By winning over Russellville and Todd Central teams which had beaten them early in the season, the Logan County Cougars earned the number two seed in
the 13th District Tournament, which will be played at their home field the last full week in May.
In an up-and-down season, Coach Ethan Meguiar's team lost its first six games before winning 11 of their next 15 to run their record to 11-10. Then the
Cougars lost their next four games, including their final three road games of the regular season to fall to 11-15 through Monday's games.
Russellville is the district's top seed. The two local teams will play either Todd Central or Franklin-Simpson, who must flip a coin for third place.
Details of some of the Cougars' games follow:
Cougars 6, Panthers 5
The Cougars scored what proved to be the winning run in the fourth inning of the seven-inning game. Pitcher Lawton Jacson reached on a fielder's choice
bunt before Matt Cook singled him in. Russellville had tied the score at 5-5 in the top of the fourth on D.J. Watkins' 3-run homer, bringing in Dudley
Bouldin and Caleb Wills.
Cook, Dustin Cartas and John Logan Dockins each had two hits. Dockins hit a two-run homer in the second, driving in Brett Sowell. He drove in a third
run in the third inning. Cartas had doubled in Dustin Nash and Ryan Harper earlier in the inning.
Russellville's first two batters of the game scored. Andra Edmonds reached on a single, Thomas Shifflett doubled him in and D.J. Quarles added a third
hit of the inning for an RBI. Pitcher Darren Murphy had two hits, including a leadoff double in the sixth, which was wasted.
Cougars 6, Todd Central 3
This was the win which sealed the second seed in the district for the Cougars.
Sowell, Dockins and Bryce Moore each scored in the second inning. Moore doubled the first two in and Cook brought in Moore on a groundout. Dockins
reached on an error in the fourth inning, advanced on Moore's sacrifice bunt and scored on Oberhausen's hit. Dockins reach on an infield error and
scored on Oberhausen's hit in the fourth. Jackson singled to lead off the fifth and came home on Harper's single. In the sixth Oberhausen doubled with
two outs and came home as the result of a walk and a passed ball when Jackson, who was the winning pitcher, would have been the third out on a
strikeout.
Bourbon County 5, Cougars 4
In a rematch of the 1984 boys state basketball finalists, Bourbon County won this time, but it took two extra innings. Coach Nelson Faris' team scored
three runs in the first inning in a game played at Brownsville and didn't score again until adding two tallies in the ninth. It ran the Colonels'
record to 7-3 at the time; they had 17 wins by May 10.
Nathan Oberhausen walked and scored the Cougars' first run in the fifth, stealing a base and taking advantage of a wild pitch. Nash led off the sixth
with a double. Then with an out, Cartas hit a two-run homer.
The Cougars took the lead in the top of the ninth when Sowell doubled with one out. He stole a base and Dockins doubled him in. After two infield hits,
the Colonels ended the game on a double.
Cougars 17, Edmonson County 7
Managing only four hits in the Bourbon County game, the Cougars banged out 15 hits and 7 walks in this17-run attack on the same day. The biggest blow
was Oberhausen's grand slam in a seven-run fourth inning. Harper, Sowell and Dockins each had doubles. Sowell picked up three hits with Nash, Harper,
Cartas, Gaige Hales and Jackson getting two each. Scoring three runs each were Nash, Jackson and Cartas' courtesy runner, who is usually one of the
Hopkins twins. Harper, Sowell and Oberhausen each scored two runs. Cartas and Sowell had three RBIs each with Nash and Dockins getting two each. Cartas
and Dockins both walked twice. Sowell and Basham pitched.
Cougars 6, University Heights 4
Sowell singled in Jackson with two outs in the fourth for the clinching run; Jackson had led off with his second hit of the game. Two important runs
scored in the third. Cartas led off with a double, Sowell singled, Dockins reached, Hales singled in one run, and Dockins scored the go-ahead run on
Oberhausen's groundout.
The Cougars' first three batters scored in the first inning. Nash was hit by a pitch, Harper doubled and Cartas doubled both of them in. With two outs,
Hales singled in a run.
Cartas and Hales each had three hits and two RBIs. while winning pitcher Sowell added two hits and an RBI
Muhlenberg County 19, Cougars 13
The Cougars scored 9 of their 13 runs in the final two innings. In the sixth, Oberhausen singled and Cook bunted him over. Then with two outs, a string
of baserunners reached base. Jackson singled in a run, Nash singled, Harper doubled in a pair of runs, and Cartas and Sowell stroked back-to-back RBI
hits. Dockins then singled to put two runners on, but they were stranded.
In the seventh, Oberhausen singled, Cook walked, Jackson reached on an error, Harper singled in a run, Cartas drew a bases-loaded walk and Hales
singled in a run.
Cartas had hit a three-run homer in the third inning, bringing in Nash and Harper.
Harper doubled among his three hits and had three RBIs. Oberhausen also had a trio of hits. Cartas drove in five runs wiht his home run and double.
Dockins doubled and singled, and Sowell also had two hits. Harper scored three runs with Nash, Oberhausen, Hopkins and Anderson scoring two each. Nash
and Basham pitched.