Ty Croghan made some unforgettable memories the last time South Warren advanced to the KHSAA state baseball tournament.

Croghan, then a sophomore, was one of several current Spartans who started in that opening-round game against Breathitt County when South Warren rallied from a three-run deficit in the seventh inning to claim a 4-3 victory.

“It was unbelievable, man,” Croghan said. “Those seniors, I’m still close with some of them even now. It’s great knowing you took care of business with all the teams around here and knowing you’re one of the best 16 teams in the state.”

South Warren (30-8) took care of business again last week in the Region 4 tournament at Western Kentucky’s Nick Denes Field, rolling past Logan County in the opening round, turning back a Barren County rally in the semifinals and then rallying from five runs down to beat Warren East 8-7 in the regional championship.

“I said all these gray hairs are caused by players and I think they doubled in that game,” South Warren coach Chris Gage said. “Warren East just played a great game. They were the hottest team around, playing really, really well and coach (Wes) Sanford had a really good game plan. He was playing his outfielders on the wall and they were able to take away a lot of our extra-base hits because we are a team that leans toward power. We’re not the little small-ball team necessarily, so when you come to a big field like this at Western or at UK, it can take the home run away. We were still able to hit a few home runs, but Warren East played a really great game.”

The Spartans face Region 9 champion Highlands (27-7-1) in an opening-round game Friday at Lexington’s Kentucky Proud Park. Game time is 12:30 p.m. CDT.

South Warren, a six-time Region 4 champion, is still seeking its first state championship. The Spartans have advanced to the quarterfinals in four of their previous five state appearances, but no further.

“Chasing the most exclusive championship in the United States, really – baseball or basketball in Kentucky – because there’s no classes,” Gage said. “So yeah, it’s tough. All the teams left are obviously really, really good. We need to play really well and we need to have some good breaks also because it’s baseball.”

The Spartans have experienced their share of bad breaks already this season, with a spate of injuries more significant than any Gage can recall throughout his 15-year tenure leading the program. Among them – star outfielder Ethan Reynolds missing most of the season with a broken bone in his hand and ace left-hander Mikey Coradini battling a shoulder issue.

Both are available for Friday’s game, but the Spartans sustained a new blow when standout freshman center fielder Junior Perkins – the team’s cleanup hitter – came down with appendicitis after the regional championship and had surgery Sunday. He’s unlikely to play again this season.

The Bluebirds present a formidable challenge Friday. Anchored by a trio of pitching senior pitching standouts in Adam Forton (7-2 overall, 1.59 ERA, 69 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings), Jacob Robinson (5-0, 0.94 ERA, 59 Ks in 44 2/3 innings) and Garrett Wiggins (6-1, 1.39 ERA, 59 Ks in 40 1/3 innings), Highlands has done an admirable job of preventing runs this season – the Bluebirds have outscored opponents 259-105.

“Just a gritty team, play a little different style then us,” Gage said of Highlands. “They may hit four home runs come Friday but that’s not necessarily their style. They’re more of a small-ball team, run the bases well and they shut down the running game well because they have a really good catcher.”

The Spartans counter with a powerful, deep lineup that has generated 294 runs. Senior shortstop Griffin Rardin has been a standout all season, batting .491 with four home runs and 46 RBIs. Reynolds, a Western Kentucky signee, has managed four home runs and 15 RBIs in just 15 games while batting over .513.

Rardin, Reynolds, Croghan and sophomore Camden Page all started for the Spartans in the 2023 state tournament.

“We’re feeling good – we liked to add onto the five regional championships that we already had, but we feel like this team’s different,” South Warren senior first baseman Gray Pearson said. “We’re looking for something more this year. We really feel like we can go win it all.”

Pearson, who had a pair of hits in the regional championship win, said the Spartans’ comeback showed just how dangerous the South Warren lineup can be.

“We’ve been a good hitting team 1 through 9 the whole year and it’s moments like that – down five or up five – we’re still playing the same ballgame,” Pearson said. “We’re just trying to chip away, stay in it. There are a bunch of seniors on this team and that would have been their last game, so we just kept fighting.”

Every game now is a potential last game for South Warren’s eight seniors, but Croghan and his teammates plan to do everything possible to keep this season going.

“Obviously we all know this is our last go-around at South and honestly I think that makes it even better,” Croghan said. “We’re all coming together. We’ve been playing together growing up – we’re all best friends. I think we have that same mindset that we had last time. We want to try to make history and win the big one.”