With the regular season winding down and the postseason days away, the Second Region baseball field continues to be a wide-open race that makes next week’s district tournaments crucial for placement in the region tournament.
1) Henderson County (19-14) – The Colonels have already punched their ticket to the region tournament as the No. 1 seed in a three-team district. The Colonels are 6-4 over their last 10 games. Two of those were losses to Lyon County and University Heights. They still have the top offense in the region and may have enough pitching to win the region. Or they could lose in the first round.
2) Christian County (14-13) – The Colonels have battled injuries and inconsistent play, but should have their best baseball ahead of them, much like last year when they rode their strong pitching to a region title. They have all of that pitching back. If they can piece together timely hits and play seven innings of solid defense, they are likely to repeat as region champs.
3) Union County (21-13) – The Braves, like last year, are getting hot at the right time. They were able to advance to the region championship in 2018 with solid pitching and hot bats. They will enter the postseason winners of six of seven games and own wins over Lyon County, Hopkinsville, and Caldwell County during that stretch.
4) Madisonville (18-13) – The Maroons are 6-4 over their last 10 games, with five of the six wins coming against region opposition. Madisonville dropped a 1-0 decision to Union County and was hammered 11-1 by Lyon County.
5) Lyon County (21-10) – The Lyons set a school record during the season and expect to add to it next week. However, they have to shake off the jinx of being the Fifth District’s top seed. They have shown they can play with the top teams in the region, but the question is do they have enough pitching depth to advance through the postseason?
6) Hopkinsville (17-12) – The Tigers are slumping at the wrong time and will play one of the hottest teams in the region in UHA in the first round of the Eighth District Tournament next week. Their offense, which averages over seven runs a game has scored three or fewer in three of their last five games.
7) Caldwell County (14-14) – Caldwell has dropped four straight games – two in extra innings heading into the weekend. Like Hopkinsville and Henderson County, the Tigers can score with anyone. Fielding and pitching will determine if they continue their streak as district champions.