By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Pleasure Ridge Park scored a run with two outs in the top of the seventh inning and defeated Highlands, 3-2, in the quarterfinals of the state baseball tournament on Saturday night at Whitaker Bank Park in Lexington.
Highlands (26-13) had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. But a pop fly by senior designated hitter Ethan Doty ended the season for the Bluebirds, who made it to the state tournament for the third consecutive year.
Highlands junior Drew Rom was the losing pitcher. He gave up three runs on nine hits and had eight strikeouts. The winning pitcher for Pleasure Ridge Park (38-5) was sophomore Dallas Glass, who gave up two runs on five hits in seven innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Bluebirds scored an unearned run on a throwing error to tie the score at 2-2. A two-out single by Matt Cavanaugh put the Panthers back on top, 3-2, in the top of the seventh.
Ethan Kavanaugh and Matt Rust, the first two players in the Highlands batting order, both had two hits to account for four of their team’s five hits in the game. Both of them were on base in the seventh inning when the Panthers got the game’s final out.
Six of the nine players in the Highlands’ starting lineup were seniors. Pleasure Ridge Park will play McCracken County in a state semifinal game at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
PLEASURE RIDGE 101 000 1 — 3 9 1
HIGHLANDS 100 001 0 — 2 5 1
WP — Glass. LP — Rom (8Ks). HITTING LEADERS: PRP — Rucker 3-3; Cavanaugh 3-4; McDonald 3B. H — Kavanaugh 2-3, 2B; rust 2-3.
