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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Powerhouse and Cinderella
Greater Louisville, KY
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Pleasure Ridge Park claimed a well-deserved state title last month, and Christian Academy had their first state tournament appearance.
A lot of folks expected Pleasure Ridge Park High School to win the state title. No one expected Christian Academy to emerge as 7th Region champs.
Both made for remarkable stories in local baseball circles.
PRP was ranked #1 in preseason and never wavered. It won 38 of 42 games. The Panthers lost once in Florida during a spring trip, then dropped game one of a doubleheader to Bowling Green and single games to Eastern and St. Xavier. PRP won its last dozen games and outscored opponents during the season 361-81.
In postseason play, the Panthers were really never threatened, shutting out five of seven opponents in district and regional play, then dispatching four opponents in the semi-state and state tournament by a combined score of 42-4.
When it was all over, PRP had Mr. Baseball in Zack Cox, who had a phenomenal senior campaign, both on the mound and at the plate. Coach Bill Miller, in his 29th season at PRP, naturally was voted the state’s Coach of the Year after winning his fourth state crown.
The major league draft, which took place just before the state tourney, was a disappointment for Cox. Expecting to be drafted in the first three rounds, he went to the Los Angeles Dodgers in round 20.
The snub was nothing but motivation for Cox, who has signed to play college ball at the University of Arkansas. He was MVP of the tournament, and pitched particularly well in the semifinals, striking out 12 Owensboro Apollo hitters in six innings. For the season, Cox was 10-0 with an ERA under 1, and hit .457 with 7 homers and 46 RBIs.
Teammate Zach Osborne, who signed with Tennessee during the season, capped a brilliant career dating to his starring role with the Valley Sports Little League champions six years ago. He, along with teammates Cox and Luke Bainer, made the Kentucky High School Baseball Association’s first-team All-State. Other area players on the team were Eastern’s Kiley Jones and Tyler Dunaway, along with St. X stars Kal Scheler and Justin Amlung.
Meanwhile, Christian Academy closed with a 13-16 regular season record. With powerful teams from Eastern, St. X, Trinity and duPont Manual competing in the 7th Region tournament, no one expected the Centurions to knock off two upsets and make the state tourney.
But Coach Bill Gray’s team did just that. Gray, a member of the 1981 St. X state champs, is in his second year coaching at CAL. Gray has an unusual approach–he doesn’t tell his players who’s starting until just before game time, and doesn’t have much use for statistics.
His team knocked off Fern Creek, St. X and Trinity in the regional tournament at U of L, then swept two games from Central Hardin to advance to the state tourney in Lexington. There, Cinderella’s slipper fell off when Apollo ended CAL’s season with a 12-2 win.
Still, this first taste of postseason success for CAL signals to schools that the strong 7th has another contender to deal with as long as Gray is around.
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