With another season for the McCracken County Mustangs comes another end-of-year trip to Lexington, as they head out east this weekend for another shot at the KHSAA baseball state tournament, starting with a Friday matchup against Lyon County.
Now in their 11th straight tournament, the Mustangs are eager to take that last step forward and bring home the program’s first-ever state title. Coming into this year’s tournament, experience will be a key for McCracken, with a number of key faces from last year’s state runners-up team returning for one more crack at a championship.
“It’s an awesome experience, getting to go up there and compete with the best teams in the state. We’ve got a great group of guys this year, and I think we’ll be able to make a really good run at it again this time,” junior Kendrick Dunning said, who’s heading to his third state tournament as a varsity contributor.
Dunning, who was voted by First Region coaches as 2025 Player of the Year, has led a strong core of upperclassmen for the Mustangs at the plate, finishing his year with a .417 average, driving in 25 RBI with seven home runs.
“We’ve got both sides of the ball really covered. On offense, we’ve got a ton of guys that can really swing it, and I think this is the best pitching we’ve had in a long time, too,” Dunning said. “The pitching alone can win us a lot of games. I think we’ve got a really good shot, it would be surreal to be the first group of guys to bring one back.”
As is often the case in a tournament setting, a wealth of starting options and strong depth in the bullpen will be a major advantage for the Mustangs, should they make another deep run. As for who gets the ball on Friday morning, head coach Zach Hobbs has a handful of options in mind.
“We’re going back and forth on who we want going in the first round, we’ve got a couple of guys in Josh Penrod, Caden Kern and Noah Godwin that are all great options. We’ll go through the scouting report some more, figure out our best matchup and go from there,” Hobbs said, on Friday’s pitching decision. “If you get to this tournament and have four, five really good pitchers, you’ve got as good of a shot as anybody. With the top few guys and the depth that we have, I believe we can go and compete with anybody that we have to play.”
Before the Mustangs can look to Saturday and beyond, though, they face a stiff test straight off the bat in their neighbors from the Second Region, the Lyon County Lyons. The red-hot Lyons, who boast a strong senior core as well, come into action with some momentum behind them, winners of six straight on their way to a regional title win over University Heights. After scheduled meetings between McCracken and Lyon fell through across the regular season, Hobbs and his Mustangs are eager to see first-hand what the Lyons have in store.
“I wish this was a state championship matchup. They’re a great team, they’re well-coached, and we have a ton of respect for that program, their coaching staff, and what they do every year. They’ve got some great arms, great power, and they’re a tough, gritty team,” Hobbs said speaking on the Lyons. “We were supposed to play them this year, it got called off, but it’s exciting to now have an opportunity to see this at this stage. We hate it for the western part of the state that we have to play this early in the tournament rather than late, but it’s going to be a great ballgame. It’ll come down to whoever makes less mistakes, and picks up a timely hit or two.”
The Mustangs and Lyons will meet to start the second day of action at the state tournament, which is being held over the next two weekends at the University of Kentucky’s Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington. First pitch on Friday morning is set for 10 a.m. ET with the winner playing again on Saturday evening.
“It’s always exciting. This club always expects to be here, but it’s still a very hard thing to do. These guys have been resilient, tough, and overall just a great group to coach this year. We’ve had a great week of practice, the guys have really focused in, and we’re ready to go up there and compete.” Hobbs concluded. “Everything we work for, from when we start up in August, it’s to get here and have a chance. We’re one of 16 teams that still does, so hopefully we’ll get hot at the best time and come out on the right end of this thing.”