Lyon County may be hard-pressed to repeat last season’s magical run to the state semifinals — but don’t count out another lengthy postseason stay either.
Three college baseball signees lead what is another loaded Lyon squad that enters the season ranked 15th in the state in the PBR Kentucky/Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association Preseason Power 25.
Brody Williams (Kent State), Gunnar Bingham (Murray State) and Jackson Shoulders (Kentucky Wesleyan) held a join college signing ceremony in November. The three will spearhead Lyon’s follow-up effort to last year’s 30-8 showing.
Williams and Bingham helped anchor the Lyon defense up the middle last season.
From his catcher’s spot, Williams kept opposing baserunners in check. He also hit .358 and smacked 10 homers while driving in 38 runs.
Bingham is not only solid at shortstop, but batted .359 with seven homers and 31 RBIs. He also led the team in stolen bases with 16. Bingham could also be used as a pitcher. Last year, he went 2-0 with a 1.40 earned run average in just 15 innings of work.
Shoulders, a first baseman when not on the mound, had team highs in batting average (.436) and home runs (12) last season. He was second on the team in runs batted in with 39. An injury limited Shoulders to just seven pitching appearances last season, but the right-hander still went 4-2 with a 3.07 ERA. Look for him to shoulder more of the pitching load this season.
Seniors Corey Cissell and Beau Wilson add depth to the pitching corps. Cissell was 4-0 in 12 appearances last season while posting a 2.14 ERA. Wilson went 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA.
Senior Luke Gilbert also figures to get playing time in the infield and on the mound.
Eli Baker, Brady Belt and Turner Hurst are part of a large and talented freshman group that figures to keep the Lyon baseball team on the right track for years to come. Don’t be surprised if some of those freshmen end up playing pivotal roles this season.
Look for Belt or junior Aiden Waters to move into a key defensive spot in centerfield.
Lyon will miss its five seniors from last season, especially Austin Long, who became the team’s workhorse on the mound in the postseason. But the Lyons appear to have young talent to fill in most of those spots.
Lyon looks to be the class of the 5th District again this season, but could get challenges from Crittenden County, which has several key performers back from last year’s regional semifinalist team, and from an up-and-coming Trigg County program.
But Lyon has bigger goals than another district title. The Lyons went through Union County, Hopkinsville and Henderson County to claim its first 2nd Region championship. Prior to last year, Lyon had won just one game ever in the regional tourney.
Hoptown and Henderson look like top challengers again this season.
Hopkinsville, coming off a 22-10 season, is right on Lyon’s heels in the PBR Kentucky/Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association Preseason Power 25 at No. 16.
Henderson, 22-15 a year ago, reached the regional final with a relatively young squad.
Last year, Lyon had to beat Owensboro Catholic in semi-state action to get to Lexington. It then knocked off Whitley County before bowing to Louisville Trinity just one game short of the championship contest.
This year’s 2nd Region champion will advance straight to Lexington, where the state tournament will be held at UK’s Kentucky Proud Park for the first time.
The Lyons open the 2022 season with a district test on Tuesday, traveling to Crittenden County.
YSE spoke with Lyon head coach Ricky Baker about the upcoming season.
