Friday! You know what that means...

Before we get to WEEKEND TOURNAMENT WATCH, let's have a look at last night's highlights...

--Assumption upset #15 Manual 1-0. Once again, the 7th region is one of the deepest regions in the state of Kentucky. Oh, so you don't believe me? Well what about #19 Male falling to unranked Fern Creek 4-3? So Mercy, Manual and Male have all lost to begin this season (though Mercy rallied to hammer Sacred Heart 10-3 last night after SH had beaten the 6th's Butler), and Ballard was pushed to nine innings by Oldham County. This will be one wild ride.

--Meade County will be ranked next week for sure. The Wave warmed up for their tournament (see below) with a solid 5-4 win over Central Hardin. Remember, Meade County defeated #10 Grayson County earlier this week.

--Quality wins for quality teams: #1 Owensboro Catholic and #3 Greenwood beat #18 Union County and Larue County, respectively, by a 9-0 count. #4 North Laurel slid past #23 Lafayette 4-2.

--#16 Scott County escaped doom with an eight-inning 4-3 win over Grant County.


Now, for the season's first Weekend Tournament Watch...

Other Tournaments to Watch
Ballard Invitational (Ballard, Butler, Sacred Heart, Anderson County)
Watch out for Anderson County in this one. The Bearcats upset Mercy early this week, proving they can play with the best in the Louisville area.

Warren East Tournament (Greenwood, North Laurel, Edmonson County)
Two of the state's top five teams will highlight this tournament, which features teams representing a wide array of regions.

Boyle County Invitational
Commanderette Diamond Classic
Covington Holy Cross Fast Pitch Tournament

TOURNAMENT OF THE WEEK
Meade County Tournament

The Green Wave will host the most intriguing tournament of the weekend. Five top ten teams (Christian County, Mercy, Reidland, North Hardin, Grayson County) are scheduled to participate, while other quality teams such as George Rogers Clark, Breckinridge County, Central Hardin, and host Meade County are also in the tournament. Last year, it was North Hardin that stole the show in Brandenburg and captured state headlines with an impressive performance. Which highly ranked team will shoot up the rankings with a tournament championship this year?

Better Weather Today

Well only three games have been reported from yesterday, with #9 Ballard leading the way with a 15-0 hammering of Waggener.

As for this afternoon's upcoming action...

--Larue County @ #3 Greenwood
--#5 Christian County @ Muhlenberg North
--#6 Mercy @ Sacred Heart
--#7 Reidland @ Ballard Memorial
--Green County @ #8 North Hardin
--Jeffersontown @ #9 Ballard
--#10 Grayson County @ Whitesville Trinity
--#12 Butler @ Holy Cross
--Glasgow @ #14 Allen County-Scottsville
--#15 Manual @ Assumption
--Grant County @ #16 Scott County
--#19 Male @ Fern Creek
--Paris @ #20 George Rogers Clark
--#21 Woodford County @ Lexington Catholic
--Montgomery County @ #24 Estill County
--#25 Russell @ Northwest, OH

GAMES OF THE NIGHT
--#23 Lafayette @ #4 North Laurel
The Generals could become the Team of the Week with an upset win over the powerhouse Jaguars.

#18 Union County @ #1 Owensboro Catholic
We saw Greenwood steamroll over a ranked opponent; how would Owensboro Catholic do against another solid, yet unspectacular, opponent?

Here Comes The Rain

Many of Wednesday's games will be washouts because of the bad weather, but before we get to the games that likely won't be played today, let's examine the games that were played yesterday...

UPSETS!
--Anderson County takes down #6 Mercy 2-1. What Oldham County couldn't pull against Ballard was done on Tuesday...the 8th region is looking good so far this season.

--Meade County spanks #10 Grayson County 6-2. The Cougars will have a tough time dealing with Owensboro Catholic, but apparently the Aces won't be the only team they have to deal with in the underrated 3rd region.

--#12 Butler placed fourth in last year's state tournament, but the Bears didn't bring it Tuesday against Sacred Heart, as the Valkyries stuffed Butler 7-1.

OTHER NOTABLE RESULTS
--The Greenwood Gator machine was well tuned on Tuesday as #3 Greenwood smoked #22 Edmonson County 16-3 in Brownsville.

--#23 Lafayette picked up a nice season-opening win against #20 George Rogers Clark 5-4. The Generals may be a sleeper team in the 11th region, where Dunbar and Scott County are considered the favorites.

--Central Hardin, after losing to Owensboro Catholic to begin the season, dropped another game on Tuesday by losing to Breckinridge County 4-1 in 8 innings.

AND NOW FOR WEDNESDAY'S GAMES...

Holmes @ #2 Ryle
Fern Creek @ #6 Mercy
#9 Ballard @ Waggener
Lexington Catholic @ #24 Estill County

GAME OF THE NIGHT
#19 Male @ #15 Manual
Arguably the greatest rivalry in Kentucky sports takes to the softball diamond tonight. Look for both teams to play a large role in how the 7th region unfolds this season.

Nothing Spectacular

Except, of course, #9 Ballard's nine-inning win against Oldham County, 5-3. Other than that, all the ranked teams powered through the first day of the regular season.

As for tonight's ranked action...

#2 Ryle @ Notre Dame
#4 North Laurel @ Danville
#6 Mercy @ Anderson County
Murray @ #7 Reidland
North Bullitt @ #8 North Hardin
#10 Grayson County @ Meade County
Bryan Station @ #11 Dunbar
#12 Butler @ Sacred Heart
Warren Central @ #14 Allen County-Scottsville
Southwestern @ #17 South Laurel
#18 Union County @ Gallatin County, IL
Frankfort @ #19 Male
Tates Creek @ #21 Woodford County
Lewis County @ #25 Russell

And the GAMES OF THE DAY...
#3 Greenwood @ #22 Edmonson County
It should be Riley vs. Caudill in this pitcher's duel, but Greenwood's offensive firepower should prove to be the difference.

#23 Lafayette @ #20 George Rogers Clark
Two teams hanging on to the bottom of the rankings can make a great first impression with a big win tonight.

Opening Night

A doubleheader for an Eastern Kentucky power...

--Lawrence County @ #25 Russell
--Fairland, OH @ #25 Russell

Two good games from the Louisville area...

--#12 Butler @ Central
--#9 Ballard @ Oldham County

Many other quality games involving ranked teams...

--#2 Ryle @ St. Henry
--#3 Greenwood @ Glasgow
--Paducah Tilgham @ #7 Reidland
--Lyon County @ #13 Henderson County
--#16 Scott County @ Madison Central
--#17 South Laurel @ Corbin
--Livingston Central @ #18 Union County
--Harrison County @ #20 George Rogers Clark
--Model @ #21 Woodford County

Two quality 3rd vs. 5th region battles...

--#22 Edmonson County @ Larue County

and the other is the...
GAME OF THE NIGHT
#1 Owensboro Catholic @ Central Hardin
The Aces take their game on the road to Radcliff, where the Bruins always pose a formidable threat in the 5th region.

Preseason Top 25

Here's the KSCA's Preseason Top 25. I'll start the year with these rankings, but I'll edit them as we go along, of course...

1. Owensboro Catholic
2. Ryle
3. Greenwood
4. North Laurel
5. Christian County
6. Mercy
7. Reidland
8. North Hardin
9. Ballard
10. Grayson County
11. Dunbar
12. Butler
13. Henderson County
14. Allen County-Scottsville
15. Manual
16. Scott County
17. South Laurel
18. Union County
19. Male
20. George Rogers Clark
21. Woodford County
22. Edmonson County
23. Lafayette
24. Estill County
25. Russell

Best of The Rest...

Assumption
Apollo
Oldham County
Hopkins County Central
Heath
Montgomery County
Pulaski County
Anderson County
Meade County
Presentation

Welcome back!

Well the offseason flew by, so it's time to restart high school softball in the Bluegrass. I hope you enjoyed last year's blog, but there will be a couple of differences this year.

--From May 28th on, I will be unavailable to post any updates. So this means there will be no regional or state tournament coverage. I realize this is a bummer, and at first I considered not running a blog this year for that reason, but I have decided to run the blog through the district tournament action.

--Also, daily updates won't be as thorough. Of course, I will analyze and preview, but it likely won't be to the degree as it was last year due to several responsibilities I have here at UK (18 credit hours, of course, is at the top of the list ;)

But I hope you keep this blog bookmarked as we sail through the regular season and district tournament play over the next two months!

Ben