[oldgrouch]

Anybody have updates from Owensboro, the state tournament?

[Strikeout King]

North beat Leslie 2-0

[Strikeout King]

Male leads McCracken County 4-0 Bottom 5th

South Warren leads Central Hardin 8-3 Top 7th

East Carter leads Collins 3-0 Bottom 6th

[Strikeout King]

Other games will start 8PM EST...7PM CST

[Van Hagar]

Those early games are all final now. Male 4, McCracken 0; East Carter 9, Collins 0; South Warren 8, Central Hardin 3. Winners play tomorrow at 10 est, Male vs. North Laurel, East Carter vs. South Warren. North will have to hit much, much better to have any shot at Male, Turner from Leslie held them to three hits tonight. Pitching and defense were sharp though.

[Van Hagar]

Late game winners mean other winners bracket games this morning will be Owensboro Catholic vs. Notre Dame and Mercy vs. Madisonville. Not really a clear cut favorite right now in either bracket, Male might be the best bet.

[RunItUpTheGut]

Male just scored 5 in the top of 1st on North.

You North fans will be agreeing with me on classing softball after this one nicker:

[RunItUpTheGut]

Current updates...

Owensboro Catholic 5
North Dame 0
Bottom 3rd

East Carter 0
South Warren 0
Top 4th

Male 12
North Laurel 0
Bottom 3rd

Mad. North Hop. 5
Mercy 0
Top 5th

[walterwhite]

Male just scored 5 in the top of 1st on North.

You North fans will be agreeing with me on classing softball after this one nicker:

No classes, regardless. Teams like Male, McCracken and others are a different level of softball than what is played in the eastern part of the state. You have to play these types of teams during the regular season in order to have a shot at tournament time. Looks like North will have several of the top teams coming to their tournament next season! That will go a long way in being prepared at tournament time. You have to see these teams to be able to compete with them.

[Van Hagar]

Male just scored 5 in the top of 1st on North.

You North fans will be agreeing with me on classing softball after this one nicker:

I'm pretty sure we would be in same class as Male unless they did something crazy like 6 classes. When we've had our best teams, early 2000's mid 2000's, one or two this decade, we could hang with anybody. This is not one of those caliber teams.

[RunItUpTheGut]

North getting killed by Woodford

14 to 0 in bottom of 2nd

[RunItUpTheGut]

I'm pretty sure we would be in same class as Male unless they did something crazy like 6 classes. When we've had our best teams, early 2000's mid 2000's, one or two this decade, we could hang with anybody. This is not one of those caliber teams.

Should a team like Pineville have to play male though?
That is the question.

Like I've said before, classed will happen. Just a matter of when.

[walterwhite]

I'm pretty sure we would be in same class as Male unless they did something crazy like 6 classes. When we've had our best teams, early 2000's mid 2000's, one or two this decade, we could hang with anybody. This is not one of those caliber teams.

North has consistently been competitive with all of the state powers! I agree, this is not one of those type teams. Remember, this team didn't win the 49th district for the first time ever. 17-0 in 3 innings to Woodford County is not too strong of a showing, however!

[walterwhite]

Should a team like Pineville have to play male though?
That is the question.

Like I've said before, classed will happen. Just a matter of when.

Just give everybody a trophy and buy them a slushee and it'll be okay!

[Van Hagar]

Actually I'm embarrassed by today's results, that's not what I expect from North softball. Those teams were better, but at least compete. We did at least extend one streak I'm proud of--in 17 appearances we have never gone 0-2. But that's about the only good thing from this state tournament.

[RunItUpTheGut]

Just give everybody a trophy and buy them a slushee and it'll be okay!

I'm the last person to take up for this current softer generation, but surely you can't believe Pineville and male are on equal footing.

1A and 2A schools would be better off leaving the khsaa and starting there own organisation if that were the case.
This is another reason why it will.be classed within 10 years

I'm curious as to why your upset with it?
Is it because the district and region titles won't be as easy to rack up?
Your schedule will still be loaded mostly with teams from around here so it's not a scheduling issue.
If you're only excuse is because you hate classes in general and believe they're a participation trophy then theres no reasoning with you on the matter and you'll just be upset when it happens.

[RunItUpTheGut]

Actually I'm embarrassed by today's results, that's not what I expect from North softball. Those teams were better, but at least compete. We did at least extend one streak I'm proud of--in 17 appearances we have never gone 0-2. But that's about the only good thing from this state tournament.

North just didn't have the hitting this year.
There flaws on defense showed when up against Lville and lex big school competetion.

[walterwhite]

I'm the last person to take up for this current softer generation, but surely you can't believe Pineville and male are on equal footing.

1A and 2A schools would be better off leaving the khsaa and starting there own organisation if that were the case.
This is another reason why it will.be classed within 10 years

I'm curious as to why your upset with it?
Is it because the district and region titles won't be as easy to rack up?
Your schedule will still be loaded mostly with teams from around here so it's not a scheduling issue.
If you're only excuse is because you hate classes in general and believe they're a participation trophy then theres no reasoning with you on the matter and you'll just be upset when it happens.

I just think that at times, people forget all of the time, hard work and cash that goes into putting a dominant team on the field. I understand the numbers issue, but that is far from the main reason that some programs are consistently strong and others are not. Is it an advantage, YES! Is it the primary reason certain programs are great, NO. I've taken lots of butt kicking s in my dad, from big and small schools, while also handing out a few. To say I will be upset is wrong. I just happen to like the current situation. Win or lose! And if you think district and region titles are easy to come by now, then that's part of the problem! It is not an easy task as it is. Look at some of the firsts that just took place this season. Clay wins the 49th district, and Williamsburg beats North Laurel!

[The Outsider]

North getting killed by Woodford

14 to 0 in bottom of 2nd

I guess that maybe we were all wrong in thinking that the rest of the 13th region had improved, looks more like North Laurel has come back to the pack instead.

[RunItUpTheGut]

I guess that maybe we were all wrong in thinking that the rest of the 13th region had improved, looks more like North Laurel has come back to the pack instead.

Definitely possible, but not unexpected when they meet big schools at state

[walterwhite]

Definitely possible, but not unexpected when they meet big schools at state

What about defeating the ultimate big school, Scott County, the last two tournament games they've played them?

[walterwhite]

I keep seeing the big Lexington schools referenced to as being powerful. In actuality the Lexington public schools are not powerhouses, certainly not at the level of the top programs in Louisville and western Kentucky. Are they better than most eastern Kentucky teams, probably, but they're not powerhouses.

[Van Hagar]

No when it comes to softball the Lexington schools have never been very good at a statewide level for whatever reason, just in an occasional year, but never consistently. No state titles. Scott Co., but not from a Fayette Co. school. The overall strength from the very beginning has been in the western Kentucky schools and in Louisville, a big reason being they were already playing fast pitch in the summer when it was instituted in the high schools, giving them a big head start, because the vast majority of the rest of the state was still with slow-pitch in the summer leagues. London was about the only one in this part of the state that was playing fast-pitch in the summer in the mid-90's, which had a huge impact on why North and South were the dominant teams of this area for the first 10-plus years.

[walterwhite]

Winners bracket- Male, Madisonville-North Hopkins; losers bracket- Owensboro Catholic, South Warren. Depending on how it would be classified, Owensboro Catholic would be a hard pill to swallow for most small schools! They are 96th in enrollment as of 2017 figures.

[walterwhite]

Madisonville-North Hopkins 9- Male 0. South Warren 6-Owensboro Catholic 5

[walterwhite]

Male 12 South Warren 2 5 innings; Finals Male versus Madisonville North Hopkins (have to be beat twice)

[walterwhite]

Male wins game one, 5-1 forcing a final game!!!

[RunItUpTheGut]

I keep seeing the big Lexington schools referenced to as being powerful. In actuality the Lexington public schools are not powerhouses, certainly not at the level of the top programs in Louisville and western Kentucky. Are they better than most eastern Kentucky teams, probably, but they're not powerhouses.

There's no doubt that lex schools are big underacheivers when it comes to softball. But having 1500 kids plus is a reason they're brought up.

Look no further than male. One of the biggest schools in the state and likely to win it if they get by Madisonville again. I'm not sure what the score would be if them and Pineville played but I imagine it would prolly be a difference about the same amount of the student population nicker:

[walterwhite]

There's no doubt that lex schools are big underacheivers when it comes to softball. But having 1500 kids plus is a reason they're brought up.

Look no further than male. One of the biggest schools in the state and likely to win it if they get by Madisonville again. I'm not sure what the score would be if them and Pineville played but I imagine it would prolly be a difference about the same amount of the student population nicker:

Madisonville-North Hopkins wins the state championship 5-3. And dont worry, Bloomer won't be looking to put Pineville on Males schedule!

[Van Hagar]

I want to amend something I said earlier about where the softball strength lies. While there are always good teams in Louisville, they still have surprisingly won only three of the 23 state titles (Manual 2, Mercy 1). Of the other 20, the first region has four (Reidland 3, McCracken 1), the second three (Christian Co., Calloway Co., Madisonville), the third has five (all Owensboro Catholic), and the fourth has four (Greenwood three and Allen Co.). Scott Co. has two from central Kentucky, Ryle has the only northern Kentucky title, and North Laurel has the only east of I-75 title. And to win theirs it took arguably the two best pitchers in state history in Kirsten Allen of Ryle who went on to Oklahoma and Becky Abner of North who went to U.K. Should give some hope for next year to East Carter who has Montana Fouts who has committed to Alabama. But the point is the true strength is out west, you don't want to draw 1,2,3 or 4 for an opening round game.