A slew of local teams will attempt to achieve glory on the diamond this week, and the community has rallied around them.
Both Russell and Adair counties celebrated their youngsters’ upcoming tournaments with parades this week, while an older team was honored for the accolades it achieved over the past season.
The Russell County 11U All-Stars compete today in Lexington in the Cal Ripken Regional Tournament. The local boys opened pool play yesterday with a 4-0 loss against a team from Indiana but will play twice today. If they finish top-two in their pool, they’ll move on to the six-team single-elimination tournament.
The 11U squad qualified for regionals last weekend after winning the West Kentucky Cal Ripken State Championship.
Staying in Russell County, the 14U All-Star softball team, recently crowned state champs, were honored with a parade through Russell Springs and Jamestown Wednesday afternoon. The squad captured the Junior League state title Tuesday with a win over Letcher County, and advanced to compete in the Central Region Tournament July 21-24 in Pendleton, Indiana.
The Russell County 10U All-Stars compete today in Owensboro in the Cal Ripken West Kentucky State Tournament. They defeated Breckinridge County 9-8 on Wednesday in the opening game of pool play and face off against Barren County today at 6 p.m. before starting play in the single-elimination tournament over the weekend.
On the other side of the County Line, two Adair County Little League teams will play in state tournaments this weekend in LaGrange, Kentucky. The 12U All-Stars and 10U All-Stars were each recognized this week with a proclamation in their honor and a parade through Columbia, and will begin state tourney pool play Saturday. Each team is guaranteed three games — more if they advance past pool play.
Baseball season is already over for the Russell County High School Lakers, but the 2022 state runners-up were recognized Wednesday with a banquet in their honor. Awards were given for middle school, JV, and varsity teams, and the following video was shown.
On that note, commemorative posters celebrating the Lakers’ historic postseason run are still available at Lakewood’s Appliance and Furniture — priced at only $20.
