BOWLING GREEN — It was the biggest strikeout of Tyler Richardson’s life.

And it could very well be the biggest in the history of the Barren County baseball program — so far.

Richardson came in to face Greenwood’s Brandon Miller with two on and two outs in the top of the seventh with the Trojans clinging two a two-run lead.

Richardson’s 2-2 pitch hit the corner as he struck out Miller looking, lifting Barren to its first-ever Fourth Region baseball title with a 9-7 win over Greenwood on Saturday night at Nick Denes Field.

“It’s the biggest strikeout I’ve ever seen. We’ll take it,” Barren coach Scott Gillon said.

That strikeout and win advanced Barren to the semi-state round to take on Christian County in a best-of-three games format. The games will be played Wednesday and Thursday, and if necessary, Friday, at Henderson County High School. Game time is set for 6 p.m. each day.

The Trojans (27-10) jumped out to an 8-0 lead and held a 9-4 advantage heading into the final inning. The Gators got a leadoff walk and a single to open up the seventh inning. Ty Downing’s fielder’s choice put runners at the corners with one out. Sandwiched around a strikeout, Greenwood reached on a walk, a hit batter and an error, to go along with two other errors in the field. The Gators scored three runs to cut the lead to 9-7.

Greenwood (24-7) had runners at second and third with two outs when Gillon went to the mound to talk to starting pitcher Lucas Mohon.

“When I walked out there, he (Mohon) told me, he said bring in Rich(ardson),” Gillon said. “I think he knew right then and there, I guess he just got a little tired there. So I brought Rich in and you know, Rich had a game early today. I brought him in for one.

“I walked out there and asked him, I said, are you OK? He said, yeah, I’m ready to go. At this time of the year, the emotions and everything it just gets you. I guess you don’t feel it.”

Richardson worked the count to 2-2 against Miller, who hit a grand slam against Metcalfe County earlier in the day. Miller took Richardson’s fifth pitch on the corner for a strike as the Trojans celebrated their Fourth Region baseball title.

“I tell you, it’s just one of those moments that you live for,” Richardson said. “Just playing baseball all your life, you dream about being a champion, dream about big time games. That was just a big time situation.

“Lucas, you know, he pitched a heck of a game. It’s hard to come in after something like that when it’s just a complete jewell. You know, if we make a couple of plays, they don’t score as many runs. It’s one of those moments you live for and you just try to go out there and give it your all.”

Mohon got the win after going six and two-thirds innings, giving up just three earned runs (seven overall) on four hits. He struck out 13, walked four and hit two batters. Richardson got the final out to earn the save.

Jonathan Riddle and Tyler Edmunds hat two hits each. Edmunds, Mason Myatt and Matthew Riley drove in two runs a piece.

The win was a jubilant ending to a long week for Barren. The Trojans played Monday against Bowling Green in a game that was delayed by rain for five and a half hours. Barren was scheduled to play again Wednesday, but rain on Tuesday once again changed the tournament schedule. With graduations on Thursday and Friday, that forced the Trojans to play the semifinal and final games on Saturday.

“It’s been a long week. We came down here Monday.....just waiting to play Bowling Green. Then we got all the rainouts,” Gillon said. “I guess the one thing it did, it did give us a chance to pitch our one and two all week, so we were happy for that and it worked out in our favor.”

Gillon added that the championship was extra special for his team’s nine seniors, to come back and win the regional tournament a year after setting a school record for wins.

“These seniors have been playing for four years now,” Gillon said. “They took their lumps the first two years. Last year we set a school record, we tied it this year with our 27th win. Last year was the first time I think they’d experienced anything like this. We came in and we didn’t get to do what we wanted to last year.

“But I think that experience brought us back this time. I kept telling our kids there’s no pressure on us. The first pressure we had was in the district (tournament) against Glasgow. That was our pressure game. And then after that everybody did a good job.”

Barren broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead. Tyler Miller reached on an error to lead off the inning and moved up on Riddle’s single. Seth Edmunds drove in Miller with a single for a 1-0 lead. Mason Myatt then singled to right to drive in courtesy runner Dillon Clark. Edmunds scored on an error in right field on the play to push the lead to 3-0. Riley’s infield single brought in Myatt for a 4-0 lead.

The Trojans doubled their lead in the fifth. Mohon walked and Miller singled to put two runners aboard. Riddle’s single drove in Josh Crews, in as a courtesy runner for Mohon, to push the lead to 5-0.

That ended the day for Greenwood starting pitcher Ryan Watson after four-plus innings. Watson, the Gators’ ace, also threw three innings in relief against Metcalfe earlier in the day.

Relief pitcher Matt Jewell hit Edmunds to load the bases and then hit Myatt to drive in a run. Jewell was taken out for Shane Wood, who walked Michael Fields with the bases still loaded. That brought in Clark to extend the lead to 7-0. Riley’s one-out ground out drove in Myatt for the Trojans’ final run of the inning.

Hunter Thompson broke up Mohon’s no hitter to lead off the sixth inning. After a walk and a fielder’s choice, the Gators had runners at the corners with one out. Barren committed two errors and Greenwood got back-to-back RBI singles to cut the lead to 8-4. After a walk, Mohon struck out the side to end the threat.

Barren got its final tally in the bottom of the sixth. Mohon doubled to lead off the inning and Clark, in again as a courtesy runner, moved to third on Miller’s ground out. Edmunds lifted a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Clark and extend the lead to 9-4.



At Western Kentucky

Greenwood 000 004 3 - 7 4 2

Barren 000 441 X - 9 8 5

W-Mohon. L-Watson.

Save-Richardson.