By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Highlands senior pitcher Hunter Dreves allowed only two singles and had eight strikeouts in his team’s 5-0 win over Paintsville in the quarterfinal round of the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA state baseball tournament on Saturday in Lexington.
The Bluebirds (28-13) advance to the final four of the state tournament and play McCracken County (33-8) at 8:30 p.m Friday at Whitaker Bank Ball Park in Lexington.
McCracken County has outscored opponents 61-7 in the last five tournament games. But the Mustangs will likely face Highlands ace left-hander Drew Rom in the state semifinal game. In his last three games, Rom has given up only one earned run.
In Saturday’s game, Paintsville had runners in scoring position in five of the seven innings and wasn’t able to score against Dreves, a University of Tennessee recruit.
Highlands sophomore shortstop Ethan Kavanagh threw out a runner at home plate in the fourth inning and made a diving stop in the sixth that prevented a run from scoring.
The Bluebirds took a 3-0 lead in the second inning on run-scoring singles by Sam Hennigan and Cooper Schwalbach and a bases-loaded ground out by Bryce Ziegler. In the fourth inning, Tyler Gulley and Rom knocked in runs to extend the lead to 5-0.
This is the second time in four years that Highlands has made it to the final four in the state tournament under coach Jeremy Baioni. The Bluebirds were state runner-up in 2015, lost in the first round in 2016 and went 1-1 last year.
The last Northern Kentucky team to win a state baseball championship was Covington Catholic in 2002. Simon Kenton and Campbell County lost in the state final the last two years.
PAINTSVILLE 000 000 0 — 0 2 2
HIGHLANDS 030 200 x — 5 8 1
WP — Dreves (8 Ks). LP — Smith (6 Ks). HITTING LEADERS: H — Gulley 2-2; Rom 2-4; Hennigan 2-3. RECORDS: Highlands 28-13, Paintsville 26-13.