Both Logan County teams have drawn the opening games of Fourth Region tournaments and will be playing at the same time on Memorial Day Monday on the Western Kentucky University playing fields.
The two LCHS teams won 13th District championships earlier this week at Todd Central. This is the first time this century that both LCHS teams have won the district in the same year. Logan is also the only school in the region to win both its baseball and softball district championships this year.
Coach Ethan Meguiar’s Cougars, who have the best record in the region at 28-8, will face 15th District runner-up Glasgow (22-14) at 10 a.m. at Nick Denes Field. The Cougars and Scotties have split a pair of one-run games this season, with Logan beating veteran coach Sam Royse’s team 3-2 on May 6.
The Cougars are 17-6 in regional games and the Scotties 17-7.
The winner of this game will play the survivor of 16th District champion Metcalfe County (10-17) and highly regarded Bowling Green (28-9), which lost to South Warren (27-9) in the 14th District finals. That semifinal will be Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Three of the top five teams in the region, according to record, are in this bracket. The other two are South Warren, which is in the lower bracket, and Warren East, which was eliminated in the district.
Coach Craig Delk’s 13th District runner-up team, Franklin-Simpson (19-16), will go against 15th District champion Allen County-Scottsville (12-16) at 6:30 Monday after South Warren opposes Clinton County (20-13) at 4.
The regional baseball finals will be played Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Senior outfielder/relief pitcher Michael Riley is the only starter returning from Meguiar’s 2013 regional champion squad.
The Cougars’ opening round baseball game will still be underway when the first pitch of the softball tournament will be played just down Russellville Road. Coach Brandy Nuyt’s Lady Cougars will go against 16th District runner-up Cumberland County at 11 a.m.
Cumberland County has the region’s best record (25-12), but Coach Kendra McIntire’s Lady Panthers suffered a 3-1 defeat to Russell County (17-17) in the championship game. The Lady Panthers are a modest 12-7 in Fourth Region play.
The Lady Cougars have an 18-13 record, including winning 12 of their last 17 games. They won the program’s first 13th District championship since 2009 by beating Todd Central 14-1 and perennial champion Franklin-Simpson by a run. They are 11-9 in the region, including winning 9 of the past 14 regional encounters.
Torrie Pollard is the only player above a freshman who sees significant playing time for the Lady Cougars. The senior has also been a starter on two district champion basketball teams since transferring to Logan from Muhlenberg County.
Greenwood (19-13) and Glasgow (22-14) are in the upper bracket with Logan. The semifinals will be Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Coach Matt Willhite’s F-S Lady Cats (15-22)) go against 15th District champion Allen County-Scottsville (22-14) at 5 p.m. Monday. The winner will face the Russell County vs. South Warren (22-13) survivor at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The regional softball championship will be played Thursday at 7 p.m.