In rematch of 2021 state baseball final, No. 3 McCracken County tops No. 2 Trinity

If there was one concern Rick Arnold had about his Trinity High School baseball team entering this season, it was his pitchers’ ability to throw strikes consistently.

Thirty victories and a No. 2 state ranking prove the Shamrocks have been focused most of the year, but Saturday morning Trinity’s pitchers struggled to find the zone.

Sophomores Jake Schweitzer and Evan Boeckmann allowed a combined six walks and one hit batter, and No. 3-ranked McCracken County took advantage for a 10-9 victory at Trinity Stadium.

“We got into too many 2-0 counts,” Arnold said of his pitchers. “That’s the bottom line. Seven free passes. That’s not going to beat McCracken.”

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It was a rematch of last year’s state championship game, which Trinity won 10-0 to complete a 41-2 campaign can capture its first-ever state crown.

With district tournament play starting around the state this weekend, both coaches downplayed the significance of Saturday’s outcome.

“If we play those guys 10 times this year, it’s probably 5-5,” McCracken County coach Zach Hobbs said. “They win five, we win five. Obviously, Trinity is a good club. … Our guys know we can compete.”

Trinity (30-4) had won 11 in a row since an 8-2 loss to No. 1 St. Xavier on April 27.

“We’ve played really good baseball since then and didn’t play bad today,” Arnold said. “We made a couple of mistakes, but the walks were what killed us.”

What it means: McCracken County (28-6) ran its winning streak to six and could be in line to take over the No. 1 ranking in next week’s Prep Baseball Report Top 25.

No. 1 St. X lost 5-3 to DeSales on Tuesday, meaning the top spot in the poll could be open for McCracken County.

With two juniors and five sophomores in his starting lineup, Hobbs said his team has exceeded expectations this season.

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“With the schedule we play … I thought 24-12 would be an exceptional record,” Hobbs said. “I thought we’d be a decent team by the end of the year, but those sophomores have grown up and done a really good job.”

Key moment: With the score tied at 7-7, McCracken County loaded the bases with two out in the top of the sixth inning.

Zach Sims – a 6-foot-5 junior – crushed a ball over the head of Trinity right fielder Paul Osting for a three-run double and a 10-7 lead.

“His average is not as good as I think he hits sometimes because he’s clutch,” Hobbs said. “He’ll get real streaky, and he really competes at the plate. I’m not surprised he did that in those spots.”

Korbyn Dickerson scored on a wild pitch to pull Trinity within 10-9 in the bottom of the sixth, and the Shamrocks had runners at second and third with one out. But Robbie Reed popped out and Osting flied out to end the threat.

“We’ve executed that a lot of times, and we didn’t in that situation,” Arnold said. “That hurts. We’re learning from our mistakes still.”

By the numbers: Jack Bennett, a Western Kentucky University commit, and Sims both had three hits to lead McCracken County’s nine-hit attack.

Dickerson, a University of Louisville commit, hit his ninth home run of the year in the fifth inning to spark a three-run rally that tied the score at 7-7. Dickerson finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs.

Up next: McCracken County and Trinity both were scheduled to play Highlands later Saturday afternoon in their regular-season finales. The Mustangs will face either Paducah Tilghman or host St. Mary in the Second District final Wednesday. The Shamrocks will face the Waggener-Seneca winner at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a semifinal of the 27th District Tournament at Seneca.

They said it: Arnold on what the loss to St. X did for his team: “Since that game we’ve played great baseball. Just like today will be, that game exposed a few things from us emotionally and mentally that we need to get better at. What we’ve done is handle that business. We’ve won a ton of close games during that stretch against good teams.”

Hobbs on the race for the state title: “If we can get through the region and get back to Lexington, we have a shot. That’s all you can ask for. I think there’s eight or 10 teams that can say they have a shot, and I think we’re one of the eight or 10 teams.”

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.

McCRACKEN COUNTY   210   043   0 -   10   9   2

TRINITY                            030   132   0 -     9   9   3

WP – Cooper Ford (4-1). LP – Evan Boeckmann (1-1). SV – Caleb Ehling (3).