RIGHT AS RAIN: Coradini’s stellar relief helps Spartans rally past Bluebirds

Published 8:41 am Saturday, June 7, 2025

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The South Warren Spartans celebrate a sac fly by first baseman Gray Pearson (1) to allow right fielder Jaxen Decker (15) to run home for the game-winning run in the ninth inning of the Spartans’ 6-5 win over the Highlands Bluebirds in the opening round of the KHSAA State Baseball Tournament at UK’s Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, Ky., on Friday, June 6, 2025. South Warren advances to Sunday’s quarterfinal game against McCracken County. GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS

LEXINGTON — Mikey Coradini’s left shoulder felt as right as the rain steadily falling at Kentucky Proud Park on Friday.

The South Warren senior, who had struggled dealing with a shoulder impingement in the postseason after putting together an outstanding regular-season performance, bounced back when the Spartans needed it the most with an outstanding stint of extended relief as South Warren rallied for a 6-5 win in nine innings against Highlands in the KHSAA State Baseball Tournament.

Coradini came on after a lengthy rain delay of more than two hours and delivered 7 2/3 stellar innings to give South Warren (31-8) the time to regroup after falling into an early three-run deficit.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Jaxen Decker led off with a double and Casey Green followed with a single to put runners at the corners for the Spartans. One out later, Gray Pearson provided the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly RBI to center field.

“My first-base coach came up to me before the at-bat, said ‘Relax, you’re doing a job here,’ ” said Pearson, South Warren’s senior first baseman. ” Not really thinking about yourself, just doing whatever the team needs. And in my mind I wasn’t thinking hitting it off the wall, hitting a home run or anything. It was just doing whatever needed to be done to win the game.”

Pearson delivered the game-winner, but Coradini won the game for South Warren with his clutch outing. Just days after a dry needling acupuncture session to treat his ailing shoulder, Coradini had gone from almost certainly out for the season to available and as it turned out ready to go Friday.

“Everything was freed up after that and I was able to throw a bullpen on Tuesday,” Coradini said. “I threw a bullpen that day just for accuracy, command and it felt a lot better, it felt a lot looser. So I was like, I’m ready to go.”

After the second weather delay of the day — the game started nearly an hour late due to rain and was paused more than two hours due to a thunderstorm — Coradini got his chance. With the lengthy delay disrupting the state tournament schedule and pushing the Spartans’ next potential game from Saturday to Sunday, South Warren coach Chris Gage opted to use his ace.

Coradini delivered 7 2/3 innings of work, allowing just one run off six hits and a pair of walks while striking out three batters over 95 pitches.

“When the rain delay happened, he said yeah, he can pitch,” Gage said. “So he wanted the ball, so we gave him the ball and he went out there and threw about (95) pitches and he was the MVP of the ballgame.”

Highlands (27-8-1) surged out to a three-run lead in the top of the first inning on Adam Forton’s two-run triple followed by an RBI groundout from Iain Carner.

The Spartans answered back with a run in the bottom of the inning on Ty Croghan’s RBI single to make the score 3-1, but the Bluebirds opened the top of the second with one-out, back-to-back doubles from Nolan Schwalbach and Brooks Hendrix to push the lead to 4-1. Hendrix’ RBI double was the last play before the second weather delay set in.

Coradini was on the mound when play finally resumed and opened by getting Forton to strike out looking before inducing a groundout to escape the jam. Coradini proceeded to throw four shutout innings, allowing one hit over that span.

With Coradini dealing, the Spartans went to work. After rallying from five runs down to beat Warren East 8-7 in the Region 4 Tournament championship the week before, a three-run deficit didn’t appear so fearsome.

In the bottom of the fourth, South’s No. 9 hitter Justin Capps was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run. Then Spartans senior shortstop Griffin Rardin plated another with an RBI single to pull his team back within a run down 4-3.

The Spartans pulled even with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth. Casey Green slashed a double to left center, then Joseph Fentress followed with an RBI double.

Rardin put South Warren ahead in the sixth with an RBI triple, but then was thrown out trying to score on Ethan Reynolds’ hard ground ball. Rardin was ejected for “malicious contact” with the catcher on the play, a ruling that would force the stellar senior to sit out Sunday’s state quarterfinal matchup against McCracken County. South Warren planned to appeal to get the call overturned and reinstate Rardin for Sunday.

“The catcher didn’t have the ball and he was blocking the (plate) and then they throw out the best player in the state of Kentucky by far, in my opinion,” Gage said of Rardin. “They throw him out of the game for no reason. I don’t know what he was supposed to do.”

Coradini made his lone mistake in the top of the seventh, serving up a solo home run to Hendrix that tied the game at 5-all. The senior didn’t allow any more, stranding four base runners over the following three innings after the Hendrix homer.

“Season’s on the line and we couldn’t afford a loss there,” Coradini said. “My career for high school would be over, so I knew everyone needed me. I trusted everyone around me — offense, defense — so that’s really what got us going.”

Green led the Spartans at the plate with a 3-for-5 day with a double. Decker was 2-for-5 with a double and Rardin was 2-for-2 with a triple and two RBIs. Capps, Croghan, Fentress and Pearson added one RBI apiece.

The Spartans will face Region 1 champion McCracken County, a 3-1 win against Lyon County on Friday, in Sunday’s quarterfinals. Game time is noon CT at Kentucky Proud Park.

HHS 310 000 100 — 5 10 0

SWHS 100 211 001 — 6 11 1

WP: Coradini LP: Forton