Published: July 22, 2008 08:46 pm            

Lake Cumberland comes back to down Fern Creek

Cal Ripken 9-year-old All-Stars overcome four-run deficit in final inning to advance to state finals

Somerset — It has been an exhilarating week of youth baseball at the Ward Correll Sports Complex, where the Lake Cumberland All-Stars have been playing in three different state tournaments. The action has attracted several big names to come see our children compete successfully in America’s pastime.

Earlier in the week, Ward Correll, local businessman and philanthropist who donated the land for the field, came to experience the atmosphere his generous gift allowed the community to enjoy. Legendary former Transylvania basketball coach Don Lane was also in town to watch a young family member. And Monday night, 8-year old Adam Bender was seen playing ball between games while he waited for a relative to play. The unique thing about this young man from Lexington is that he plays baseball despite losing a leg to cancer at the age of 1. He has become inspirational to baseball players to the point that several College World Series teams had a picture of Adam playing ball posted where they could draw inspiration from him. He has even thrown out the first pitch at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

But Adam Bender wasn’t the only inspirational young man at the ballpark Monday night. The 9-year old Cal Ripken Lake Cumberland All-Stars have become quite an inspiration in their own right.

When we last heard about this team they were coughing up a big lead to Fern Creek and losing 14-7. But a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.

Lake Cumberland got back on track in the next game thanks to five good innings from Jose Herrera, and two doubles, a single, and three RBIs from Nate Phillips. They rode a five-run fourth inning to a 9-5 win over Johnson County.

Phillips was leading the tournament in RBIs until the next round, when second baseman Nathanael Bell went on an absolute rampage, driving in seven runs in a 15-3 blowout of Scott County. Bell came up twice with the bases loaded and emptied them both times—once with a double, once with a triple. His three RBIs in the eleven run fourth inning pulled him into a personal tie with Phillips for the RBI lead.

These games were no doubt entertaining. But the PA announcer could have followed the Scott County by justifiably playing BTO’s timeless classic “Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet.”

Their next game was against another dreaded big city team: Jeffersontown. And they were predictably losing by a fairly wide margin, 8-2 through five innings.

At this time they could have moved the game over to neighboring Thannoli Field, because the Cardiac Kids were born. But since Hinkle Field was were the dream started, it was fitting that the action took place within those confines.

Bobby Lewis connected on a two-run double to finish off an incredible seven run rally in their last at bat to put Lake Cumberland up 9-8. In the bottom of the inning, however, J-town leadoff man Cal Lewellyn laid down a perfect bunt on the first pitch. The throw sailed down the right field line and Lewellyn came all the way in to tie the game.

But Lake Cumberland bowed their necks and survived the inning, thanks to a wonderful play by catcher Cullen Cox. With the bases loaded and the score tied 9-9, Grundy threw a wild pitch. Cox sprinted to the backstop, shoveled the ball to Grundy, who had sprinted home to cover the base, and the runner was tagged out in a perfectly executed exchange that extended the game. Lake Cumberland then put J-town away for good in the seventh with four more runs to win it 13-9. Phillips and Kross Grundy each had three hit sin the win.

This amazing win set up the losers’ bracket final between LC and the team that beat them 14-7 earlier, Fern Creek on Monday night.

Under a threat of storms the game managed to get underway on time, and it seemed Lake Cumberland was ready to play, evidenced by a slick double play turned by pitcher Jose Herrera in the bottom of the first.

But after a three run second Fern Creek took control of the game. A big two run double by Fern Creek pitcher Andrew Nacke seemed to permanently shift the momentum to the Creekers, who methodically extended their lead to 7-3, and kept Lake Cumberland from mounting any charge……until……..

With most of the kids seeming downhearted the coaching staff and book keeper tried desperately to keep the team’s hope alive. It didn’t seem to be working until pinch hitter Patric Edwards’ grounder was bobbled by the pitcher, who couldn’t recover in time to throw out the hustling Edwards. After a walk, Kross Grundy drilled his third hit of the game to make it 7-4. Then catcher Cullen Cox, one of the heroes of the Jeffersontown game, crushed a double to the fence which drove in two runs. Suddenly the tying run was at second base. Then came that man again.

First baseman Nate Phillips, who had been Lake Cumberland’s most consistent hitter in the tournament, doubled the opposite way to score Cox with the tying run. And when G. W. Jones hit an infield grounder, Phillips waited for the throw to first and took off for second. The throw to third was wide and got away, and Phillips raced toward home and slid in with the go-ahead run.

But in the bottom of the sixth, Grundy, who had held Fern Creek in check for three innings, started to have control problems. With one out and the bases loaded, Coach Anthony Phillips brought in Nathanael Bell to try and close out the win. Fern Creek cleanup hitter Andrew Engel then hit a grounder to second which Chris Blount scooped up and fired home to preserve the lead and bring Lake Cumberland to within one out. Then a line drive to Grundy at shortstop started a sudden jumping fit from the Lake Cumberland team, as they had just shocked their second straight Louisville based team to make it to the championship matchup.

During the rally in the sixth the team’s rallying cry sounded like this: “You gotta want it to win it, and we want it bad!!” Soon after the game, this was the phrase going through the dugout: “We’re going to Michigan!!”

With the win Lake Cumberland, by clinching at least a state runner-up status, qualifies to go to the Niles, Michigan to compete at the Ohio Valley Regional.

This win put Lake Cumberland in a finals matchup against undefeated Southeastern Lexington who had mowed mercilessly through the tournament’s early rounds. Lake Cumberland, coming from the losers’ bracket would have to beat Southeastern twice to win the state title. But since a Cal Ripken team cannot play three tournament games in one day, a Lake Cumberland win would force the Lexington fans to stay over in their hotel rooms, or make the long drive south for one more night.

We’ll let you know tomorrow how things turned out, but we’ll leave you with this hint: the game resulted in additional revenue for local hotel and filling station businesses.



LC 011 015 = 8 9 6

FC 032 110 = 7 8 4

2B—Cox, Phillips

RBI—Cox 3, Grundy, Phillips, Jones





L.C. 200 007 4 = 13 15 4

J-town 102 501 0 =9 8 4

2B—Smith, Grundy, Cox, Phillips, Lewis

RBI—Smith 2, Jones 2, Grundy, Cox, Phillips





Scott Co. 000 3 = 3 2 2

L. C. 040 11 = 15 11 0

2B—Bell, Emerson, Cox, Philips, Harmon

3B—Bell, Smith

RBI—Bell 7, Cox 2, Harmon 2, Smith, Grundy, Phillips, Emerson





LC 300 501 = 9 8 4

JC 003 200 = 5 7 5

2B—Phillips 2, Smith, Grundy

RBI—Phillips 3, Grundy, Herrera.

        

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