Henry Clay avenges loss to Sayre to secure top seed in baseball’s 42nd District

A night after blowing a 3-0 lead at Sayre in the bottom of the seventh inning, Henry Clay exacted revenge on its 42nd District rival Friday with a 4-0 home win that locked up the top seed in the upcoming district tournament.

“Last night’s loss was really tough,” said Henry Clay senior Luke Bailey, who had two hits and two RBI on Friday. “Tonight, I think we really pushed through all the way to the last inning. That was really big for us.”

The victory improved Henry Clay (19-12) to 6-2 in district play. Even if Frederick Douglass (20-8, 5-2) defeats Bryan Station on Monday, a tie for the district’s top tournament seed goes to the Blue Devils by virtue of Henry Clay having allowed fewer runs in district play.

Douglass has been ranked in the PrepBaseballReport.com coaches rankings all season and was No. 8 this week. Henry Clay dropped from the statewide rankings after the first week of the season, but a top district seed will do nicely.

“The No. 1 seed was our goal, but honestly, it doesn’t matter,” Henry Clay coach Jordan Tarrence said. “We’re going to have to go out and beat a good baseball team to make it to the region. … It will all come down to that one game. We’ve just got to come out ready to play.”

Giancarlo Gonzalez (5-2) pitched a complete game, scattering five hits and striking out six. He also delivered an RBI single in the fifth inning to help extend the Blue Devils’ advantage.

“Gio (Gonzalez) having a three-up, three-down inning in the seventh was big,” Tarrence said. “That was a great performance by Gio. It’s the best he’s pitched all year.”

The Spartans’ best chance to score got cut down at the plate in the fifth inning when right fielder Alex Elmadolar scooped up Charlie Slabaugh’s single and rifled in a one-hop assist to catcher Mason Draper to throw out Brody Beall to end the frame.

Bailey opened the scoring with an RBI single in the fourth inning and hit sacrifice fly in the fifth to give Henry Clay its 4-0 lead. Both of those clutch plays came with a two-strike count, a circumstance that has occurred so frequently for Bailey that it has become a source of amusement for his coaches and teammates.

“Every game, that’s all the players are telling me, that I should just stay in ‘two-strike approach,’” Bailey said, smiling. “I might have to after this game.”

The loss puts Sayre (15-13, 4-4) in a tie for third place with Scott County (18-12, 4-4) and, by district rules , forces a coin flip to determine the third seed since both have allowed the same number of runs within the district.

Lexington Catholic tops 43rd

No. 14 Lexington Catholic (19-11, 6-1) has wrapped up the top seed in the upcoming 43rd District Tournament regardless of the outcome of its final district game against Lexington Christian next week.

But the battle for the district’s second seed will be settled Tuesday when Tates Creek (12-13, 4-3) goes to Lafayette (14-13, 4-3). The Generals upset LexCath 3-2 on Thursday to hand the Knights their only district loss.

42nd District standings

1. Henry Clay, 19-12, 6-2*

2. Frederick Douglass, 20-8, 5-2

3. Scott County, 18-12, 4-4**

3. Sayre, 15-13, 4-4**

5. Bryan Station, 6-14, 0-5

*Top seed clinched via tiebreaker (runs allowed in district play)

**Seed to be determined by coin flip since both teams allowed the same number of runs in district play.

▪ The 42nd District Tournament begins May 20 with Henry Clay as host.

Upcoming 42nd District games

Monday: Frederick Douglass at Bryan Station, 5:30 p.m.

43rd District standings

1. Lexington Catholic, 19-12, 6-1

2. Lafayette, 14-13, 4-3

2. Tates Creek, 12-13, 4-3

4. Paul Laurence Dunbar, 10-15, 2-5

5. Lexington Christian, 6-16, 1-5

Upcoming 43rd District games

Monday: Paul Laurence Dunbar at Lexington Christian, 6 p.m.

Tuesday: Lafayette at Tates Creek, 6 p.m.

▪ The 43rd District Tournament begins May 19 with Tates Creek as host.