St. Xavier No-Hits Male; Trinity Dominates as Kentucky Big Four Baseball Powers Flex Their Muscle

St. X, Trinity and Ballard surge after spring break with statement wins — including a no-hitter, explosive innings and national ranking momentum — as Kentucky’s elite separate from the pack.

St. Xavier shortstop Jaxon Coomer makes contact with the ball Wednesday during the first inning of a game against Male. | Chris Adams

The march to baseball postseason greatness in Kentucky continued after the competitive 10-day spring break interval.

Louisville’s big four were in play this week, and three of the programs reaffirmed their deserved status as the state’s best.

St. Xavier 12, Male 0

St. X, fresh off a Tuesday victory against DeSales High School, locked up with big-four squad Male on Wednesday afternoon. The outcome didn’t favor the Bulldogs, who had been on an impressive run.

Male pitching struggled early, allowing the Tigers to put together a 9-run second inning. St. X jacked two home runs in the third inning, courtesy of Brodie Benefield and Wyatt Graven, tacking three additional runs to the scoreboard.

St. X hurler Jakob Reed was stellar through five innings of work. The right-hander threw a no-hitter with five strikeouts. Conversely, it was a tough outing for Bulldog pitcher Kellen Goodman, who gave up eight runs on five hits and issued five walks.

St. X moves to 16-4, while Male falls to 13-3.

On paper, the Tigers have the more challenging schedule of the four teams. But it will be the 7th Region Tournament that paints the true colors.

Trinity 8, Sayre 1

Trinity dispatched the Spartans Wednesday, improving to 17-2, and picking up a top-10 national ranking in April. The Shamrocks have played a worthy schedule, earning them a spot among the country’s elite programs.

The Spartans seemed to be strong competition for the big four after handing Male its first loss last week. But the Rocks made quick work of Sayre, establishing a 6-0 lead by the bottom of the third frame. Trinity’s Max Phillips lit up Spartan pitching with a one-run triple and solo shot (fourth home run of the season).

Trinity’s ace Konnor Stargel registered nine strikeouts and gave up no earned runs over five innings. Stargel’s season ERA is 0.00 in 22 innings of work.

Ballard 15, Atherton 0

This was the second shutout of Atherton by Ballard in one week. The Bruins prevailed 12-0 last Thursday. Wednesday’s contest only went three innings as Ballard wasted no time in creating a commanding lead, producing seven runs on seven hits in two innings. An eight-run third closed it out. Overall, the Bruins collected 14 hits in 21 at-bats.

Pitcher Kyle Novak notched the win, throwing a no-hitter with four strikeouts against two walks.

The Bruins are 11-6 on the season.

Interestingly, Ballard beat St. X April 1 but fell to Male in March. They’ll face 10-3 North Oldham Saturday.