Published: May 19, 2008 12:25 pm            

Eagles, Indians set for first-round showdown

RICHMOND — Long-time rivals Madison Southern and Madison Central will both carry some serious late-season momentum into a first-round match-up this week in the 44th District Baseball Tournament.

The Indians have won six straight heading into the postseason, while the Eagles have rebounded from a disastrous start to pick up wins in four of their last five games.

Southern (7-21) and Central (17-10) are set to meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Turkey Hughes Field on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University. The tournament gets underway today when Model (1-21) faces Berea Community (13-10) at 5:30 p.m.

The championship game is set for Thursday and the top two teams advance to next week’s 11th Region Tournament.

Madison Central (16-14) and Madison Southern (10-17) will meet at 5:30 p.m. today in the opening round of the 44th District Softball Tournament at Gertrude Hood Field at EKU. Berea (12-13) and Model (17-7) are scheduled to play at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The championship game is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Central and Southern played twice during the regular season with the defending district baseball champs winning each game. The Indians picked up a 3-2 win on April 18 in Richmond, then beat the Eagles 8-3 a week later in Berea.

Southern started the season with 14 straight losses, but has posted a 7-7 record since.

Berea heads into the postseason with a five-game winning streak. The Pirates won the only meeting of the season with Model, picking up a 13-6 win May 7 in Richmond.

The Patriots have lost 18 straight and have scored only 53 runs on the season, the worst in the 11th Region, and have allowed 288 runs, the most in the region.



Central looks to snap slump

The Lady Indians rolled to a 10-0 win over Madison Southern May 1 in Richmond, but haven’t won a game since. Central has lost six straight and has scored only 14 runs during that skid.

Southern lost six straight in the middle of the season and has been inconsistent all year. The Lady Eagles did rally late to beat Berea on May 13 at home and have won two of their last three games.

Berea won just six games last season but has already doubled that total this year. The Lady Pirates are averaging more than six runs a game and have reached double digits six times.

Model has already beaten Berea three times this season, picking up all three wins by 10 or more runs. The Lady Patriots finished fourth earlier this month in the All “A” Classic State Tournament and also picked up a win on the road last week over Lexington Catholic.

Model won the district last season and advanced all the way to the 11th Region Tournament championship game.

        

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