PRP baseball, behind Grayson Roll, defeats McCracken County to win seventh state title

LEXINGTON — After a seven-year wait, the Pleasure Ridge Park High School baseball team got its seventh state championship.

Grayson Roll tossed a three-hitter and Kobie Howard went 3 for 3 with three runs scored to lead PRP to a 4-1 victory over McCracken County on Saturday in the championship game of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop/KHSAA State Tournament.

A crowd of 1,952 at Kentucky Proud Park saw No. 5-ranked PRP (40-3) capture its seventh state title and first since 2017. Only St. Xavier (nine) has won more state baseball titles.

“It just means the world,” said Howard, the junior shortstop who was named tournament MVP. “I’m just proud to make everybody happy and bring a ring home.”

PRP improved to 7-4 all time in state finals, the previous 10 trips all coming under legendary coach Bill Miller, who died during the 2018 season.

Brad Burns, a 1995 PRP graduate who played for Miller, took over as head coach in 2020 and now has “The Ridge” back on top of the commonwealth.

Why was this group — unranked in the preseason — so successful?

“They don’t quit,” Burns said. “Tough bunch of kids. They’re all just South End kids. I don’t know how else to say it. We’ve been playing that all year long, and that’s who they are.”

Roll, a junior right-hander, was among the most gritty of a group with just one player on the roster — senior catcher Hank Burns — committed to play in college (Asbury).

Roll doesn’t throw hard but hits his spots and finished the season with a 6-0 record. He allowed one unearned run and struck out two in the biggest game of his life.

“I don’t really get nervous, but it’s a lot of pressure,” Roll said. “I went to sleep last night, took a few deep breaths and just came out.”

McCracken County coach Zach Hobbs praised Roll for “pitching backward,” such as throwing curveballs instead of fastballs in 2-0 or 3-1 counts.

“That kid pitched a heck of a game,” Hobbs said. “He landed a lot of big pitches in big spots. … He just did a really good job pitching. He didn’t just throw.”

Howard led off the first, third and fifth innings with hits and scored all three times. He came home on an error in the first inning for a 1-0 lead and scored on RBI singles by Brayden Bruner in the third and fifth. Cooper Burkhardt's RBI single gave the Panthers a 4-0 lead.

In four state tournament games, Howard batted .647 (11 for 17) and scored nine runs.

“I’ve told college coaches that Kobie is a guy that a lot of people are going to overlook,” Burns said. “He’s not the biggest guy. He doesn’t pass the look test, so to speak, but the dude can flat out play.”

Miller Green, Kentucky's Mr. Baseball winner, had a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to get McCracken County (34-10) on the board.

Kendrick Dunning led off the seventh inning with a single, but Roll retired the next three batters to seal the championship for the Panthers.

Burns has shied away from declaring PRP “back” in recent weeks, keeping the focus on his players. Now they can call themselves “state champions" after taking down three powerhouses — No. 15 Lexington Catholic, No. 1 Trinity and No. 3 McCracken County — in the final three rounds of the state tournament.

“I got to experience it when I was in high school, and there’s no feeling like that,” Burns said. “Nothing can ever take that away from them.”

MCCRACKEN COUNTY    000   001   0 -   1   3   2

PLEASURE RIDGE PARK  101   020   x -   4   6   2

WP – Grayson Roll (6-0). LP – Caleb Ehling (8-2).

MVP – Kobie Howard (Pleasure Ridge Park)

All-tournament team – Kobie Howard, Brayden Bruner, Grayson Roll (Pleasure Ridge Park); Miller Green, Kendrick Dunning, Caden Kern (McCracken County); Barrett Evans, Brady Atwell (Owensboro Catholic); Zach Floyd, Trevor Watkins (Trinity); Owen Jenkins (Lexington Catholic); J.J. Thompson (Hopkinsville); Caleb Mann (Ryle); Mayes Gosser (Russell County).

Previous coverage: Six years since Bill Miller's death, PRP baseball still feels presence of legendary coach

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA baseball state tournament 2024: PRP beats McCracken County