The Paducah Sun
April 18, 2023
Used with permission.
The Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado is a historical program in the heart of the First Region, and each year, the program continues to set the standard for Tilghman athletics. After defeating Trigg County in the Kentucky 2A — Section 1 Championship on Saturday, the Blue Tornado will continue the hunt for the program’s third consecutive Kentucky 2A title under head coach Tremayne Donald.
“It means the world getting to play in one state tournament is something, and to win it is another thing, but to play in two and win it again is difficult,” Donald said. “To go after a third consecutive is pretty special, and it’s not normal for a team to get that lucky.”
Senior Levin East worked the mound against Trigg County in the Sectional Championship. The dominant righty threw three innings, striking out six and rendering the Wildcats hitless. Teammate and fellow senior Caleb Payne finished the shutout, working two innings, allowing one hit and striking out three.
“Earlier in the year, we had a rougher start than anticipated. We lost a few of our guys last year,” East said. “But that comes with new guys stepping up and filling the shoes. As for going up to 2A state again, we are expected to come back as champions.”
The Blue Tornado will face the Harrison County Thorobreds in the next round of the Kentucky 2A State Tournament. The Thorobreds sit with a 14-6 record with a recent loss against Campbell County. The Camels defeated Harrison County in the 2022 10th Region tournament before falling to the McCracken County Mustangs in the 2022 KHSAA State Baseball Tournament at the University of Kentucky.
Harrison County sits with 10 home runs, a .336 team batting average, and a 2.98 team ERA going into Monday night matchups.
“The last couple of years, we started so fast, and we were playing good, but we started so fast that I’m starting to look back and think we may have peaked a little too soon in the past couple of years,” Donald said. “Some of those things ran out toward the end of the year, but this year, the pitching has been good, defense is good, and our hitting has been kind of spotty, but we’re picking it up at a good time.”
As Donald mentioned, the Blue Tornado started the 2021 and 2022 seasons off with domination, but this year, Tilghman has faced tough opponents, pushing themselves to fight with the best of the best in Kentucky. This season, the Blue Tornado sits with a 1.99 team ERA and a .306 team batting average, with two home runs from seniors Devin Kiebler and East.
Tilghman sits with an 11-5 record ahead of the program’s first district game against St. Mary (11-2-1) on Tuesday night at Brooks Stadium. However, Donald credits his team and says they are keeping a one-day-at-a-time approach in the heart of the 2023 season as district matchups loom.
“Our coaches expect nothing less, and our team will settle for nothing less,” East said. “I have full faith that we will return a stronger ball team and, nonetheless, champions.”