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FLORENCE, Ky. — The last time they won a regional championship, the South Oldham Dragons baseball team beat their county rivals, North Oldham. And they started a streak of parity within the region.
South Oldham did it again, beating North Oldham 11-1 in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Eighth Region final at Thomas More Stadium.
South Oldham (27-8) will play in the KHSAA state baseball tournament 10 a.m. Thursday, June 4 at Legends Field in Lexington. They will play the 16th Region champion, which will be decided May 30, weather permitting.
“It’s incredible,” said sophomore pitcher Gabriel Donnelly. “This team has put in so much work from December until now. Guys in the weight room at 5:30 in the morning. Practice after school sometimes going for three hours. I’m so proud of this group and I’m so glad to be a part of it.”
The Dragons won their first championship since 2018, when they also beat their northern county rivals in the final. They snapped a run of seven different Eighth Region champions in seven seasons, including the 2020 tournament, which was canceled by the pandemic. That included North Oldham (23-7), who last won the title in 2019 and was runner-up in 2022 and 2025.
Ryan Wheat, the Eighth Region coach of the year, won the title in his first year as South Oldham head coach.
“It feels great,” he said. “When we took the job, we knew the talent that was on the roster. It was pretty exciting. We felt we could do some great things. These guys have been working hard and they’re seeing the fruits of their labor.”
The Dragons defeated the Mustangs for the third time in four matchups this season, including the 29th District final.
Junior Keith Mitchell, a Memphis commit, had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Dragons offense.
“Just tried to stay within myself, pitch by pitch. I just tried to do what I can with the pitch I’m thrown,” Mitchell said. “I leave it out there on the field to help my team. It feels good. We’ve been working toward it all year. We have a good, talented squad.”
South Oldham scored in the first inning after Luke Belardo was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. He was moved to second and scored on a single by Mitchell.
The Mustangs tied it in the second on a leadoff walk to Beckett Labar and singles by Jack Yarka and Ryan Seely. Labar scored on an errant throw to first as Seely reached on an infield hit, giving the Mustangs runners on second and third with nobody out. But Donnelly got out of it without another run coming in.
In the bottom of the third, the Dragons took a 2-1 lead. Mitchell led off with a single for his second hit of the game. With one out, Ryan Francis reached on an error, moving Mitchell to third. Boone Dillon plated him with an RBI groundout to third.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Dragons pulled away with seven big runs. Joseph Closurdo, the No. 9 hitter for South Oldham, led off with a single. Peyton Layne reached on an error. Mitchell delivered his third hit in as many at-bats, a hard-hit triple to the wall in right center field to plate two runs and give the Dragons a 4-1 lead. Francis scored him with an RBI double, his second hit of the night, and it was 5-1. Dillon followed with a hard-hit single to left for his second RBI of the game, making it 6-1.
A pair of walks prompted a pitching change. Dillon scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-1. Closurdo finished with his second hit of the inning, a two-run double to left center to make it 9-1.
Closurdo had won the semifinals the night before with a walkoff squeeze bunt against Simon Kenton.
“He comes to the park with a smile on his face very day,” Wheat said. “Just a dependable guy, a fun-loving guy. He has a great attitude. A guy that loves being here with his teammates. I’m excited for him to do so well here.”
Mitchell finished with three hits and three RBIs.
“He is an amazing talent,” Wheat said. “He is a plus human being. Watching him grow throughout the year has been fantastic. He’s one of a kind.”
Sophomore Gabriel Donnelly pitched five innings, allowing three hits, to improve to 9-2 on the season. He pitched in all three wins over the Mustangs this season.
He was named most valuable player of the regional tournament.
“He’s our guy,” Wheat said. “We know what we’re going to get every single time he takes the mound. He’ll be really competitive. He’ll go out there and challenge hitters, he’ll throw strikes. His intensity is unmatched and he knows how to pitch. He loves those moments.”
Donnelly is psyched about the state tournament.
“Bigger than anything I’ve ever done before,” he said. “I’ll be ready to go. We got a state title in mind. We got to stay confident in each other. We got to stay focused and keep working hard.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: KHSAA baseball Eighth Region final, South Oldham tops North Oldham
Continue reading...
South Oldham did it again, beating North Oldham 11-1 in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Eighth Region final at Thomas More Stadium.
South Oldham (27-8) will play in the KHSAA state baseball tournament 10 a.m. Thursday, June 4 at Legends Field in Lexington. They will play the 16th Region champion, which will be decided May 30, weather permitting.
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“It’s incredible,” said sophomore pitcher Gabriel Donnelly. “This team has put in so much work from December until now. Guys in the weight room at 5:30 in the morning. Practice after school sometimes going for three hours. I’m so proud of this group and I’m so glad to be a part of it.”
The Dragons won their first championship since 2018, when they also beat their northern county rivals in the final. They snapped a run of seven different Eighth Region champions in seven seasons, including the 2020 tournament, which was canceled by the pandemic. That included North Oldham (23-7), who last won the title in 2019 and was runner-up in 2022 and 2025.
Ryan Wheat, the Eighth Region coach of the year, won the title in his first year as South Oldham head coach.
“It feels great,” he said. “When we took the job, we knew the talent that was on the roster. It was pretty exciting. We felt we could do some great things. These guys have been working hard and they’re seeing the fruits of their labor.”
The Dragons defeated the Mustangs for the third time in four matchups this season, including the 29th District final.
Junior Keith Mitchell, a Memphis commit, had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Dragons offense.
“Just tried to stay within myself, pitch by pitch. I just tried to do what I can with the pitch I’m thrown,” Mitchell said. “I leave it out there on the field to help my team. It feels good. We’ve been working toward it all year. We have a good, talented squad.”
South Oldham scored in the first inning after Luke Belardo was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. He was moved to second and scored on a single by Mitchell.
You must be registered for see images attach
The Mustangs tied it in the second on a leadoff walk to Beckett Labar and singles by Jack Yarka and Ryan Seely. Labar scored on an errant throw to first as Seely reached on an infield hit, giving the Mustangs runners on second and third with nobody out. But Donnelly got out of it without another run coming in.
In the bottom of the third, the Dragons took a 2-1 lead. Mitchell led off with a single for his second hit of the game. With one out, Ryan Francis reached on an error, moving Mitchell to third. Boone Dillon plated him with an RBI groundout to third.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Dragons pulled away with seven big runs. Joseph Closurdo, the No. 9 hitter for South Oldham, led off with a single. Peyton Layne reached on an error. Mitchell delivered his third hit in as many at-bats, a hard-hit triple to the wall in right center field to plate two runs and give the Dragons a 4-1 lead. Francis scored him with an RBI double, his second hit of the night, and it was 5-1. Dillon followed with a hard-hit single to left for his second RBI of the game, making it 6-1.
You must be registered for see images attach
A pair of walks prompted a pitching change. Dillon scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-1. Closurdo finished with his second hit of the inning, a two-run double to left center to make it 9-1.
Closurdo had won the semifinals the night before with a walkoff squeeze bunt against Simon Kenton.
“He comes to the park with a smile on his face very day,” Wheat said. “Just a dependable guy, a fun-loving guy. He has a great attitude. A guy that loves being here with his teammates. I’m excited for him to do so well here.”
Mitchell finished with three hits and three RBIs.
“He is an amazing talent,” Wheat said. “He is a plus human being. Watching him grow throughout the year has been fantastic. He’s one of a kind.”
Sophomore Gabriel Donnelly pitched five innings, allowing three hits, to improve to 9-2 on the season. He pitched in all three wins over the Mustangs this season.
You must be registered for see images
He was named most valuable player of the regional tournament.
“He’s our guy,” Wheat said. “We know what we’re going to get every single time he takes the mound. He’ll be really competitive. He’ll go out there and challenge hitters, he’ll throw strikes. His intensity is unmatched and he knows how to pitch. He loves those moments.”
Donnelly is psyched about the state tournament.
“Bigger than anything I’ve ever done before,” he said. “I’ll be ready to go. We got a state title in mind. We got to stay confident in each other. We got to stay focused and keep working hard.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: KHSAA baseball Eighth Region final, South Oldham tops North Oldham
Continue reading...
