Kentucky Baseball Power Four Update: Trinity Leads State Title Chase as South Oldham, Sayre Advance

After edging St. Xavier in the Seventh Region final, Trinity enters the state tournament as the clear favorite among Kentucky's top contenders.

Trinity pitcher Konnor Stargel dashes to third base to backup a throw, while St. X player Brody Gaddie crosses the plate in a matchup April 22, 2026. Trinity defeated St. X in the Seventh Region championship game last Thursday and moves on to play Bullitt East in the opening round of the state tournament. | Chris Adams

Trinity punched its ticket to the state tournament and simultaneously concluded St. X’s 2026 campaign last Thursday.

It wasn’t that simple.

In the Seventh Region, the road to state was going through Trinity all along. The Rocks handled Male, 10-3, in the semifinals, but just squeaked by the Tigers, 2-1, in the championship contest.

Willoughby Silences the Tigers

St. Xavier roared its way into the final by defeating Seneca 30-0, Christian Academy-Louisville 7-0, and Eastern 5-4.

Its test against the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, per USA Today, would be a fairly accurate assessment of where the Tiger program stood on May 28.

St. X senior Colton Zuege took care of business from the mound, allowed zero earned runs, five strikeouts against one walk and six singles.

However, the Tiger bats had no growl, managing only three hits. St. X batters managed to get on base via four walks, but the offense couldn’t make it happen when it came to bringing them home.

Credit Trinity hurler and Kentucky commit Grayson Willoughby (0.83 ERA) for a three-hit, no-run, 10-strikeout performance.

St. X made a strong case for being the state's second best team. Who could argue with that?

The Tigers ended the 2026 season 28-12.

A Favorable Opening Draw

The Rocks (37-3) will face Sixth Region champion Bullitt East (24-11) Friday, and shouldn’t have much difficulty getting past the Chargers.

The Rocks' collective batting average is .364, sixth-best in the state. Senior Cade Partin is third in the state with 56 runs scored in 101 at bats.

Trinity pitching is formidable with Willoughby (0.83 ERA) and Konnor Stargel (0.85 ERA), who are both ranked in the top 10 statewide in earned run average. Willoughby is also 10-0 on the season, third best in Kentucky.

The Chargers’ team batting average is .318, but senior Bradley Myers remains their biggest offensive threat with a .444 average, 42 RBI, 40 hits in 90 at-bats, and eight home runs.

Dragons Bring Power to Lexington

The Dragons (27-8) face 16th Region champion Boyd County (25-7) in the opening round of the state tournament after crushing North Oldham last week, 11-1.

South Oldham has amassed 26 homers as a team, seventh in Kentucky. Senior Dawson Russell has logged 51 RBIs, good for ninth in the state.

Boyd County Faces Major Challenge

Boyd County is fourth in the state in team batting average, registering .366, slightly better than Trinity. They’re led by .468 hitter Grant Slater, who has collected 36 hits in 77 plate appearances with 16 of them going for extra bases. He’s also stolen 10 bases.

However, the Lions haven’t been battle tested this season as opposed to the Dragons, who played Trinity, St. X, Ballard and Eastern. Not seeing a win here for Boyd County.

Sayre Riding Regional Momentum

Sayre earned the 11th Region title Thursday, beating Great Crossing, 5-3, improving to 26-9. They’ll face Johnson Central next Thursday in the first round of the state tournament.

Senior Gibson Gary leads the Spartans offensively, batting .435 with 40 hits and seven home runs. However, he strikes out once in every 3.8 at-bats.

Heinrich Anchors the Spartans

Pitching-wise, junior Lachlan Heinrich is posting a 1.16 ERA with 82 strikeouts against 16 walks in 11 games.

Johnson Central (32-8) senior Chase Preece has hit 10 home runs, ranking 11th in the state.