Association rules allow football teams to begin non-contact drills on July 15. The date for full-contact practice varies from school to school based on the first day of classes but generally is set for Aug. 1.

PRP's 2009 season opener is slated for Aug. 21 at home vs. Ballard.

Stinson was suspended from coaching and reassigned to noninstructional status after a Jefferson County grand jury indicted him Jan. 21 on a charge of reckless homicide in the Aug. 23 death of Max Gilpin.

The sophomore lineman died of complications from heat stroke three days after collapsing on the field, and prosecutors have said Stinson repeatedly denied players water and forced them to run extra wind sprints as punishment on an afternoon when the heat index reached 94 degrees.

Stinson has pleaded not guilty.

Stinson led the Panthers to a 5-5 record last year, but Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Sheldon Berman announced in March that the coach would be replaced for the 2009 season.

Assistant Jason Hiser served as interim coach during spring drills. Johnson would not confirm whether Hiser has applied for the job.

Hiser could not be reached for comment.

Waters new coach at Iroquois

2009-06-29T14:13:00.004-04:00

I've been away on vacation and furlough the past two weeks and am just now getting caught up on some news. Here's part of a story that will appear in Tuesday's newspaper:

Dwayne Waters has been named the new football coach at Iroquois. He replaces Jeff Norman, who resigned after going 3-7 in is only season as head coach.

"I'm ready to go," said the 27-year-old Waters. "The key priority is getting athletes out and keeping them out. They like to come out, but then they see it's harder than what they thought and quit during the season."

Waters is a 2000 Bullitt Central High School product who played four years of football at Union College. He was an assistant coach at Bullitt Central (2005-06) and Western (2007) before spending last year as the offensive coordinator at Iroquois.

The Raiders lost 17 seniors off last year's squad. Waters said he had 25 players during seven-on-seven drills earlier this month.

"We're going to use a spread offense and mainly run out of that," Waters said. "We'll run a 4-3 defense."

Iroquois is the sixth Jefferson County school to name a new football coach this off-season, joining Atherton (Kenny Walker), Christian Academy (John Dryden), Holy Cross (Mike Fletcher), Southern (Corey Crume) and Waggener (Robert Ross).

State baseball final

2009-06-13T18:56:00.012-04:00

* LexCath 5, Owensboro 3, final: Taylor Botkin had a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh to give the Knights a 5-3 lead. They held on from there to capture their third state championship, also winning in 1999 and 2006. Frank Carter (2-0) went the distance to get the pitching victory, allowing five hits and striking out nine. Attendance was 2,728.

* LexCath 4, Owensboro 3, end sixth inning: Andrew Webb's RBI single with two out pulled the Red Devils within a run. With runners at first and third, Zach Knight grounded out to first to end the inning.

* LexCath 4, Owensboro 2, middle sixth inning: Patrick Maronde's sacrifice fly to right scored Casey Messner to give the Knights a two-run lead. With runners at second and third, Owensboro reliever Ross Gilliam struck out Devon Williams to end the inning.

* LexCath 3, Owensboro 2, middle fifth inning: Owensboro pitcher Thomas White issued three straight walks with two out, and the Knights didn't let him off the hook. Michael Jansen's infield single to shortstop scored one run, and Frank Carter followed with a two-run single to right to give LexCath the lead.

* Owensboro 2, LexCath 0, end fourth inning: Red Devils go down 1-2-3 for the third straight inning. You get the feeling Owensboro might be done scoring in this game. It's just a matter of whether the Knights can get on the scoreboard. They have nine outs remaining.

* Owensboro 2, LexCath 0, end third inning: Knights pitcher Frank Carter has retired eight straight after the first three Owensboro batters of the game reached base.

* Owensboro 2, LexCath 0, middle third inning: Knights left two men on base in the third and now have stranded five for the game. Will it come back to haunt them?

* Owensboro 2, LexCath 0, middle second inning: The Knights loaded the bases with two out, but No. 9 hitter Taylor Botkin grounded into a force out to end the threat.

* Owensboro 2, LexCath 0, end first inning: Upset in the making here as the Red Devils score twice in the first, taking advantage of two Knights errors. Yantae Williams and Jacob Roberts both singled and moved to second and third on an error. Davey Murphy hit a squibber to the left side that LexCath pitcher Frank Carter threw into right field, allowing both runners to score.

* Owensboro 0, LexCath 0, middle first inning: Red Devils sophomore Thomas White looks nothing like a pitcher with a 1-5 record after retiring the Knights 1-2-3 in the top of the first.

* Hello from Applebee's Park in Lexington, Ky., where we're approaching the first pitch of the championship game of the Forcht Bank/KHSAA State Baseball Tournament. It's a true David vs. Goliath matchup as No. 9-ranked Lexington Catholic (28-8-3) will face Owensboro (14-15).

Starting pitchers: Lexington Catholic's Frank Carter (1-0, 3.18 ERA) vs. Owensboro's Thomas White (1-5, 3.71).

Check back throughout the night for updates from the game.

Bullitt East-Owensboro updates

2009-06-12T17:34:00.013-04:00

* Owensboro 6, Bullitt East 5, final: Owensboro held on after taking a 6-0 lead in the second inning and will take its 14-15 record into Saturday's 7 p.m. championship game against the Lexington Catholic-Harrison County winner. No. 10 Bullitt East finishes its best season ever with a 31-9 record. The Chargers got runners to first and second with two out in the seventh, but Cory Johnson flied out to left to end the game.

* Owensboro 6, Bullitt East 5, end sixth inning: Brandon Alphin now has thrown 4 1/3 innings of hitless relief. The Chargers have Nos. 4-5-6 in the order coming to bat.

* Owensboro 6, Bullitt East 5, middle sixth inning: Matt Bowles had an RBI single and Tyler Downs scored on a wild pitch to pull the Chargers within one. Bullitt East had runners at first and second with two out, but Brandon Alphin grouned out to first to end the inning.

* Owensboro 6, Bullitt East 3, end fifth inning: Brandon Alphin retires the Red Devils 1-2-3 in the fifth.

* Owensboro 6, Bullitt East 3, middle fifth inning: Brandon Alphin doubled with two out and scored on Zack McCarthy's single to pull the Chargers within three runs.

* Owensboro 6, Bullitt East 2, end fourth inning: Chargers running out of time to catch up.

* Owensboro 6, Bullitt East 2, end third inning: Red Devils have the lead, but the Chargers can capture the momentum with a run or two here in the fourth. Brandon Alphin has done a nine job since coming in to pitch.

* Owensboro 6, Bullitt East 2, middle third inning: Chargers get on the board on an RBI single by Jimmy Hoffman and an RBI groundout by Brandon Alphin.

* Owensboro 6, Bullitt East 0, bottom second inning: Red Devils have three hits and have taken advantage of two Chargers errors to score five runs in the second. Brandon Alphin has taken over pitching duties from Justin Jones.

* Owensboro 1, Bullitt East 0, end first inning: The Red Devils turned three singles and a walk into one run, with Ross Gilliam getting the RBI single. Owensboro loaded the bases with one out, but Justin Jones got the next two batters to fly out.

* Bullitt East 0, Owensboro 0, middle first inning: Bullitt East's Jimmy Hoffman singled, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error but was stranded when Zack McCarthy grounded out to shortstop. One little tidbit that I heard about a few days ago but now have confirmed: Bullitt East junior pitcher/infielder Brandon Alphin, the Sixth Region Player of the Year, has committed to the University of Louisville baseball program.

* Hello once again from Applebee's Park in Lexington, where we're about to start the semifinals of the Forcht Bank/KHSAA State Baseball Tournament.

Tonight's schedule:
6 p.m. - No. 10 Bullitt East (31-8) vs. Owensboro (13-15)
8:30 p.m. - No. 9 Lexington Catholic (27-8-3) vs. No. 20 Harrison County (27-9)

Justin Jones (4-1, 3.54 ERA) will be the starting pitcher for Bullitt East and will face Owensboro's Davey Murphy (5-3, 3.16). Bullitt East coach Jeff Bowles is rolling the dice and saving Brandon Alphin (8-4) for a hopeful start in Saturday's 7 p.m. championship game.

Check back throughout the night for updates from both games.

Trinity-Harrison County updates, Part II

2009-06-12T11:30:00.011-04:00

* Harrison County 2, Trinity 0, final: No. 20 Harrison County (27-9) advances to face No. 9 Lexington Catholic (27-8-3) in Friday's 8:30 p.m. semifinal. No. 8 Trinity finishes 25-11. Trinity's Travis McCormick grounded out to shortstop with runners at second and third to end the game.

* Harrison County 2, Trinity 0, bottom seventh: Singles by Anthony Carney and Anthony Armstrong have given the Shamrocks runners at first and second with one out. Leadoff man Chris Berry is batting.

* Harrison County 2, Trinity 0, middle seventh: Drew Thompson's RBI groundout gave the Thorobreds a two-run lead. Trinity has the bottom of its order coming to the plate - Anthony Carney, Peter Tompkins and Anthony Armstrong.

* Harrison County 1, Trinity 0, top seventh inning: Shane Fowler's RBI single has given the Thorobreds a 1-0 lead. They have runners at first and third with one out.

* Harrison County 0, Trinity 0, end sixth inning: The Shamrocks loaded the bases with two out on an error and two singles, but Jon Rueff struck out looking to end the inning.

* Harrison County 0, Trinity 0, middle sixth inning: Trinity pitcher Jon Rueff has retired all 12 batters he's faced today - six groundouts, three fly outs, two strikeouts and one line drive. All three Harrison County batters in the sixth grounded out to shortstop Chris Berry.

* Harrison County 0, Trinity 0, end fifth inning: Both pitchers are cruising at this point, and neither team is showing signs of being able to dent the scoreboard.

* Harrison County 0, Trinity 0, end fourth inning: Andrew Bowling had a two-out double but was stranded when Jon Rueff grounded out to first. Trinity has five hits, Harrison County one.

* Harrison County 0, Trinity 0, middle fourth inning: Thorobreds were retired 1-2-3 for the third time in this game. They've had just one baserunner through four innings, coming on Eric Sanders' single in the first inning Thursday night. And that makes 11 scoreless innings this season for Harrison County against Trinity, which beat the Thorobreds 4-0 on May 9.

* Harrison County 0, Trinity 0, end third inning: Anthony Armstrong and Chris Berry had two-out singles for the Shamrocks, but Travis McCormick hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning. McCormick replaced Corey Littrell in the No. 2 spot in the Trinity batting order.

* Hello from Applebee's Park, where we're about to resume the final quarterfinal of the State Baseball Tournament between Trinity and Harrison County. The game was suspended after two innings Thursday night because of rain.

Trinity's Corey Littrell and Harrison County's Logan Dailey both pitched two scoreless innings Thursday, but Littrell will not return to the mound for the Shamrocks in the quarterfinal. Littrell is in Louisville for the funeral of his grandfather, and senior Jon Rueff (7-1, 1.93 ERA) will take his place on the mound today.

If Trinity beats Harrison County, Littrell could pitch in Friday's 8:30 p.m. semifinal against Lexington Catholic. The 6 p.m. semifinal will match Owensboro and Bullitt East. The championship game is set for 7 p.m. Saturday.

I will post updates from the Trinity-Harrison County game in this thread.

Trinity-Harrison County updates

2009-06-11T23:07:00.005-04:00

* Harrison County 0, Trinity 0, end second inning: The game has suspended because of rain and will resume at noon Friday. Both starting pitchers will be eligible to come back and pitch on Friday. The rest of the schedule will stay the same.

* Harrison County 0, Trinity 0, end first inning: Chris Berry and Corey Littrell led off the Trinity first with back-to-back singles, but with both runners going Grant Epperson lined into a 5-4-3 triple play. First triple play I can remember in 15 years of covering high school baseball. By the way, it has started raining - though not very hard and no lightning that I've seen.

* First pitch was at 11:05 p.m. Corey Littrell (8-2) is the starting pitcher for No. 8 Trinity (25-10). Logan Dailey (7-2) is the starter for the No. 20 Thorobreds (26-9).

Marshall County-LexCath updates

2009-06-11T18:15:00.011-04:00

* Lexington Catholic 2, Marshall County 0, final: No. 9 Knights (27-8-3) advance to Friday's 8:30 p.m. semifinal against Trinity-Harrison County winner. Sophomore Taylor Martin (5-1) pitched the shutout. No. 21 Marshall County finishes 30-5.

* Lexington Catholic 2, Marshall County 0, end sixth inning. Knights pitcher Taylor Martin has been outstanding and has retired his last seven batters. Marshals down to what might be their final three outs. Plans are to go ahead and play the final quarterfinal between Trinity and Harrison County. Best-case scenario is that it will start about 11 p.m.

* Lexington Catholic 2, Marshall County 0, end fifth inning: Pitchers ruling this one as the Knights have three hits and the Marshals have two.

* Lexington Catholic 2, Marshall County 0, middle fourth inning: Marshals got runners to first and second with two out, but pinch-hitter Garrett Hunt struck out.

* Lexington Catholic 2, Marshall County 0, end third inning: Cody Forsythe is back on the mound for the Marshals

* 9:02 p.m.: After a delay of 2 hours and 19 minutes, we're back under way. Taylor Martin has returned to the mound for LexCath.

* 8:39 p.m.: The tarp is coming off the field, and we're going to try to resume this Marshall County-Lexington Catholic game at about 9 p.m. No word yet on the status of the Trinity-Harrison County game.

* 8 p.m.: The rain has started, and - man - the lightning is a little too close for comfort right now. The plan for now is to wait out the storm and hope to resume the Marshall County-Lexington Catholic game later tonight. No word, but I'd bet the Trinity-Harrison County game will not get played tonight.

* 7:15 p.m.: Still no rain, but they've just put the tarp on the field as the rain is getting closer. I'll let you know as soon as there's an update from KHSAA officials.

* Lexington Catholic 2, Marshall County 0, top third inning: With two out and Marshall County batting in the top of the third inning, the game has been delayed by lightning. It's not raining yet, but apparently there is some on the way. Delay started at 6:43 p.m. EDT.

* Lexington Catholic 2, Marshall County 0, end second inning: Frank Carter's two-run homer - his first of the season - gave the Knights a two-run lead. Bad news: The rain is apparently getting close.

* Marshall County 0, Lexington Catholic 0, end first inning: Cody Forsythe (13-0) is pitching for the Marshals; Taylor Martin (4-1) is on the mound for the Knights.

Bullitt East-South Laurel updates

2009-06-11T14:45:00.006-04:00

* Bullitt East 16, South Laurel 5, final: The Chargers (31-8) win and will face Owensboro (13-15) in Friday's 6 p.m. state semifinal. The Cardinals finished 25-5. Matt Bowles got the pitching victory to improve to 10-2 this season. He will be eligible to pitch Saturday if Bullitt East advances to the state final.

* Bullitt East 16, South Laurel 4, end fourth: Brandon Alphin had a three-run double as the Chargers scored four in the fourth. Bullitt East three outs away from winning on the 10-run mercy rule.

* Bullitt East 12, South Laurel 4, middle fourth: Rough fourth inning for Chargers pitcher Matt Bowles, who allowed three runs on two hits, two walks and two hit batters. South Laurel could have pulled closer but left the bases loaded when Chris Adams popped out to shortstop.

* Bullitt East 12, South Laurel 1, end third: Zack McCarthy and Justin Jones had RBIs as the Chargers scored twice in the third. Ryan Reynolds had an RBI groundout for the Cardinals in the second.

* Bullitt East 10, South Laurel 0, end first: Chargers sent 14 batters to the plate in the first inning, and South Laurel used three pitchers. Bullitt East had three hits and took advantage of seven walks and one hit batter by Cardinals pitchers. There were four bases-loaded walks, and Brandon Alphin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

* South Laurel 0, Bullitt East 0, middle first: Matt Bowles (9-2) retired the Cardinals 1-2-3 in the top of the first, striking out two. Chris Adams (7-0) is on the mound for South Laurel.

Owensboro-Lawrence County updates

2009-06-11T11:17:00.011-04:00

* Owensboro 3, Lawrence County 2, final: The Red Devils (13-15) complete the upset and will face the Bullitt East-South Laurel winner in Friday's 6 p.m. semfinal. Lawrence County finished 23-16.

* Owensboro 3, Lawrence County 2, middle ninth: Jacob Nalley singled with two out, stole second and scored on Yantae Williams' single to give the Red Devils the lead. Davey Murphy is in to pitch for Owensboro. Starter Nick Busch allowed just two hits and struck out 11.

* Owensboro 2, Lawrence County 2, end ninth: KHSAA rules limit pitchers to nine innings in one day, so we're about to go to the bullpens. Cody Moore is on to pitch the 10th for Lawrence County. Chandler Shepherd allowed three hits and struck out 10 in his nine innings.

* Owensboro 2, Lawrence County 2, middle ninth inning: Davey Murphy led off with a walk, moved to second on a balk and was sacrificed to third but was stranded there after Andrew Webb and Zach Knight struck out.

* Owensboro 2, Lawrence County 2, end eighth inning: Owensboro's Jacob Nalley led off the top of the eighth with a walk but was picked off. Lawrence County went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth.

* Owensboro 2, Lawrence County 2, end seventh inning: Heading to extra innings after a wild finish in the seventh. With two out and Ramsey Compton on first, Owensboro's Nick Busch made a wild pickoff throw to first. The ball rolled into right field, and Compton scored all the way from first. Owensboro right fielder Kenneth Wright chased down the errant throw and briefly stopped and raised his arms, signaling the ball had rolled under the tarp. But the first-base umpire ruled the ball was not dead. Wright eventually got the ball, but it was too late to get Compton at the plate. Owensboro coach Kip Walters briefly argued the call but to no avail.

* Owensboro 2, Lawrence County 1, end sixth inning: Sam Burton hit into a 1-6-3 double play to end the Bulldogs' sixth. Red Devils are one inning away from a big upset.

* Owensboro 2, Lawrence County 1, middle sixth inning: Davey Murphy's two-run homer to left with two out gave the Red Devils the lead.

* Lawrence County 1, Owensboro 0, end fifth inning: There have been three hits and five errors in this game. Lawrence County pitcher Chandler Shepherd has allowed one hit and struck out five. Owensboro's Nick Busch has allowed two hits and struck out eight.

* Lawrence County 1, Owensboro 0, end third inning: The Red Devils trail by just one run despite having no hits and committing three errors.

* Lawrence County 1, Owensboro 0, end first inning: The Bulldogs loaded the bases on two walks and an error but got just one run on Sam Burton's sacrifice fly. Sophomore ace Chandler Shepherd (6-3) is pitching for Lawrence County. Senior Nick Busch (5-3) is pitching for Owensboro.

State baseball tournament

2009-06-11T10:48:00.001-04:00

Hello from Applebee's Park in Lexington, Ky., where we're approaching first pitch of the Forcht Bank/KHSAA State Baseball Tournament.

The sky is overcast, but we're on schedule so far. Word is that there's a chance of rain pretty much all day.

Here's today's schedule:
11 a.m. - Lawrence County (23-15) vs. Owensboro (12-15)
1:30 p.m. - No. 10 Bullitt East (30-8) vs. South Laurel (25-4)
6 p.m. - No. 9 Lexington Catholic (26-8-3) vs. No. 21 Marshall County (30-4)
8:30 p.m. - No. 8 Trinity (25-10) vs. No. 20 Harrison County (26-9)

Stay tuned throughout the day for updates from all the games.

Rowan's Riddle Miss Softball

2009-06-08T16:22:00.002-04:00

Amber Riddle - one of the most prolific offensive players in Kentucky fast-pitch history - has been named 2009 Miss Softball by the Kentucky Softball Coaches Association.

Riddle, a senior who has signed with Morehead State University, hit .610 with 17 home runs and 64 RBIs this season as the Lady Vikings finished 23-18 and reached the 16^th Region championship game.

Riddle is Kentucky's career leader in homers (55), RBIs (259) and doubles (92). As a junior she set single-season state records in RBIs (77) and homers (19).

Five players from Louisville earned first-team All-State honors from the KSCA - Ballard's Katie Pfost and Manual's Jordan Trimble in Class 3-A, Mercy's Ashley McNutt and Kellie Quarles in Class 2-A and Beth Haven's Kayla Bobby in Class A.

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association does not have a class system for postseason softball play, but the KSCA uses one for postseason awards based on the KHSAA's track and field alignment.

Players of the Year in each class were Christian County's Hannah Driver (3-A), Western Hills' Miranda Buchanan and Allen County-Scottsville's Emma Napier (2-A) and Owensboro Catholic's Emily Jolly (A).

The All-State teams:

CLASS 3-A

* First-team: Hannah Driver (Christian County), Marris Harreld (Meade County), Katie Pfost (Ballard), Rachel Akins (North Laurel), Kristin Perry (Woodford County), Jordan Trimble (Manual), Alli Hart (Greenwood), Shelby Kosmecki (Pulaski Southwestern), Courtney Turpin (Anderson County), Emily Gaines (South Laurel).

* Second team: Griffin Joiner (Christian County), Katie Mann (Assumption), Aly Brand (Manual), Megan Taylor (North Laurel), Amy Haggard (Clark County), Shauna Gramig (Shelby County), Stacey Harbold (Christian County), Morgan Woosley (Clark County), Mallory Johnson (Scott County), Paige Compton (Montgomery County).

* Honorable mention: Kelsey Mitchell (Clark County), Heather Oakley (Lafayette), Brandi Ore (Paul Dunbar), Hillary Plain (Apollo), Madi Ratliff (Male), Andrea Whelan (North Hardin), Megan Sutherland (Butler), Courtney Brock (North Laurel), Christina Ciolek (Madison Central), Shameen Eure (North Hardin), Kylee Johnson (Lafayette), Kayla Morgan (Simon Kenton), Katie Perkins (Daviess County), Chelsea Riney (Apollo), Tanner Tevis (Scott County).

* Player of the Year: Hannah Driver (Christian County).

* Coaching Staff of the Year: Christian County.

CLASS 2-A

* First team: Amber Riddle (Rowan County), Miranda Buchanan (Western Hills), Emma Napier (Allen County-Scottsville), Ashley McNutt (Mercy), Kellie Quarles (Mercy), Kate Holmes (Warren East), Madelyn Brown (Franklin County), Jessica Speake (Garrard County), Hagan Goldey (Garrard County), Molly Knight (West Jessamine).

* Second team: Casey Cleary (Lexington Catholic), Christina Cox (LaRue County), Kendra Ross (Boyle County), Catie Yates (Allen County-Scottsville), Courtney Bishop (Estill County), Natalie Duncan (Warren East), Chrisanna Roberts (Presentation), Brittany Woolery (Estill County), Allyson Vaughn (Henry County), Emily Hampton (Franklin County), Dana Jarboe (Franklin County).

* Honorable mention: CheyAnne Gaskey (Butler County), Allison Searcy (East Jessamine), Tanner Fowler (Union County), Charlie Hatfield (Harrison County), Sabrina Sandoval (Western Hills), Shelby Radar (Estill County), Kalyn Whitworth (Breckinridge County), Ali Austin (Hopkins County Central), Lindsay Griggs (Lexington Catholic), Marissa Hobson (Mercy), Katelyn Miller (Ashland Blazer).

* Co-Players of the Year: Miranda Buchanan (Western Hills) and Emma Napier (Allen County-Scottsville).

* Coaching Staff of the Year: Allen County-Scottsville.

CLASS A

* First team: Emily Jolly (Owensboro Catholic), Kelleigh Jones (Heath), Meghan Sims (Owensboro Catholic), Martina Riley (Owensboro Catholic), Cassee Layne (Reidland), Kayla Bobby (Beth Haven), Taylor Wroe (Hancock County), Brittany Estes (Green County), Emily Montgomery (Heath), Alexis Rodgers (Ballard Memorial).

* Second team: Emily Walker (Jenkins), Samantha Dorsey (Somerset), Candace James (Reidland), Rachel Thacker (Jenkins), Elizabeth Harlow (Burgin), Kendra McIntyre (Cumberland County), Kacie Vincent (Beth Haven), Morgan Harrell (Reidland), Kasey Estes (Green County), Paige Gadberry (Somerset).

* Honorable mention: Felisha Mains (Bracken County), Kristin Perry (Hancock County), Hannah Gray (Christian Academy), Sophie Robinson (Middlesboro), Olivia Moore (Holy Cross), Tara O’Bryan (Holy Cross), Hannah Haight (Bracken County), Lee Anne Geraghty (Holy Cross), Danielle Morris (Campbellsville), Taylor Sheerer (Heath).

* Player of the Year: Emily Jolly (Owensboro Catholic).

* Coaching Staff of the Year: Heath.

State softball championship

2009-06-06T21:46:00.005-04:00

* Owensboro Catholic 12, Mercy 2, final: The Lady Aces win in five innings and clinch their record fifth state championship. Junior pitcher Martina Riney was named tournament MVP. Mercy finished with eight errors.

* Owensboro Catholic 11, Mercy 2, end fourth inning: The Jaguars have eight errors through four innings.

* Owensboro Catholic 10, Mercy 1, end third inning: The Lady Aces score three more in the third as the Jaguars seem to finally have run out of gas.

* Owensboro Catholic 7, Mercy 1, end second inning: Lady Aces score three more in the second, taking advantage of Mercy's third error of the game to take a six-run lead. OCath has seven runs on three hits and three Mercy errors.

* Owensboro Catholic 4, Mercy 1, end first inning: Chelsea Meiners' RBI double gave Mercy a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Lady Aces took advantage of two Mercy errors and scored four in the bottom half.

State softball final, Mercy-Owensboro Catholic

2009-06-06T18:43:00.009-04:00

* Mercy 4, Owensboro Catholic 3, final: The Jaguars win to force a second championship game. This one's for all the marbles and likely will start around 9:10 p.m. EDT. I'll start a new thread to update the next game.

* Mercy 4, Owensboro Catholic 3, middle sixth: Ashley McNutt slapped a two-out single to left, scoring Paige French to give the Jaguars the lead.

* Mercy 3, Owensboro Catholic 3, end fifth: A pair of Mercy errors allowed the Lady Aces to score the tying run. OCath loaded the bases with two out, but Erica Pendleton flied out to right.

* Mercy 3, Owensboro Catholic 2, middle fifth: Kelsey Wood's sacrifice fly scored Ashley McNutt and Chelsea Meiners scored on a passed ball to give the lead back to the Jaguars.

* Owensboro Catholic 2, Mercy 1, middle fourth: A throwing error by Mercy catcher Kellie Quarles in the bottom of the third allowed two runners to score and gave the Lady Aces a 2-1 lead.

* Mercy 1, Owensboro Catholic 0, end second: Mercy pitcher Marissa Hobson has retired the first six OCath batters and has three strikeouts.

* Mercy 1, Owensboro Catholic 0, middle first: Ashley McNutt led off the game with a walk, went to second on a passed ball, stole third with two out and scored on Kelsey Wood's bloop single to center for a 1-0 lead. OCath pitcher Martina Riney threw 30 pitches in the inning.

* We've started introductions for the state softball championship game between No. 2-ranked Owensboro Catholic (34-8-1) and No. 5 Mercy (33-11-1). The teams have met twice this season, with Mercy winning 7-3 at home on May 16 and Owensboro Catholic winning 4-2 earlier today in the winners-bracket final. Mercy is the only Kentucky team to beat Owensboro Catholic this season.

I don't think there's any doubt that these are the best two teams in the state, at least the best two this weekend. Mercy can draw some hope from the fact that Lady Aces pitcher Martina Riney seemed to be losing steam at the end of their earlier meeting today and that the Lady Aces don't really have another pitcher to go to. Mercy has two strong pitchers in freshmen Marissa Hobson and J.J. Francis. We'll see what happens.

I'll offer updates from the game as much as possible.

Mercy-North Hardin updates

2009-06-06T16:53:00.002-04:00

* Mercy 9, North Hardin 0, final: The No. 5-ranked Jaguars (33-11-1) advance to the state championship game against No. 2 Owensboro Catholic (34-8-1). The final will begin at approximately 7 p.m. EDT. If Mercy wins, a second meeting will follow because Owensboro Catholic is undefeated in the double-elimination tournament.

* Mercy 6, North Hardin 0, middle fourth inning: Ashley McNutt's three-run homer in the fourth has given the Jaguars a big cushion. Looks like an Owensboro Catholic-Mercy championship game.

* Mercy 2, North Hardin 0, middle second inning: Paige French had an RBI single and Amanda Schumacher added an RBI groundout to give the Jaguars a two-run lead.

Owensboro Catholic-Mercy updates

2009-06-06T14:22:00.005-04:00

* Owensboro Catholic 4, Mercy 2, final: Mercy scored once in the seventh and had the potential tying runs at first and second with nobody out, but Morgan Ellington flied out to right and Chelsea Meiners grounded into a game-ending double play.

So No. 5-ranked Mercy (32-11-1) falls into the losers bracket and will face No. 10 North Hardin (32-6-1), which eliminated Allen County-Scottsville 4-3 in eight innings. The Mercy-North Hardin winner then must beat Owensboro Catholic twice to claim the state title.

* Owensboro Catholic 4, Mercy 1, middle sixth inning: Kelsey Wood led off the sixth with a single but was stranded.

* Owensboro Catholic 4, Mercy 1, end fourth inning: Emily Jolly's sacrifice fly to right field restores the Lady Aces' three-run lead.

* Owensboro Catholic 3, Mercy 1, middle fourth inning: Three straight two-out singles by Kellie Quarles, Tiffany Cozzens and Paige French got the Jaguars on the board in the fourth.

* Owensboro Catholic 3, Mercy 0, end third inning: J.J. Francis came into pitch for Mercy in the third after Marissa Hobson walked the leadoff batter. The Jaguars had shut out their first three opponents in the tournament, but Owensboro Catholic quickly ended that run.

* Owensboro Catholic 3, Mercy 0: Erica Pendleton had an RBI single and Morgan Rudy added a two-run single to give the Lady Aces an early three-run lead.

Mercy, PRP updates

2009-06-06T10:04:00.011-04:00

* Two more final scores in the losers bracket: Allen County-Scottsville 11, Garrard County 2 and North Hardin 6, Franklin County 0.

So, we're down to four teams. Mercy will meet Owensboro Catholic in the winners' bracket final and Allen County-Scottsville will face North Hardin in a losers-bracket contest. Both games were scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. EDT, but it's already 1:45 and neither has started. Running a bit behind schedule here today, but at least the weather is nice!

I will provide updates throughout the Mercy-Owensboro Catholic game.

* Garrard County 11, Pleasure Ridge Park 3, final: The Lady Panthers' season ends with a 27-11 record. Other final scores from the morning: Owensboro Catholic 15, North Hardin 2 and Franklin County 3, Conner 0

Here's the schedule for the rest of the day (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. (elimination game): No. 22 Garrard County (28-14) vs. No. 6 Allen Co.-Scottsville (36-7-1)
11:30 a.m. (elimination game): No. 20 Franklin County (25-14) vs. No. 10 North Hardin (30-5-1)
1:30 p.m. (elimination game): Winners of 11:30 a.m. games
1:30 p.m. (winners-bracket final): No. 5 Mercy (32-10-1) vs. No. 2 Owensboro Catholic (33-8-1)
3:30 p.m. (losers-bracket final): Winner of 1:30 p.m. elimination game vs. loser of winners-bracket final
6 p.m. - Championship game
7:30 p.m. - Championship game No. 2 (if necessary)

I'll return later to update scores from the 11:30 games.

* Mercy 5, Allen County-Scottsville 0, final: No. 5 Jaguars (32-10-1) advance to face No. 2 Owensboro Catholic (33-8-1) in the winners-bracket final at 1:30 p.m EDT. Mercy is the only team from Kentucky to beat Owensboro Catholic this season, winning 7-3 on May 16. Owensboro Catholic just whipped No. 10 North Hardin 15-2 in the other winners-bracket semifinal.

* Garrard County 10, Pleasure Ridge Park 3, end sixth: Lady Lions scored three in the sixth, and the Lady Panthers apparently are down to the final inning of their season.

* Mercy 5, Allen County-Scottsville 0, middle seventh: Morgan Ellington had an RBI single and Chelsea Meiners added a two-run double as the Jaguars added three insurance runs in the seventh.

* Garrard County 7, Pleasure Ridge Park 3, middle fifth: Lady Lions exploded for four runs in the fifth to take control.

* Mercy 2, Allen County-Scottsville 0, middle sixth: Chelsea Meiners singled, moved to second on a sacrifice, stole third and came home on a throwing error to give the Jaguars a 2-0 lead.

* Garrard County 3, Pleasure Ridge Park 3, end fourth: Lady Panthers tied it as Megan Beecham singled and eventually scored on a passed ball.

* Mercy 1, Allen County-Scottsville o, end fourth: With two outs and a runner at second, the Lady Patriots' Catie Yates singled to right field. Mercy right fielder Paige French made a nice throw the plate, where catcher Kellie Quarles was waiting. The runner got stuck between third and home and eventually was tagged out as Mercy preserved its one-run lead.

* Garrard County 3, Pleasure Ridge Park 2, middle third: Brandi Pingleton's two-run homer has given the lead back to the Lady Lions.

* Pleasure Ridge Park 2, Garrard County 1, end second: Megan Beecham's two-run homer to center gave the Lady Panthers the lead.

* Mercy 1, Allen County-Scottsville 0, middle third: Jaguars have three hits; Lady Patriots have none.

* Garrard County 1, Pleasure Ridge Park 0, middle second: Lady Lions scored in the second to take the early lead.

* Mercy 1, Allen County-Scottsville 0, middle second: Jaguars still have a one-run lead.

* Mercy 1, Allen County-Scottsville 0, middle first: Ashley McNutt led off with a double and scored on Chelsea Meiners' double to give the Jaguars a 1-0 lead.

State softball, Day 2

2009-06-06T09:35:00.002-04:00

Hello again from Owensboro, where we're about to begin Day Two of the state softball tournament. I'll try to post updates all day, focusing on the Mercy and PRP games.

Here's the schedule for Saturday (all times EDT):

Losers bracket
10 a.m. - Pleasure Ridge Park (27-10) vs. No. 22 Garrard County (27-14)
10 a.m. - No. 20 Franklin County (24-14) vs. Conner (25-10)
Two games at 11:30 a.m.; one game at 1:30 p.m.; one game at 3:30 p.m.

Winners bracket
10 a.m. - No. 5 Mercy (31-10-1) vs. No. 6 Allen County-Scottsville (36-6-1)
10 a.m. - No. 10 North Hardin (30-4-1) vs. No. 2 Owensboro Catholic (32-8-1)
Winners meet at 1:30 p.m.

Championship
6 p.m., with a second game to follow if necessary

State softball, Day 1 wrapup

2009-06-05T20:42:00.002-04:00

PRP survived to beat Ashland Blazer 4-3 in the final game of the night.

Story of the day was the elimination of No. 1 Christian County and No. 4 North Laurel.

Here's the schedule for Saturday (all times EDT):

Losers bracket
10 a.m. - Pleasure Ridge Park (27-10) vs. No. 22 Garrard County (27-14)
10 a.m. - No. 20 Franklin County (24-14) vs. Conner (25-10)
Two games at 11:30 a.m.; one game at 1:30 p.m.; one game at 3:30 p.m.

Winners bracket
10 a.m. - No. 5 Mercy (31-10-1) vs. No. 6 Allen County-Scottsville (36-6-1)
10 a.m. - No. 10 North Hardin (30-4-1) vs. No. 2 Owensboro Catholic (32-8-1)
Winners meet at 1:30 p.m.

Championship game set for 6 p.m., with another to follow if necessary

PRP-Ashland Blazer updates

2009-06-05T18:58:00.003-04:00

* PRP 4, Ashland Blazer 3, end fifth inning: The Kittens scored three runs in the fifth, getting a two-run double from Kelsee Hammonds and an RBI single from Rachel Amburgey. In other news, No. 1-ranked Christian County has been eliminated from the tournament after a 2-1 loss to Conner. The Lady Colonels had fallen into the losers bracket after a 6-0 loss to Mercy.

* PRP 4, Ashland Blazer 0, end third inning: Kelsey Adwell's RBI groundout scored Morgan Hart to give the Lady Panthers a four-run lead.

* PRP 3, Ashland Blazer 0, end first inning: The Lady Panthers took advantage of three walks and singles by Morgan Hart and Megan Beecham to take a 3-0 lead. An error by the Ashland Blazer first baseman allowed two runs to score.

State softball update

2009-06-05T18:17:00.001-04:00

Pleasure Ridge Park fell 12-0 to No. 2-ranked Owensboro Catholic, and now we're down to our final round of games on the first day of the state softball tournament.

Here's where we stand:

The following teams have been eliminated: Shelby County, Estill County, Montgomery County and Johnson Central.

The following elimination games are about to start or already have started as of 6:20 p.m. EDT. The winners of the following games will meet at 10 a.m. EDT Saturday in losers-bracket matchups:
* Pleasure Ridge Park (26-10) vs. Ashland Blazer (28-5)
* No. 4 North Laurel (32-8) vs. No. 22 Garrard County (26-14)
* No. 20 Franklin County (23-14) vs. Marshall County (26-6)
* No. 1 Christian County (39-4) vs. Conner (24-10)

Here are the matchups for Saturday's winners-bracket semifinals, set for 10 a.m. EDT:
* No. 5 Mercy (31-10-1) vs. No. 6 Allen County-Scottsville (36-6-1)
* No. 10 North Hardin (30-4-1) vs. No. 2 Owensboro Catholic (32-8-1)

Stay tuned for updates from the PRP-Ashland Blazer contest.

PRP-Owensboro Catholic updates

2009-06-05T17:31:00.002-04:00

* Owensboro Catholic 7, Pleasure Ridge Park 0, middle fifth inning: The Lady Panthers have managed just two hits against the No. 2-ranked Lady Aces. A loss would send PRP into a losers-bracket matchup against Ashland Blazer, immediately following the end of this game.

Mercy-Christian County updates

2009-06-05T14:24:00.004-04:00

* Mercy 6, Christian County 0, final: Ashley McNutt's two-run double in the sixth gave the Jaguars a 6-0 lead and Marissa Hobson made it hold up for her second victory of the day in a surprising rout of the state's No. 1 team. No. 5 Mercy (31-10-1) will take the rest of the day off and face either No. 6 Allen County-Scottsville or No. 20 Franklin County in a winners-bracket semifinal at 10 a.m. EDT Saturday morning.

In a losers-bracket game, Ashland Blazer beat Shelby County 6-4. The Lady Rockets' season ended with a 19-15 record.

* Mercy 4, Christian County 0, middle fifth inning: Mercy's Marissa Hobson is pitching a gem, allowing just two hits and striking out two through five innings against the No. 1 team in the state.

* Mercy 4, Christian County 0, middle second inning: I'll only update from here on out if there are scoring updates: More first-round final scores:

North Hardin 10, Marshall County 0
North Laurel 5, Montgomery County 0
Owensboro Catholic 8, Conner 1

* Mercy 4, Christian County 0, end first inning: The No. 5-ranked Jaguars explode for four runs to take an early lead over the No. 1 Lady Colonels. Kellie Quarles hit a three-run homer to left-center and Peyton French added a two-run double for Mercy. Marissa Hobson is pitching for Mercy.