By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
LEXINGTON — It was a game no one would consider a classic.
Highlands defeated McCracken County, 4-3, in the semifinals of the KHSAA/Whitaker Bank state baseball tournament on Friday, but the final box score was less than impressive.
The two teams committed five errors and four of the seven runs were unearned. Highlands was limited to four hits, all singles, and still managed to come out on top to advance to the state championship game for the second time in four years.
“A win’s a win,” said Highlands pitcher Drew Rom. “We’ll take it anyway we can, even if it’s ugly.”
The Bluebirds (29-13) will face Louisville St. Xavier in the state championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Whitaker Bank Ball Park in Lexington.
Ranked eighth in the country by USA Today, St. Xavier edged Hazard, 3-0, in the other semifinal game on Friday to lift its record to 36-2. But one of the Tigers’ closest games this season was a 4-3 win over Highlands on May 19.
“We played them the last day of the regular season and played them really well,” said Highlands coach Jeremy Baioni. “But that’s a good team that hits one through nine (in the batting order), their pitchers are really good and they play great defense. It’s going to be a tall task, but it’s the state finals and anything can happen. We’re going to give it a run.”
This is the fifth consecutive year that a Northern Kentucky team has made it to the state baseball final, but none of the four previous title contenders brought home the championship trophy. The state runner-up teams were Simon Kenton in 2014 and 2017, Highlands in 2015 and Campbell County in 2016.
In the first inning of Friday’s semifinal game, the Bluebirds scored two runs on one hit by taking advantage of an error and two walks.
Joe Steiden drew the first walk, got to second base on the fielding error and scored on Tyler Gulley’s line drive to left field. Then Rom hit a sharp grounder back to the mound and McCracken County pitcher Jacob Ehling spun around to catch Gulley off second base.
As he ran toward Gulley with the ball in his hand, however, Ehling turned his head to check the runner on third base. That gave Gulley a chance to dive back to second base without getting tagged out.
With the bases loaded, Carson Fitters came to the plate and drew a walk that gave Highlands a 2-0 lead.
McCracken County tied the score in the fourth inning by capitalizing on two errors by Gulley, the Bluebirds’ first baseman.
The lead-off batter hit an easy grounder, but Gulley dropped the ball on the throw to first base. The next batter singled and a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third.
One run scored on a single by Kiael Waldon. When Rom tried to pick off Waldon at first base, the ball glanced off Gulley’s glove and went into the stands, allowing another runner to cross the plate.
But Highlands regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a run-scoring single by Ethan Kavanagh, who went to second on the throw to the plate. After a pitching change, Kavanagh scored when a ground ball went through the legs of McCracken County shortstop Cameron Langston and into center field to give the Bluebirds a 4-2 lead.
Rom pitched two scoreless innings to maintain the lead, but he gave up a lead-off double in the seventh. The next batter grounded out and then Rom was replaced by relief pitcher Grady Cramer.
Cramer gave up a run-scoring single that cut his team’s lead to 4-3, but he retired the next two batters on infield pop-ups to end the game.
“Grady Cramer had never been on this stage before,” coach Baioni said. “He’s pitched in the regional tournament, but not in the state tournament. It was really cool to see him go out and get it done for us.”
Rom, who was named Mr. Kentucky Baseball earlier in the week, picked up the 10th win of his senior season. The left-hander gave up three runs (two unearned) on seven hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
Highlands senior right-hander Hunter Dreves is expected to take the mound against St. Xavier in the state championship game. In the state tournament quarterfinals, he allowed only two hits in a 5-0 win over Paintsville that put his season record at 4-1.
“We just have to come out and play like it’s a normal game, even though it’s not,” Rom said of facing a nationally ranked opponent in the state final. “I have a good feeling about (the game) and I have a lot of confidence in our team that we’ll somehow pull out a win together.”
McCRACKEN CO. 000 200 1 — 3 8 3
HIGHLANDS 200 200 x — 4 4 2
WP — Rom (10-6, 6 Ks). LP — Ehling. HITTING LEADERS: MC – Ellington 2-4, 2B; Dodd 2-3, 2B; Waldron 2-3. RECORDS: Highlands 29-13, McCracken county 34-9.