First Region coaches awards ...

The First Region baseball coaches determined their award winners at Sunday's regional tournament draw.

Player of the Year — Jordyn Abell (SS-P, Ballard Memorial)

Coach of the Year — Josh May (Reidland)

East-West Senior All-Star Game — Jordyn Abell (SS-P, Ballard Memorial) and Trevor Hicks (P-3B, Hickman County) ... alternate is Josh Dickson (1B, Lone Oak)

East-West Junior All-Star Game — Dylan Dwyer (P-OF, Calloway County) and Nathan Hackel (C-P, Graves County) ... alternate is Austin Adams (P-1B, Murray)

Sophomore Showcase – Seth English (P-1B, Community Christian), John Lollar (P-IF, Murray) and Micah Chessor (P-IF, Reidland) ... alternates Sam Goode (3B-P, Lone Oak) and Clay Chandler (C-3B-P, Ballard Memorial)

First Region baseball pairings ...

First Region baseball tournament
(at Brooks Stadium)

Monday
Hickman County (17-11) vs. Mayfield (7-16), 11 a.m.
Lone Oak (23-12) vs. Murray (17-13), 1:30 p.m.
Calloway County (16-16) vs. Fulton City (6-16), 4 p.m.
Ballard Memorial (23-9) vs. Reidland (19-9), 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday
Semifinals, 5 p.m.

Thursday
Finals, 6 p.m.

Notes: Hickman County didn't use ace pitcher Trevor Hicks in the First District tournament and will have him available for Monday. Fulton City is essentially out of pitching, having used ace Jordan Miller in the district semifinals on Friday and playing its district championship game on Saturday.

Fulton City asked to move the first day of the tournament back to Tuesday, but the proposal was voted down by the eight participating schools.

Ballard Memorial vs. Reidland is a rematch of the All A Classic regional championship, which the Greyhounds won 4-2 en route to a berth in the state tournament. Ballard beat Reidland 10-9 later in the season.

Hickman County beat Mayfield 4-3 in the All A Classic regional quarterfinals, a game in which Hicks went the distance for the Falcons and took a shutout into the seventh inning. The Cardinals had beaten Hickman 2-1 about two weeks prior to that.

Lone Oak and Murray didn't play each other during the regular season, nor did Calloway County and Fulton City.

First Region softball pairings ...

First Region softball tournament
(at Graves County)

Monday
Hickman County (10-13) vs. Heath (18-13), noon
Ballard Memorial (17-12) vs. Calloway County (19-12), 2 p.m.
Reidland (23-10) vs. Graves County (13-14), 4 p.m.
Marshall County (23-7) vs. Carlisle County (10-14), 6 p.m.

Tuesday
Semifinals, 5 p.m.

Wednesday
Championship, 7 p.m.

Notes: On paper, the top four teams in the tournament are (in alphabetical order) Calloway County, Heath, Marshall County and Reidland, and all four will be favored to reach the semifinals.

Interestingly, none of the four first-round games are matchups that we saw during the regular season. Hickman County upset Heath 2-1 in the first round of the regional tournament last year.

The bracket was set up in similar fashion last year, with Heath and Calloway slated to meet in the semifinals, as were Reidland and Marshall, but Hickman spoiled the party.

Reidland is the defending state champion and has also won two straight All A Classic state titles.

Fourth District baseball pairings ...

The Fourth District baseball tournament, which has pairings determined via a blind draw for the first time in over two decades, turned out to be not far off what a seeded tournament might look like.

Murray will take on Christian Fellowship in the "play-in" game, scheduled for May 23 at Community Christian, with the winner taking on Marshall County in the semifinals on May 25. Calloway County will meet Community Christian for a trip to the district finals and a berth in the regional tournament.

The championship game is scheduled for May 26.

One caveat: Christian Fellowship, which has played just seven games this season, needs to play three more to reach the minimum 10 games as required by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association to compete in postseason play. Fulton City had to cancel a game that was scheduled for today, and at the moment, the Eagles are supposed to play Fulton County on Saturday.

That means CFS will have to play two games next week to qualify for the postseason.

If CFS fails to get to 10 teams, Murray and Marshall will meet in the semifinals, and the tournament schedule is likely to change, perhaps with one semifinal each on May 23-24 and the finals on May 25.

Also, the five district teams voted to continue determining the tournament pairings via blind raw instead of seeding. The vote was 3-2 with Murray, Community Christian and Christian Fellowship voting to use a draw.

That means it is unliklely that Marshall and Calloway will play any of their three district rivals again in 2012.

Roof, Moore excel on NAIA level

Former Lone Oak pitcher Derek Roof worked hard over the final two days as Union University (Tenn.) won the TranSouth Athletic Conference baseball tournament last weekend.

Roof, who spent his freshman year at Indiana, closed out a win over nationally-ranked Cumberland in an elimination contest on Friday, then threw a complete game in an 11-2 win over Bethel in Saturday's championship game.

Now 7-1 with a 3.90 ERA for the Bulldogs, Roof pitched five innings in relief against Cumberland, allowing just two runs. A little more than 24 hours after that 69-pitch effort, Roof pitched nine innings against Bethel, throwing 99 pitches.

In 14 innings over the two outings Roof allowed 14 hits and four runs with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Union, which has moved up to No. 8 in the NAIA national rankings, is the No. 1 seed at the regional tournament at Kingsport, Tenn. Cumberland, the defending national champion, is ranked fifth nationally and is the No. 1 seed at the Paducah Regional, which begins Wednesday at Brooks Stadium.

Moore, a St. Mary product, was named the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the year after leading the league in several offensive categories. Moore, a third baseman at Berea College, hit .467 with 9 home runs and 35 RBI in 43 games. He led the league in batting average and slugging percentage and had 31 extra-base hits i only 152 at-bats.

Berea reached the KIAC championship game, falling to regular-season champion Indiana-Southeast.

He has gotten a couple of looks from professional scouts — Boston and Toronto have expressed some interest — and there is a chance he could be a late-round selection in Major League Baseball's amateur draft in June.

Football scheduling news ...

Only 115 days — or a little over 16 weeks — until the western Kentucky football season starts off with a bang, the season-opening tilt between crosstown rivals Lone Oak and Paducah Tilghman.

But a look at some of the top teams' schedules reveals some interesting non-district matchups.

Lone Oak's schedule has undergone a major upgrade — Owensboro is now a Class 4A district opponent and the non-district slate includes Tilghman, defending Class 5A runner-up Christian County and a bowl-game date at Hopkinsville.

Tilghman's second game is against powerhouse Evansville Reitz, a contest that is part of a bowl game that was originally scheduled to have been played at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville. Word is the bowl may be moved elsewhere in town, perhaps at Louisville Trinity, but nothing has yet been set.

The Tornado also has a first meeting with Crittenden County and a late-season game at Clarksville Northeast, a Class 5A team in Tennessee that went 8-5 and reached the state quarterfinals last season, falling 24-21 to eventual state runner-up Hendersonville.

Mayfield will open up with Greenwood at a bowl game in Bowling Green, with a potential matchup with Warren Central (and ex-Graves County coach Mike Rogers) in 2012. The Cardinals will take on Evansville Harrison in the Alliance Bowl at Graves County, with the host school meeting Madisonville. And the Cardinals will renew acquaintances with Murray for the first time since Kentucky realigned into six classes after the 2006 season.

Reidland's schedule includes an early-September game at Lake County, a Tennessee Class A quarterfinalist last fall.

Crittenden County and Trigg County haven't hooked up in over a decade and will meet in Trigg's Wildcat Chevrlolet Bowl. The Rockets will host the Kentucky National Guard Warrior Bowl to open the season, taking on Hopkins Central with Caldwell County also meeting Union County.

College player updates ...

Few pitchers in college baseball have improved as much as former Marshall County left-hander Cody Forsythe, who threw seven shutout innings at Creighton on Saturday. Forsythe, a sophomore, allowed four hits and struck out 10 and has put together some impressive numbers for the Salukis — Forsythe is 5-3 with a 2.08 ERA and has only nine walks and 50 strikeouts in 69 innings.

Former Heath star Chad Wright is hitting .314 with four home runs and 27 RBI for Kentucky and leads the Wildcats with a .423 on-base percentage.

Gabriel Shaw has struggled in recent outings for Louisville and is now 0-2 with a 7.31 ERA. There are reports that Shaw, a St. Mary product, has yet to recover some lost velocity on his fastball after undergoing elbow surgery in the summer of 2009.

James Jones is continuing to throw well in his role as the closer for Louisiana-Monroe. James, a Ballard Memorial product, is 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA with only 27 hits allowed in 40 innings. He has five saves and has walked 12 batters to go with 37 strikeouts.

Minor league updates ...

Former Heath pitcher Daniel Webb allowed just four singles in seven innings on Sunday for Lansing of the Midwest League, his best start of the season. Webb is 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA in three starts for Lansing, the Toronto Blue Jays' low-Class A team. Webb has allowed 17 hits in 14 innings with four walks and eight strikeouts.

Pope County product Michael Broadway has a 1.80 ERA in five innings at Mississippi, the Atlanta Braves' Double-A club. Broadway has allowed three hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Daniel Calhoun, a Murray State product, is 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA in relief for Palm Beach, the St. Louis Cardinals' high-Class A team in the Florida State League.

Jonathan Roof is off to a good start for Hickory, the Texas Rangers' entry in the Low-A South Atlantic League. Roof, a St. Mary product who played collegiately at Michigan State, is hitting .292-1-8 in 48 at-bats and has stolen four bases. Roof, drafted as a shortstop, has also seen some time in the outfield.

Older brother Eric Roof, his former St. Mary/Michigan State teammate, has two hits in his first 14 at-bats for Lakeland, the Detroit Tigers' entry in the Florida State League. Shawn Roof, the oldest of former major leaguer Gene Roof's three sons, is 2-for-15 for Erie, the Tigers' Double-A affiliate.

Former Murray State star Wes Cunningham is hitting .222 with five RBI in 45 at-bats for Fort Wayne, the San Diego Padres' team in the Midwest League.

All A delays ...

I went to the All A Classic regional softball championship on Sunday afternoon, watching Reidland and Heath play in pleasant conditions, with some sun and a temperature in the 70s.

Meanwhile, the four semifinalists in the regional small-school baseball tournament were practicing after tournament host Mayfield postponed their games yet another day.

Needless to say, the question was asked of me more than once: "Why isn't the baseball tournament playing today?"

Good question.

Mayfield doesn't have a full-infield tarp — it only has tarps that cover the pitcher's mound and the home plate area. And someone on Mayfield's staff indicated that the field still had water standing behind second base and the infield grass remained "mushy."

Fair enough. But that raises two questions:

1. Why isn't the tournament being played at a site that has a full-infield tarp?

2. Why weren't the semifinals moved to a suitable neutral field, perhaps nearby Graves County or Lone Oak?

The second answer seems apparent. Mayfield's program benefits from the concession revenue generated at the tournament.

But the tournament has been needlessly delayed, so much so that teams have had enough rest that would enable them to get around the state pitching rules that would have come into play, had the semifinals been played on the weekend.

For instance, Hickman County's Trevor Hicks threw seven innings in a 4-3 win over Mayfield on Thursday night and would have been unavailable to pitch on the weekend. However, he is eligible to pitch against Reidland in tonight's semifinals.

Now, whether Hicks is able to bounce back and be equally as effective on three days' rest after a 102-pitch outing is another question.

The delays will also affect when the First Region champion gets to play its sectional game against Third Region champion Owensboro Catholic — the winner of that game advances to the state tournament, which is May 7-8 at Whitaker Bank Park (formerly Applebee's Park) in Lexington.

Owensboro Catholic has guidelines that prohibit athletic contests during Holy Week, which would prevent the Aces from playing this weekend, since this Sunday is Easter. The Aces are also scheduled to play in the LIT the following weekend, so the First Region winner will likely have to make the trip to Owensboro on a school night.

Smart guy, that Shaka ...

Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart, who took his basketball team from much-maligned NCAA tournament invite to the Final Four, made a motherlode of money over the last three weeks. Smart got a five-year contract extension today that bumps his base salary from $325,000 to $1.2 million. That adds up to more than $4 million over the next four seasons.

Now, if Butler wins a national championship, what the heck does Brad Stevens make next year?

College player updates ...

Chad Wright is having another fine spring as the University of Kentucky's starting left fielder. Wright, a junior from Heath, is hitting .348 with 3 home runs and 19 RBI in 25 games and leads the Wildcats in several offensive categories. Wright also has a very impressive .469 on-base percentage. Kentucky is 14-11 overall and 2-4 in the SEC after being swept at Alabama last weekend.

Gabriel Shaw is 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA at Louisville, and has been his pattern, has been very good out of the bullpen. Shaw, a St. Mary product, gave up four runs in three innings in his only start but has a 2.70 ERA as a reliever. Louisville is 15-8 and took two out of three at Rutgers to start its Big East schedule.

Ballard Memorial product James Jones has taken to a bullpen role at Louisiana-Monroe, with a 4-1 record and a 2.03 ERA and three saves in 10 appearances. In 31 innings, Jones has allowed 21 hits with 10 walks and 31 strikeouts. ULM is 14-9 overall and 3-3 in the Sun Belt.

And Marshall County graduate Cody Forsythe is having a great sophomore season at Southern Illinois. Forsythe is 2-3 (for a team that is 6-17) with a 2.76 ERA. In 42 innings, Forsythe has allowed 42 hits with four walks and 27 strikeouts.

Beck leaves Graves, surfaces at Massac ...

Travis Beck, a 6-3 forward who transferred from Joppa to Graves County in mid-December, is now enrolled at Massac County.

Beck, who helped the Eagles as a reserve next season, should lend some versatility to the Patriots' roster. He can score from the perimeter and won't have to play in the post at Massac, which already has 6-5 Griffin Bazor and 6-6 Ethan Schulte back for next season.

Presnell eligible at Tilghman ...

Paducah Tilghman may have found a new quarterback in Lone Oak transfer Tyler Presnell, who has been ruled eligible to play for the Tornado next fall.

Presnell was Lone Oak's starter at the beginning of the 2010 season but was soon replaced by freshman Cole Ousley.

Boys' regional tournament ... facts and figures

Game 1: Fulton County vs. Ballard Memorial

The scoop: These two teams have been paired at the hip, so to speak, for much of the season. They were the early-line favorites in the All A Classic regional tournament, and indeed, they went into the event as the top two seeds.

They split a pair of regular-season matchups, with Fulton County prevailing 55-52 in LaCenter in early December, a game decided when Zack Chaykowsky's potential game-tying 3-pointer was ruled as coming after the buzzer.

In a rare Saturday night game in the final week of the regular season, the Bombers won 52-40 in Hickman, with Fulton County star Leonard Smith in constant foul trouble — he finished with five points and five fouls.

Both teams have had some ups and downs — the Pilots were the No. 2 seed in the All A Classic, but their bid to win it was derailed at the start with a loss to district rival Carlisle County. Ballard lost a seven-point lead in the final two minutes to Heath in the championship game a few days later.

And neither team is at full strength. Fulton County's Derrick Swift, who averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds per game, went back to Lake County (Tenn.) in early February, taking away a player that was sometimes a dominant force in the post. Ballard has had three guards — Manny Yarbro and sometimes-starting point guards Alex Hill and Chris Jones — leave the team since the All A Classic.

So where does that leave us? Swift's loss hurts the Pilots on the inside, where Ballard's Jay Middleton makes his living, and the loss of Swift means that Fulton County coach Andrew Clinton has nightly decisions to make on whether he utilizes Smith and Dylan Johnson on the perimeter or moves them closer to the basket.

Ballard doesn't have the frontcourt depth it once enjoyed, and the personnel losses seem to have hurt a defense that was playing rather well at midseason.

A win gives the Bombers their first 20-win season since 1982. Fulton County is 23-4 against a soft schedule — only a third of their games have comes against teams with a winning record.

Overall records: Fulton County 23-4, Ballard Memorial 19-9
Against teams with winning records: Fulton County 5-4, Ballard Memorial 6-8
Against district champions: Fulton County 1-2, Ballard Memorial 1-5
Against First Region tournament teams: Fulton County 4-4, Ballard Memorial 4-7
Against teams that reached regional tournaments: Fulton County 5-4, Ballard Memorial 6-8

Game 2: Paducah Tilghman vs. Calloway County

The scoop: Tilghman seems to be playing a like a team very conscious of the calendar, with the focus and passion of a team that knows this is the postseason and wants to get back to Rupp Arena, where a winnable first-round game with the 13th Region awaits the winner of the First Region.

One coach told me last week that Tornado point guard Josh Forrest is the hardest player to keep out of the lane that he's ever coached against, and Forrest has asserted himself more on the offensive end when he senses it's needed.

Defense is what won the Tornado the regional title last year, and more good work is expected from guards Trevonte Cole and Cody Schultz. With athletic swingmen J.D. Harmon and Darrius Brown and several other options inside, Tilghman coach Brad Stieg is well-stocked with options if foul trouble arises.

Calloway is the consummate middle-of-the-road team that beats the teams it should — none of the Lakers' wins this year have come against a team with a winning record. Brock Simmons is still one of the region's best scorers, and the Lakers' X-factors of late have been a pair of young guns, 6-6 freshman Michael Arnett and 6-4 eighth-grader Parker Adams, who will be a tough matchup on the wing in the future.

Overall records: Paducah Tilghman 25-4, Calloway County 15-13
Against teams with winning records: Paducah Tilghman 14-4, Calloway County 0-12
Against district champions: Paducah Tilghman 7-3, Calloway County 0-8
Against First Region tournament teams: Paducah Tilghman 10-1, Calloway County 0-8
Against teams that reached regional tournaments: Paducah Tilghman 15-4, Calloway County 0-11

Game 3: Marshall County vs. Carlisle County

The scoop: It's become a running joke in both programs, the seeming inevitability of this matchup. They've drawn each other in the first round of the regional tournament in six of the last nine seasons, dating back to 2003 — the other three years were those that the Comets failed to advance out of the district.

Carlisle also knocked out Marshall in the semifinals 10 years ago in its Cinderella run to Rupp Arena, where it led eventual state champion Lexington Lafayette for most of the first three quarters before falling in the first round.

Marshall has had their way with the Comets in recent years, and is favored to do so again with regional player of the year front-runner Stephen Atkinson leading the way and a club that Carlisle coach Brian O'Neill told me earlier this season he felt was the best defensive team in the region.

The key for Marshall is the backcourt. Cole Nelson has become the primary ballhandler, with Blake Clark helping out, and Peter Northcutt has found his shooting range in the latter part of the season. Chase York can score off the bench, and he and Nelson can hit the boards, too.

Carlisle guard Blake Rutherford can light it up from the perimeter and the key for the Comets would appear to be 6-6 sophomore Marcus Burnett, who could pose the undersized Marshall frontcourt some problems.

Overall records: Marshall County 24-6, Carlisle County 16-13
Against teams with winning records: Marshall County 12-6, Carlisle County 2-10
Against district champions: Marshall County 5-3, Carlisle County 1-7
Against First Region tournament teams: Marshall County 9-2, Carlisle County 2-8
Against teams that reached regional tournaments: Marshall County 12-5, Carlisle County 2-9

Game 4: Graves County vs. Heath

The scoop: Graves coach Terry Birdsong insisted on Saturday that the Pirates should be favored to beat his club, based on their 74-64 win at the Eagles' Nest a few weeks ago. No one agrees with that, necessarily, but this is one of the region's most intriguing matchups.

Heath employed a triangle-and-two against Graves, chasing senior guards Jesse Anderson and Ross Williams and limiting them to a combined 13 points.

Graves has had questions about depth all season, but guard Mason Beale and forward Travis Beck have been solid in the latter half of the season. The Eagles' MVP may be center Aaron Cooper, whose low-post scoring and defense are invaluable.

Heath is a tough matchup for the Eagles with 6-6 Drew Robinson and 6-5 Jacob Jett, two players that can face the basket, and 6-4, 260-pound reserve David Wallace, who had a career-high 11 points against Graves.

But the Pirates have also struggled a bit since coming back from its quarterfinal-round appearance at the All A Classic — they lost to Reidland in their first game back home, then struggled to beat the Greyhounds in the district tournament, and have lost decisively to Padcuah Tilghman twice in the last three weeks.

One key to watch — point guard Damien Bolen gave the Eagles fits in the regional tournament last year with his quickness and ability to penetrate. Swingman Drew Wrinkle has emerged as a potential scorer.

Overall records: Graves County 22-7, Heath 20-10
Against teams with winning records: Graves County 11-7, Heath 10-8
Against district champions: Graves County 3-5, Heath 2-7
Against First Region tournament teams: Graves County 7-5, Heath 5-6
Against teams that reached regional tournaments: Graves County 9-6, Heath 8-8

Final BluegrassPreps.com rankings ...

BOYS

1. Louisville Eastern
2. Louisville Ballard
3. Clark County
4. LexingtonTates Creek
5. Scott County
6. Christian County
7. Louisville Trinity
8. Jeffersontown
9. Warren Central
10. Lexington Catholic
11. Louisville Moore
12. Louisville Western
13. Lexington Henry Clay
14. Bullitt East
15. Louisville Central
16. Pleasure Ridge Park
17. Bowling Green
18. Louisville Seneca
19. Paducah Tilghman
20. Madison Central


FINAL BGP GIRLS TOP 20

1. Louisville Manual
2. Rockcastle County
3. Boone County
4. Louisville Mercy
5. Bowling Green
6. Louisville Sacred Heart
7. Marion County
8. Perry Central
9. Ryle
10. Elizabethtown
11. Calloway County
12. Louisville Butler
13. Greenwood
14. Newport Catholic
15. Lexington Bryan Station
16. Clay County
17. Owensboro Catholic
18. Grayson County
19. Scott County
20. Franklin-Simpson

Girls' regional tournament ... facts and figures

Game 1: Lone Oak vs. St. Mary

The scoop: Perhaps the most intriguing game of the first round. The Lady Vikings won 58-51 at Lone Oak on Dec. 7, but when the two teams get together on Monday night, they haven't faced each other in 83 days.

Since then, Lone Oak has gained some confidence on the strength of its first 20-win season in eight years. The Lady Flash's 21 wins is two more than they had in the last three seasons combined, and sophomore guard Haley Boyd has emerged as one of the area's better up-and-coming talents. Tiffany Brown has size and defensive presence in the middle.

At the same time, Lone Oak has been found wanting against the region's top teams, with a 17-point loss to Marshall County and a 38-point defeat against regional favorite Calloway County. They also lost by double digits at Ballard in December, a game that Brown missed while battling mononucleosis.

St. Mary has retooled some things, too, with coach Staci Averill going with some young talent of her own. Freshman Alex Durbin had a double-double against Ballard Memorial in the district championship game and sophomore Lydia McManus was one point shy of one. Peyton Vaughan has been a reliable lead guard, leading the team in scoring and assists.

The winner probably becomes the sacrificial lamb for Calloway in the semifinals, but both are chasing their first regional tournament wins in some time — St. Mary's last one was in 2006, while Lone Oak's last semifinal appearance was in 2001.

Overall records: Lone Oak 21-8, St. Mary 15-12
Against teams with winning records: Lone Oak 2-6, St. Mary 3-7
Against district champions: Lone Oak 2-3, St. Mary 1-5
Against First Region tournament teams: Lone Oak 5-4, St. Mary 2-6
Against teams that reached regional tournaments: Lone Oak 7-6, St. Mary 2-8

Game 2: Calloway County vs. Hickman County

The scoop: There shouldn't be much mystery about this one. Calloway, led by West Virginia signee Averee Fields, may be the First Region's strongest team since Paducah Tilghman reached the final four of the state tournament in 2005. Hickman, the only team in the tournament with a losing record, simply ended up with the worst possible draw.

Expect the Lady Lakers to roll and for coach Scott Sivills to use his bench liberally. Hickman's only chance to stay competitive would appear to be by slowing down the tempo and/or hitting some 3-point shots early in the game.

Overall records: Calloway County 27-1, Hickman County 8-15
Against teams with winning records: Calloway County 16-1, Hickman County 0-4
Against district champions: Calloway County 5-0, Hickman County 1-3
Against First Region tournament teams: Calloway County 8-0, Hickman County 1-6
Against teams that reached regional tournaments: Calloway County 14-0, Hickman County 1-7

Game 3: Ballard Memorial vs. Paducah Tilghman

The scoop: These two teams met on Jan. 14 in a game that ended in somewhat controversial fashion. After Ballard hit a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left to tie the score, the Lady Bombers were called for a foul in the backcourt, with Tilghman's Kendra Patterson hitting one of two from the line to nail down the win.

It was a game soon forgotten in the Ballard camp — the Lady Bombers went on to win the All A Classic regional tournament eight days later, knocking off favored Murray in the final. For Tilghman, it was the first sign of progress in a season that was derailed by star point guard Chelsey Shumpert suffering a torn ACL in a mid-December loss to district rival Lone Oak.

Tilghman coach Josh Barnett has done a good job of reconstructing his lineup and gameplan without Shumpert, perhaps the region's best guard, and athletic center LaQuesha Prather, who also has a torn ACL. But there are times the Lady Tornado attack has trouble generating points if Patterson and forward Ngodoo Itiavkase can't attack the rim, and two of the first players off the bench are eighth-graders.

Ballard, however, isn't the same team that went to the All A Classic state tournament. Center Tisha Burgess tore an ACL in that game, taking away a low-post presence and a badly-needed rebounder. Guard Anna Denton suffered a similar injury in the district finals, giving coach Billie Prince precious little time to make the proper adjustments in practice.

Just before the All A Classic, Prince questioned his team's effectiveness when it went to the bench — Ballard sometimes went 10-deep, but Prince wasn't sure he could afford to go without more than one starter on the floor at a time. Now, with two starters down, he has no choice.

Overall records: Ballard Memorial 21-9, Paducah Tilghman 13-14
Against teams with winning records: Ballard Memorial 10-7, Paducah Tilghman 4-9
Against district champions: Ballard Memorial 4-4, Paducah Tilghman 2-4
Against First Region tournament teams: Ballard Memorial 7-3, Paducah Tilghman 4-4
Against teams that reached regional tournaments: Ballard Memorial 10-6, Paducah Tilghman 6-8

Game 4: Murray vs. Carlisle County

The scoop: There isn't much reason to think this game won't be well in hand by halftime. Murray, the defending regional champion, beat Carlisle 59-34 only two weeks ago, and has generally had its way with the regional small-school competition, aside from Ballard Memorial.

Point guard Janssen Starks and swingman Haley Armstrong are two of the region's top players and are on course to combine for something like 4,500 points in their careers — Armstrong, a junior, is the school's all-time leading scorer and recently passed the 2,000-point mark, while Starks has eclipsed 1,000 points as a sophomore. And 6-3 center Sian House and guard Amanda Winchester are two of the region's most potent defensive forces, House as a shot-blocker and rock in the paint.

Carlisle has some young talent, led by sophomores Macy Moran and Jenna Babb, but this probably isn't the way coach Ember Wright would have liked her team to develop some regional tournament experience.

Overall records: Murray 20-9, Carlisle County 13-13
Against teams with winning records: Murray 8-9, Carlisle County 1-8
Against district champions: Murray 4-6, Carlisle County 0-5
Against First Region tournament teams: Murray 4-4, Carlisle County 3-7
Against teams that reached regional tournaments: Murray 9-7, Carlisle County 3-8

Second Region pairings ...

Boys
(at Hopkinsville)
Wednesday
Livingston Central vs. Christian County, 6 p.m.
Henderson County vs. Hopkins Central, 7:45 p.m.
Thursday
Madisonville vs. Lyon County, 6 p.m.
University Heights vs. Union County, 7:45 p.m.
March 7
Semifinals, 6 p.m.
March 8
Championship, 7 p.m.

Girls
(at Livingston Central)
Monday
Madisonville vs. Christian County, 6 p.m.
Henderson County vs. Lyon County, 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday
Hopkinsville vs. Union County, 6 p.m.
Crittenden County vs. Caldwell County, 7:45 p.m.
Friday
Semifinals, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 7 p.m.

Boys' First Region pairings ...

Wednesday
Fulton County (23-4) vs. Ballard Memorial (19-9), 6 p.m.
Paducah Tilghman (25-4) vs. Calloway County (15-13), 7:45 p.m.

Thursday
Marshall County (24-6) vs. Carlisle County (16-13), 6 p.m.
Graves County (22-7) vs. Heath (20-10), 7:45 p.m.

March 7
Semifinals, 6 p.m.

March 8
Championship, 7:45 p.m.

Notes: Who got the best draw? You have to go with Paducah Tilghman, which saw Marshall County and Graves County placed in the opposite bracket.

Two first-round matchups stand out — Ballard Memorial and Fulton County split a pair of regular-season meetings, with the Bombers winning in Hickman just a week ago, and they were the top two seeds in the All A Classic regional tournament.

But neither ballclub has the personnel with which it began the season — Ballard has had three athletic guards (Manny Yarbro, Alex Hill and Chris Jones) leave the team in the last month, and their absence is particularly noticeable on the defensive end. Fulton County was rocked when double-double machine Derrick Swift moved back to Lake County, Tenn.

The other one is Graves County and Heath, two teams that met about a month ago. Heath won that game 74-64 at the Eagles' Nest, a somewhat surprising result in that it came right after the Pirates had won the All A Classic regional title and it was generally thought they were due for a letdown.

Girls' First Region pairings ...

Monday
Lone Oak (21-8) vs. St. Mary (15-12), 6 p.m.
Calloway County (27-1) vs. Hickman County (8-15), 7:45 p.m.

Tuesday
Ballard Memorial (21-9) vs. Paducah Tilghman (13-14), 6 p.m.
Carlisle County (13-13) vs. Murray (20-9), 7:45 p.m.

Friday
Semifinals, 6 p.m.

Saturday
Championship, 7 p.m.

Notes: Ballard Memorial sustained its second big personnel loss in a month when guard Anna Denton tore the ACL in her right knee during Thursday night's Third District championship game against St. Mary. Center Tisha Burgess suffered a similar injury in the All A Classic state tournament.

The Lady Bombers will play a Paducah Tilghman squad that is also without two critical players, point guard Chelsey Shumpert and center LaQuesha Prather, both of whom tore ACLs in December.

There could easily be a rematch of the All A Classic regional final between Ballard and Murray, a game in which the Lady Bombers made a dramatic fourth-quarter rally with a wild 22-1 run. But the Ballard team that could meet Murray in the semifinals isn't the same club that beat the Lady Tigers a month ago.

But this should be a lot like last year's regional tournament, where there isn't much drama until the championship game.

Notice who is missing ... no Graves County and no Marshall County in the regional tournament. It's the first time that has happened since Graves was formed by consolidation in 1985.

Pre-postseason briefs ...

First District: Two boys' teams with regional tournament aspirations have had recent comings and goings that could drastically affect their post-season fortunes.

To start, the bad news: Fulton County's Derrick Swift, a 6-foot-3 senior forward and sometimes prolific scorer and rebounder, recently moved back to Lake County (Tenn.) for the second time — Swift moved there as a sophomore and came back to the Pilots over the summer. His loss is significant for Fulton County, who will have a difficult time replacing his 15 points and 10 rebounds per game, not to mention his athleticism and relentless on the glass.

His loss shouldn't cost the Pilots a trip to the regional tournament, but it severely jeopardizes their chances of doing damage once they get there.

Fulton City welcomed back guard Vance Maze, who had left the team briefly. Maze is coming off the bench for the Bulldogs, but he provides some quickness, ballhandling and scoring potential on the perimeter.

Second District: Paducah Tilghman's boys' team hit its stride in late January and early February last season and got on a roll that led to a regional title. The Tornado had that focused, engaged demeanor again in last week's win over Heath, and Josh Forrest's 30-point, 13-rebound performance that also included a pair of assists, three blocked shots and three steals showed that few, if any, players in far western Kentucky can impact the game in so many ways.

Forrest's performance last March earned him regional tournament MVP honors, and it wouldn't come as a shock if he does it again.

On the girls' side, Tilghman coach Josh Burnett has made sure his team adjusted to the early-season loss of star point guard Chelsey Shumpert and athletic center LaQuesha Prather, and has started to utilize a bench that includes a pair of talented eighth graders in Kaylee Humphrey and Alex Kohler. Kendra Patterson, who took over as the playmaker, and Ngodoo Itiavkase can take the ball to the basket, and Tilghman still has enough quickness and athleticism to cause problems on the defensive end.

Their first-round game with Heath, which features a potent 1-2 punch in point guard Elizabeth McSparin and forward Lauren Baer, will be one of the region's most intriguing.

Third District: St. Mary's girls have taken to starting a pair of freshmen in forwards Alex Durbin and Casey Kupper. Even more noteworthy, they have a chance to keep Graves County out of the regional tournament for only the second time in its 26-year existence.

Graves opened in the fall of 1985, and has missed the regional only once — in 2005, when the top-seeded Lady Eagles were beaten by Ballard Memorial. Graves has won 15 district titles in those 25 years, but the talent level there isn't what it used to be, due in large part to the fact that six players that attended Graves in middle school now play elsewhere.

The list is headed by Murray sophomore point guard Janssen Starks, who will likely be a four-year Paducah Sun All-Purchase Team selection. Abby McAlpin is a reserve guard at Murray, and Samantha McClain is a perimeter threat at Hickman County. Throw in three solid post players — Marshall County's Kaylin Goins, Carlisle County's Jenna Babb and St. Mary's Lydia McManus — and you have the makings of a pretty good squad.

On the boys' side, Ballard Memorial was hit by the loss of two guards — Alex Hill and Chris Jones, both of whom have started at the point at times, left the squad last week. Two sophomores, 3-point threat Chris Davis and swingman Clay Chandler, have seen their playing time increase dramatically in recent weeks.

St. Mary, which meets the Bombers, will be without its outstanding shooter, freshman Patrick Hubert, who was injured in a collision with Marshall County's Cole Nelson in a game two weeks ago and is still suffering post-concussion side effects.

Fourth District: All eyes are on the Murray-Marshall County clash, which pits two of the region's top three teams against one another. They split during the regular season, with Marshall at full strength on neither occasion. The Lady Tigers beat Marshall when it was without point guard Margaret Thomas, an All-Purchase pick last year, and Marshall won the second meeting when forward Kaylin Goins was sidelined as she recovered from a concussion. Marshall is now also without swing player Kelsey Lawson, who has a torn ACL.

Marshall is hosting the district because Community Christian passed on those duties since its gym lacks the seating to handle the district tournament crowds.

Fifth District: Crittenden County's hopes of contending for a Second Region title have taken a hit as its team has struggled in recent weeks, perhaps a letdown after its All A Classic exploits, but should still advance to the regional party. The Nos. 2-3 seeds game is between Lyon County and Livingston Central, which have split two regular-season meetings. The tournament is at Livingston, but the Lady Lyons won there 61-54 on Jan. 4.