PRP baseball tops No. 1 Trinity High School, advances to KHSAA state championship game
A previous version of this story had the incorrect final score. PRP beat Trinity, 7-6.
LEXINGTON — Pleasure Ridge Park High School baseball ran a clinic on “How to Beat the State’s No. 1 Team.”
Taking advantage of eight hits (two via bunts), five hit batters, five walks, five stolen bases and three errors, the Panthers knocked off top-ranked Trinity 7-6 on Friday in the semifinals of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop/KHSAA State Tournament in front of 1,805 fans at Kentucky Proud Park.
“It’s just PRP baseball, man,” said senior catcher Hank Burns, son of Panthers head coach Brad Burns. “That’s what we do. We draw walks, we bunt, all the small ball. That’s how we’ve always won going back to the early days of (former coach Bill Miller).”
No. 5 PRP (39-3) ran its winning streak to 13 and will face No. 3 McCracken County at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the state final. The Panthers are seeking their seventh state title and first since 2017.
Hank Burns is the only PRP player committed to a college, headed to Asbury. Trinity entered the game with five starters committed or signed to play in college, including four at NCAA Division I schools.
This certainly wasn’t a David vs. Goliath matchup, but Brad Burns knows not many outside of the South End of Louisville were picking his Panthers to advance.
“We don’t have the best talent in the state,” he said. “We’re not stupid. We know that. But we try to make sure we play as team of a game as we can, and it worked out today. … Sometimes the most talented team wins, and sometimes the most talented team doesn’t. Whatever kind of talent you have, you put yourself in position to compete and win a game.”
Trinity had its 24-game winning streak snapped and finished 38-5. The Shamrocks had lost just once to a Kentucky opponent all season — 13-2 at Frederick Douglass on March 19.
The explanation for this loss was simple for Shamrocks coach Rick Arnold.
“Our free passes killed us,” he said. “End of story.”
With the score tied at 2, PRP sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning to take control. The Panthers loaded the bases on three hit batters before Asious Kavich and Deuce Harris drew bases-loaded walks for a 4-2 lead.
Kobie Howard and Hank Burns followed with RBI singles to give the Panthers a 6-2 bulge.
“It’s just momentum, keep adding on,” Hank Burns said of the Panthers’ aggressive mentality. “It just keeps going on and on and on, and (the opponent) feels the pressure, especially with all of those bunts. I can’t be more proud of my guys with the way we battled. It’s fun to see.”
Down 7-4 entering the bottom of the seventh, Trinity went down with a fight. Nolan Hosking’s two-run single with two outs pulled the Shamrocks within 7-6 and put the potential tying run on base. But PRP freshman pitcher Joey Dudeck (10-0) got Tennessee signee Dane Morrow to fly out to left field, ending the game.
Arnold said he still considered his team “champions.”
“If we were playing a three-game series we might have another chance, but we don’t,” Arnold said. “They deserve the credit. We’ll take the lump, and we’ll get better and be back next year.”
PRP advanced to the state final for the 11th time. The previous 10 came under Miller, the legendary coach who died during the 2018 season with 1,144 career victories.
Brad Burns said the Panthers’ “small ball” approach Friday would have brought a smile to Miller’s face.
“If we can do anything from an X’s and O’s standpoint to make Coach Miller proud, hopefully that’s what it was,” he said. “He would have enjoyed that kind of game.”
PRP 002 041 0 - 7 8 1
TRINITY 020 020 2 - 6 10 3
WP – Joey Dudeck (10-0). LP – Evan Boeckmann (3-3).
ICYMI: 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 Trinity High School
