WHITAKER BANK/KHSAA STATE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

Where: Whitaker Bank Ballpark; Lexington, Kentucky.

Tickets: $14 in home-plate area, $10 general admission. 

Parking: $3.

Friday’s semifinals: Simon Kenton (26-15) vs. Marion County (28-6), 11 a.m.; McCracken County (34-5) vs. Pleasure Ridge Park (38-5), 1:30 p.m.  

Saturday’s final: 11 a.m. 

SIMON KENTON PIONEERS (26-15)

Coach: Troy Roberts (sixth season, 141-91 record).

State ranking: None.

State titles: None.

Last trip to State: 2014 (lost to St. Xavier 5-2 in championship game).

Probable batting order: Kyle Taylor (Jr., LF); Trent Kincaid (Sr., SS); Brennen Baker (Jr., 1B); Brayden Trattles (Jr., RF); Bailey Martin (Jr., 2B/P); Zane Fuqua (Jr., DH); Joey Ponder (Sr., 3B); Jaren Cooper (Jr., CF); Hunter Faehr (Sr., C).

Top pitchers: Mitchell Kreidenweis (Sr., 7-4, 2.99 ERA, 65 Ks in 68 IP);Bailey Martin (Jr., 7-2, 2.66 ERA, 42 Ks in 58 IP).

Notes: Kincaid, now a senior, was the only freshman in the starting lineup when the Pioneers lost to St. Xavier in the 2014 state final. Also a standout football player, Kincaid will play baseball at Thomas More College. … The Pioneers scored three runs during the first inning in each of their first two state tournament games, beating Clark County 3-1 and Muhlenberg County 3-2. … Fuqua is 4 for 4 with a double, a walk and two RBIs over his first two state tournament games.

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MARION COUNTY KNIGHTS (28-6)

Coach: Patrick Campbell (fourth season, 63-70 record).

State ranking: None.

State titles: None.

Last trip to State: None.

Probable batting order: Dalton Hammond (Sr., LF); Cameron Nalley (Sr., CF); Andrew Spalding (Sr., SS); Travis Wiser (So., IF/P); Landon Russell (Sr., DH); Luke Thomas (Jr., P/1B); Nick O’Daniel (Sr., RF); Cody Browning (Sr., C); Kelly Mattingly (Jr., 2B).

Top pitchers: Andrew Spalding (Sr., 8-1, 1.24 ERA, 133 Ks in 84 2/3 IP); Luke Thomas (Jr., 10-2, 1.92 ERA, 65 Ks in 73 IP).

Notes: Marion County beat Nelson County 10-0 on May 31 for the first regional championship in program history. … Spalding was a third-team All-State selection by the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association and has signed to play at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. … The Knights blew a 7-1 lead before beating Knox Central 8-7 in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Spalding homered, and Thomas finished 3 for 3.

MCCRACKEN COUNTY MUSTANGS (34-5)

Coach: Geno Miller (fourth season, 135-23 record).

State ranking: No. 2.

State titles: None.

Last trip to State: 2016 (lost to St. Xavier 3-2 in nine innings in semifinal).

Probable batting order: Rook Ellington (Jr., CF); Daniel Myatt (Sr., 2B); Will Sykes (Jr., 3B); Trent Shelby (Sr., DH); James Dodd (Jr., C); Cameron Langston (Jr., SS); Rece Carter (Sr., 1B); Kiael Waldon (So., LF); Nathan Bynum (Sr., RF).

Top pitchers: Caleb Reinhardt (Sr., 7-0, 0.89 ERA, 82 Ks in 71 IP); Luke Seed (Jr., 9-1, 0.61 ERA, 101 Ks in 57 IP); Mason Vinyard (Sr., 9-2, 1.08 ERA, 62 Ks in 52 IP).

Notes: The Mustangs enter with a 19-game winning streak and are 25-1 against Kentucky competition this season, the only loss coming to Bowling Green (9-5) on March 18. … Six Mustangs have signed or committed to colleges – Ellington (Kentucky), Shelby (Kentucky Wesleyan), Bynum and Reinhardt (Rend Lake), Vinyard (Wabash Valley) and Langston (John A. Logan). … Since opening in 2014, McCracken County has faced PRP just once in baseball. The Mustangs won 8-4 on April 24, 2015, in the Louisville Invitational Tournament at PRP.

PLEASURE RIDGE PARK PANTHERS (38-5)

Coach: Bill Miller (38th season, 1,130-304 record).

State ranking: No. 5.

State titles: Five (1994, 1995, 1996, 2008, 2013).

Last trip to State: 2013 (beat Mercer County 3-2 in championship game).

Probable batting order: Jalil Akbar (Jr., SS); Reed Blaszczyk (Jr., LF); Nick Rucker (Jr., 3B); Matt Cavanaugh (Jr., 1B); Dylan Carnes (So., DH); Dallas Glass (So., RF/P); Tyler Redmon (Jr., C); Dalton Smith (Jr., CF); Noah McDonald (Jr., 2B).

Top pitchers: Garrett Schmeltz (Jr., 13-1, 0.94 ERA, 149 Ks in 82 1/3 IP); Dallas Glass (So., 10-0, 1.15 ERA, 37 Ks in 55 IP).

Notes: There’s not a senior in the starting lineup for a PRP team that’s seeking its sixth state championship. Schmeltz is the only player on the roster who has committed to a college (University of Louisville). … Miller is the all-time winningest baseball coach in Kentucky history. His 1,130 career victories are 45 ahead of second-place Mac Whitaker of Harrison County (1,085-330). … Cavanaugh’s two-out single in the top of the seventh inning scored Akbar with the winning run in the Panthers’ 3-2 victory over Highlands in Saturday’s quarterfinals.