Purples baseball prepares for first trip to state in five years
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -Purples baseball is gearing up for state after winning the 4th region tournament, and there’s a few things about this year’s squad that’s made them the team to make it back to Lexington for the first time in five years.
“ I think one word that really defines us is brotherhood,” senior Hudson Nottmeier said. “We’re just a lot closer this year than we’ve been the other years. It’s always about how we’re going to respond to adversity. If one person messes up, the other persons got their back, and we’ll just pick everyone up.”
The Purples have won 14 of their past 15 games, and it’s not just the camaraderie that’s played into that.
“(It’s) the hard work we’re putting in before each day,” senior Matt Mosley said. “We come in before practice and stay in after practice. It’s just 110% before, after and throughout practice, and it’s working well with us.”
Before defeating Greenwood 7-5 in the title game, the Purples had not made the region tournament since 2023, but with that brotherhood and strong work ethic, this year’s group brought back a winning culture to the diamond.
“One of the hardest things to do in a program is set that standard… that winning expectation, and when you lose it, get it back,” head coach Nathan Isenberg said. “These guys have done that, and I can’t say enough about the season that they’ve had.”
On Thursday, Bowling Green will face off with McCracken County. The Mustangs have knocked the Purples out of state during both of their last two appearances in 2021 and 2018.
While Isenberg says the familiarity is better than going in blind, he thinks in order to get a win this time, it’ll come down to this:
“It won’t be about what we do great, it’s sometimes the miscues,” Isenberg said. “But games at this point usually are lost and not won, so we just want to put our best foot forward, be prepared and go hard.”
First pitch between the Mustangs and the Purples is set for 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 4, at Legends Field in Lexington.
