The way this season has played out for the Christian County Colonels, you just had a feeling that something special might happen in the 2nd Region baseball championship game Tuesday night. Special may not be a big enough word to describe what took place against Henderson County on the home field of Christian County’s crosstown rival.
In a game filled with incredible storylines, the southern Colonels rallied from a 6-1 deficit entering the top of the sixth to claim a heart-stopping 9-7 win over the northern Colonels and clinch their first trip to the state baseball tournament since the 2018 season. It was another game where the young Christian County squad showed an amazing resiliency and just an incredible will to win and a refusal to lose when the game looked lost and with the game on the line after they had come back to take the lead.
The week had played out just as the coaching staff had hoped, allowing Christian County to throw their ace, Elijah Underhill, in the biggest game in four years for the Colonels.
Henderson County also had its own storyline coming into the game. The Colonels from the north had beaten Hopkinsville with their ace Preston Chaudoin on the mound and then got by Lyon County with their ace Jackson Shoulders on the mound. So for Henderson County to claim the title, they would have to finish out the trifecta of beating arguably the three best pitchers in the 2nd Region.
Early on, it looked as if Henderson County might just make that happen. Henderson began the bottom of the first inning with singles from three of the first four batters. Those combined with a balk call against Underhill spotted Henderson a 2-0 lead before fans had gotten comfortable in their seats.
Christian County got one of the runs back in the top of the second. After a walk and a single, Gage Montes drove in Jacob Jenkins with a sacrifice to cut the lead to 2-1.
Andrew Mills came up with an RBI single for Henderson in the third to extend the lead out to 3-1. Then came the bottom of the fifth, and for the night, the bottom of the hopes for a regional title for Christian County.
In the bottom of the 5th, two hits and two walks generated three runs for Henderson County, as the lead grew to 6-1. The inning also saw Coach Cole Isom make the difficult move of taking his ace out of the game in an effort to stem the tide. However, in one of the great storylines of the game, it would not be the last time fans would see Underhill on the mound.
Carter Sholar entered the game and slammed the door on Henderson County for the rest of the inning, keeping some semblance of faint hopes alive for Christian County, whose fans were clinging to the memory of a 14 run inning the night before against Caldwell County.
If you have ever watch the quick dissipation of water vapor, you will know how Henderson County fans felt as the sixth inning played out. A five-run lead vanished before Henderson fans had the chance to say “what the hey.”
Henderson starting pitcher Brennan Cates, who had been rolling through the game, walked the first two batters in the inning, prompting a pitching change for the northern Colonels. Jacob Jenkins would then single to load the bases with no outs.
A Henderson error, one of six on the night, allowed a run to score to cut the lead to 6-2. Another Henderson error saw another two runs cross the plate and suddenly it was “game on” again. A sacrifice fly from Bobby Irving, who fouled off several two-strike pitches trimmed the lead to 6-5. Preston Phan followed that up with a single to tie the game at 6-6.
The Colonels had the chance to score more runs, but a strikeout-throw out to end the inning left things knotted up at 6-6.
Things got a little dicey in the bottom of the inning. After getting the first two batters out, Carter Sholar gave up a single and two walks to load the bases. Sholar muscled up and got a strikeout to end the threat.
The momentum was now firmly on the Christian County side. Brylle Javier and Carter Sholar were hit by pitches to start the top of the 7th inning. Another Henderson error allowed the go-ahead run to score. A two-out error from Henderson scored two more runs as the Colonels pushed the lead out to 9-6. Elijah Underhill ripped a ball to the gap and it appeared the Colonels would add to the lead, however JaSean Riley was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
The first two batters for Henderson County connected for a single and a double to start the bottom of the seventh. And then, in a storyline befitting of a Hollywood production, Coach Cole Isom made the move to return his star pitcher to the mound to try and get Christian County to the state tournament.
Underhill struck out the first batter he faced. A ground out scored a run to cut the lead to 9-7 but got the second out of the inning. Underhill then hit a batter and gave up a walk to load the bases. That would bring leadoff hitter Dru Meadows to the plate with the tying run on second and the winning run on first.
Meadows already had two hits in the game so the tension was high in both dugouts and both sets of stands. With the count at 2-2, Underhill reared back and let it fly. The Christian County team on the field, in the dugout, and the fans in the stands exploded as Meadows failed to make contact with the pitch and the Colonels began a championship celebration.
One of the great moments on the field after the game was the sight of Elijah Underhill overcome by the emotion of the moment, hugging coaches and teammates with tears streaming down his face, after he gave an incredible seventh inning performance.
Jacob Jenkins had a big night for the Colonels, going 3-4 with a run scored. Bobby Irving and Gage Montes were held without a hit, but each came up with two huge RBIs in the game. Preston Phan ended up 2-4 with an RBI.
Elijah Underhill got the win on the hill for Christian County, going a total of 5 1/3-innings, giving up six runs on seven hits, striking out ten and walking four.
Carter Sholar pitched an incredible 1 2/3-innings, giving up one run on three hits, striking out three while walking two.
Christian County, after winning only eight games last season, improves to 29-7 on the season. They now await the winner of the 7th Region tournament at next week’s state baseball tournament in Lexington. The 7th Region championship game is May 29th.
