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    “I was setting right up there,” ACS coach Kerry Harwood explained to reporters while pointing to the bleachers at Greg Shelton Field in Franklin following Wednesday’s win, “I was in the seventh grade as I watched my older brother (Keith) win a regional tournament.”   

    This time around, Harwood had traded his bleacher seat for a coach’s box---leading the way for a very solid and talented team---a Patriot ball club that simply refused to lose. After an unbelievable “Memorial Day Miracle”----three consecutive home runs in the seventh inning to defeat Warren East in the opening round---the Patriots overcame a three run deficit against Franklin-Simpson before pulling away for a 10-3 win. The “Comeback Pats” did it again against Greenwood---this time erasing a 2-1 deficit with a seven-run fourth inning.

    “I’m so proud of this team,” Coach Harwood added. “They found a way.” 

    With the regional title on the line, junior Derrick Harwood, Coach Harwood nephew and Keith’s son, was asked to pitch the Patriots to victory. Harwood and the Patriots answered the task despite a slow start. 

    “We missed some opportunities early,” Harwood said, adding. “And we left too many runners on base.” 

    The Patriots were able to plate a run in the home half of the first. The Gators tied the score in the top of the second and edged ahead in the fourth before the Patriots bats got going in the home half of the fourth.

    With one out, AC-S’s last three batters in the line-up, Joel Steele, Jordan Keen and Andy Cardwell got things going by reaching base and forcing Gator pitcher Tyler Reagan from the mound. AC-S leadoff hitter Luka Oliphant ripped a two run double to enable the Patriots to take the lead. Two batters later, Derrick Harwood’s two RBI single pushed the Patriots further ahead and led to another Greenwood pitching change. By inning’s end, 12 ACS hitters had stepped to the plate with seven Patriots crossing the plate. The one-run deficit was now an 8-2 AC-S lead. 

    With a little drizzle turning into a steady rain, the game was not over. In the top of the sixth, a Gator hit turned into a run two batters later when Alex Strode’s shot to centerfield scored a run. One batter later, Greenwood’s Justin Basham’s blasted a two-run homer pulling the Gators to within three. With his nephew tiring, the coach asked Joel Steele to close the game out on the hill, even though Steele had not seen action on the hill in several weeks.

    Steele walked the first batter he faced before a pop up and a groundout third-to-first ended the Gators’ threat. In the home half of the inning, the Patriots added an insurance run. 

    Derrick Harwood singled to start the inning and moved to second on a pass ball. After Travis Adams popped out, sophomore Drew Anderson drove a three-two count pitch to the outfield, driving in Harwood from second. Steele grounded out to first with Keen striking out to end the inning.

    “We really wonted that ninth run,” Harwood noted. 

    In the top of the seventh, the Gators opened with a hit with the runner moving to second on a past ball. A walk left runners at first and second. Greenwood’s John Cardwell grounded into a fielder’s choice for the first out of the inning. Reagan stepped to the plate and lifted a fly to Patriot centerfielder Jordan Keen who made the catch for the second out. After a hit batsman loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate, Steele refocused and struck out Basham to end the game. 

    “I’m proud of my club, they have worked really hard,” Coach Harwood said. “We were real fortunate to come out of this with a win.” 

    Coach Harwood added that even though his team fell behind midway through the game, his squad stayed focused.  

    “Our motto all year has been pitch by pitch.”  coach Harwood pointed out. “The next pitch is the most important. We did not get tight and we did not lose our composure. We just believed in ourselves.”

    Coach Harwood emphasized that the team’s regional title came as a result of a team working hard all year to achieve its goal. 

    “We knew we had great pitching coming back this year,” coach Harwood explained, “and we had kids with a lot of at-bats coming back. These kids were also used to playing the game, playing together and winning. We have, I believe, six in our line-up that won the state on a Little League team. They are used to playing together.” 

    A key to his team’s success this season has been solid pitching, sound defense and an offense that’s loaded with quality hitters 

    “Our team ERA is 1.6 through 32 games,” coach Harwood added. “That’s great for a high school team. With an ERA like that you will always have a chance to win. Our pitching staff has worked harder than anyone in the state. We believe that whoever we pitch, we have a chance to win.”

   Offensively, the Patriots have shown throughout the season that they have the ability to score runs in bunches. The regional tournament was yet another example of that fact. After Monday’s three-run seventh, the Patriots recorded a four-run and a three-run inning against Franklin-Simpson before Wednesday’s seven run onslaught.  

     “With this ball club, you have to play for the big inning,” coach Harwood noted. “We scored over 250 runs this year and we have a team batting average over 340.” 

    The 27-5 Patriots now turn their attention to this week’s state playoff games against Christian County. Under the KHSAA format, the Patriots will meet Christian County (32-4), the Second Region champion and the defending state champions in a best two-out-of- three series. The first game will be Wednesday at 6:30 with the second game Thursday at the same time. If a third game is necessary, it would be played Friday at 6:30. All games will be at Richardson Field in Glasgow. Harwood likes the set-up and the opportunity to play so close to home. 

    “I like the format,” coach Harwood said. “Both teams can have a big game and no one can say that it’s a fluke if the underdog wins. I also like it being at Glasgow. We can sleep in our own beds. We are just going to treat it like any other game.”

    Still, coach Harwood acknowledges, defeating the Colonels will be a tough challenge but one that his team is ready for.

    “We’ve got our hands full,” coach Harwood said. “We will have to increase our effort defensively. Still, I like our chances.” 

   Win or lose this Patriot team has taken Patriot baseball to a new level while bringing excitement to the throngs of Patriot fans that flocked to Franklin for the regional, many of whom will fill historic Richardson Field for next week’s game. 

    “Our fans support has been great,” coach Harwood said.     

ACS-Franklin-Simpson (Region semifinal)

    The Patriots advanced to Wednesday’s regional title game with a 10-3 win over Franklin-Simpson. Just like the first round on Monday and the championship game Wednesday, the Franklin game featured a Patriot comeback. 

    After the Wildcats scored two runs on two hits, aided by two ACS errors, in the first at-bat. The hosts added a third run in the second before ACS engineered the come from behind win.

    In the top of the third, Andy Caldwell walked, stole second and scored on a single by John Roberts. Roberts moved to second on the throw to the plate and scored on a base hit single down the first base line.  

The bottom half of AC-S's batting order produced eight of its 10 runs.

   An inning later, the Patriots loaded the bases before Caldwell delivered a two-run single. A sacrifice fly followed by a double upped the Patriots lead to 6-3. Jordan Keen’s two-run home run in the sixth lifted the Patriots to a 9-3 lead before the squad added an extra run in the seventh to reach the final margin. 

    On the mound, AC-S Brian Jones had an outstanding afternoon. Jones kept the Wildcats in check during the games last five innings. He finished allowing five hits.

   A key to the win was the play of the bottom of the Patriots line-up.

    “Our seventh, eighth, and ninth place hitters scored eight of our ten runs,” coach Harwood said. “Today, they stepped it up.”

    AC-S finished the game with 11 hits.