06/11/26 – KHSAA Baseball State Tournament Semifinals Ready for Friday at Kentucky Proud Park

June 11, 2026 2025-2026 News Releases

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 11, 2026

The semifinals of the KHSAA Baseball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare hit the diamond at Kentucky Proud Park on Friday in Lexington. Play begins at 10:00 AM with the gates opening to the public at 9:00 AM.  For the second game, which starts at 1:30 PM, the gates open at 12:30 PM. Each game is a separate ticket, and the stadium is cleared after each event.

McCracken County, Boyd County, Trinity (Louisville), and Apollo, the four baseball semifinalists, have made it a habit of getting to this point of the season. The four schools still in the hunt for the 2026 baseball championship have combined for 59 regional championships, 34 semifinal appearances, 7 runners-up, and 3 state titles (Trinity in 2021 and 2025, and Boyd County in 2001).

The action begins at 10:00 AM and features McCracken County (33-8) versus Boyd County (28-7) in the first semifinal.

McCracken County, which has captured every 1st region crown since 2014, is no stranger to the third round of the state tournament, making its 9th visit since 2016.  The Mustangs have advanced this far in the following years: 2016-19, 2021-22, 2024-2026. McCracken County has won 15 of its last 16 outings, with that lone loss coming to Trinity (Louisville) on June 9. The Mustangs are led at the plate by senior Briar Hall, who is batting .375 with Lucas Gagnon, Caden Kern, and William Fox between .355-.360. Kern, a senior, is the ace of the staff with a 10-0 record and a minuscule 0.84 earned run average. McCracken County was outstanding in the first two rounds, beating Bowling Green (6-0) and Sayre (6-1). The Mustangs have been state runners-up three times in 2019, 2021, and 2024.   

Boyd County has more regional championships, 19, than any team in the semifinal field. The Lions represent the eastern portion of the Commonwealth in the semifinals for the 8th time. The Lions, winners of nine straight, defeated Wolfe County (5-1) and University Heights (9-3) on their way to the semifinal on Friday. Grant Slater leads the Lions at the plate with a .452 batting average, but Boyd County has a balanced pitching staff with Jace Nunning, Brayden Nunley, and Slater combining for a 15-1 record with three saves and an ERA of 1.69. Boyd County is a baseball tradition in Ashland, and this weekend will mark the 25th anniversary of the school’s lone baseball state title in 2001.  

The second semifinal, scheduled to start at 1:30 PM, spotlights the reigning state champion Trinity (Louisville) Shamrocks (39-3) and Apollo (23-12).

Trinity dominated the majority of the schedule on its way to the school’s 16th region title and entered the semifinals with 20 shutouts to their credit. The Rocks are looking to achieve two goals this weekend, and both would link Trinity with Harrison County. With a victory Friday, Trinity would become the first team to win 40 games since Harrison County achieved that feat in 1997. Rick Arnold’s club also seeks to become the first to repeat as baseball champions since Harrison County did it in 1997-98.  Trinity has won 49 consecutive games against Kentucky competition. The Rocks’ last loss to an in-state opponent was back on April 23, 2025, a 6-2 setback to arch-rival St. Xavier. Last week, Grayson Willoughby was named Mr. Baseball by the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association after compiling a .465 batting average with an 11-0 record on the mound with a 0.73 ERA. He has struck out 89 batters in just 57.1 innings. Trinity has power at the plate with Nolan Hosking, with seven home runs and a team-best 39 RBI. Cade Partin is batting .434 with six dingers and 38 RBI. Trinity captured state championships in 2021 and 2025 and was a runner-up in 1983 and 2002.

Apollo advanced to Kentucky Proud Park and the semifinals after taking out #1-ranked Whitley County 5-3 in the first round and then outlasting Campbell County 14-10 in the quarterfinals. The 24 runs scored in that game were the most since the 2021 semifinals when McCracken County defeated Danville 15-10. The numbers do not tell the story for Apollo, who is batting .307 on the season, but in the first two games at Legends Field, the Eagles sported a .375 batting average with seven extra base hits. Ryleigh Logan and Ty Lillpop lead the Eagles at the plate, batting .376 and .353, respectively. Gunnar Hendricks leads all batters in the semifinals with eight home runs. Apollo has won 12 region championships and reached the semifinals for the 6th time, the first since 2023.

2026 KHSAA Baseball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare

• Purchase State Baseball Tickets (all electronic, no cash sales on site)

• State Semifinals, Finals Schedule of Events

• UK Athletics Clear Bag Policy

• Directions to Kentucky Proud Park

• UK Baseball Parking Diagram

• khsaa.tv

• khsaa.net

• Live Stats

• KHSAA/Riherds Scoreboard

• Tournament Bracket

• Tournament Program

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