No. 3 Madison Central had given up more than six runs just once all season heading into an 11th Region Tournament semifinal showdown with No. 1 Lexington Catholic.
The Knights scored seven times in the first inning against the Indians (30-5) Tuesday at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. That early outburst carried Catholic (29-6) into the title game. The Knights went on to pick up an 8-3 win and set up a championship showdown with Tates Creek, which beat Western Hills, 15-5, in the Tuesday’s other semifinal. “We dug ourselves a hole,” Central coach Steve Roof said. “A big hole. But, I’m proud of our guys for battling for seven innings.” Logan Smith started for Central and didn’t record an out. The first six Catholic batters reached as the top-ranked team in the state sent 11 batters to the plate in the first. Smith gave up four hits and a walk before being replaced by Cole Metcalfe. The Knights had five hits in the inning, but took advantage of four Central errors. “Logan has been our guy all year,” Roof said. “They didn’t really hit him all that hard. They just had some hits fall in.” The Indians jumped out to a 1-0 lead by pushing across a run in the first. Metcalfe doubled and scored on a Jimmy Wright single. After that disastrous first inning, senior Nicky Edwards came on pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing just one run. Alex Dapkus took over in the sixth and got the final out. The Indians got a run back in the third when Caleb Epperson tripled and scored on an Isaac Smith groundout. In the fourth, Trey Gross doubled and scored on a single by Ben Fisher. Tyler Arthur went the distance for Catholic, allowing just seven hits. Central finished with six errors. Wright was the only Indian with two hits. Nathan Hutchinson, Richmond Register (6/1/11)
2011 Seniors - Alex Dapkus, Nicky Edwards, Caleb Epperson, Jordan Horn, Isaac Smith, Logan Smith
2011 Seniors - Alex Dapkus, Nicky Edwards, Caleb Epperson, Jordan Horn, Isaac Smith, Logan Smith
