PRP Beats McCracken Co. 6-3 in State Semi-finals

The McCracken County Mustangs couldn't overcome strong starting pitching Friday in a 6-3 loss to Pleasure Ridge Park in the KHSAA Whitaker Bank State Baseball semi-finals.

Garrett Schmeltz pitched a complete game for PRP, allowing three runs on just five hits and striking out four.

PRP scored a run in the third inning, four in the fourth, and one in the fifth - a home run by Nick Rucker. Six players each got a hit for the Panthers, who will play Simon Kenton in the championship game Saturday.

McCracken got two hits and a walk in the fourth inning, but left the bases loaded. They scratched across a run in the fifth inning, and added two more in the seventh. 

Caleb Reinhardt was saddled with the loss for the Mustangs, giving up 5 runs in 3-2/3 innings. Mason Vineyard pitched the rest of the game in relief.

In a great show of sportsmanship, PRP allowed McCracken County Student Manager Ben Clark to bat at the end of the game, as he has done throughout the spring. Clark circled the bases, and was greeted by high-fives from PRP players before celebrating with his teammates at the plate. A recent video of one of Clark's at-bats was picked up by several online sports websites. 

The KHSAA announced Friday that McCracken County's James Michael Dodd and Luke Seed were named to the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA State Baseball All-Tournament Team.