Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
June 17, 2003
Section: Sports
Edition: Final
Page: D1
GOING FOR THE GOLD
DUNBAR ARMED WITH CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO STATE
Mike Fields, Herald-Leader Staff Writer
The first hint that he was coaching a baseball team capable of great things came to Paul Dunbar’s Mickey Marshall during the Bulldogs’ spring-break trip to Florida.
Dunbar was no-hit by powerhouse Niceville, Fla., but it still scratched out a 3-2 victory.
“That’s when I knew we had something special,” Marshall said. “Niceville was probably the best team we played all year, and their guy threw a no-hitter at us, but we still found a way to win.”
And that’s the way it’s been pretty much all season for Dunbar, which takes a 38-4 record into the eight-team Big Blue Nation State Baseball Tournament at Applebee’s Park this week.
“That win over Niceville helped us immensely,” said senior second baseman Craig Dunn. “After that, every time we played a good team we compared them to Niceville. So we felt we could beat anybody.”
Dunbar’s season got even sunnier when they returned home from Florida and Josh Ellis returned to the mound.
A quarterback in football, Ellis suffered a knee injury against eventual state champ Trinity in the semifinals of the Class 4A playoffs.
He underwent surgery in December, and there were doubts whether he could get his knee in shape by baseball season. He had already signed to play baseball at Wake Forest, so there was also the question of whether he should risk trying to come back this spring.
But Ellis came back strong. After a brief relief appearance April 15, the senior right-hander went six solid innings in a victory over Lafayette. Six days later, he looked even better in going the distance to beat Henry Clay.
“After those two games, we knew Josh was close to being back full strength, and that really gave us a lift,” Marshall said.
Ellis has been nothing short of superb. He is 10-0 with a 0.75 earned run average. In four playoff wins, he’s given up 12 hits and rung up 40 strikeouts in 28 innings.
If the Niceville victory and Ellis’ return were defining moments of the regular season, the semi-state final was the make-or-break game of the post-season.
Dunbar beat Russell County 6-1 in the opener of the best-of-three series, and led the Lakers 3-0 after six innings of the second game. But Russell County stunned the Bulldogs with a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh.
The No. 1 team in the state went from looking invincible to looking vulnerable in a matter of one inning.
Marshall didn’t have much to say to his players before they headed back to the field less than 30 minutes later to face Russell County in the semi-state final.
“I walked into the locker room and said, ‘Boys, do you want the silver or the gold? It’s up to you.’ ”
After Marshall left, the team had a players-only meeting, with the seniors delivering a simple but strong message:
“We asked each other, ‘How are champions going to respond?’ ” Dunn said. “We felt we were champions, and how were we going to respond after a loss like that?”
After falling behind 4-0 and 5-2, Dunbar rallied for six runs in the sixth inning and an 8-5 victory.
“Three more wins at Applebee’s,” Dunn said, “and we’ll have what we’ve been working for all year.”
State baseball tourney
When: Starts Wednesday
Where: Applebee’s Park
Championship: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Complete schedule, Page D3
Big Blue Nation state baseball tournament
At Applebee’s Park
Tickets: $6 (advance); $7 and $10 at gate.
Wednesday: Apollo vs. Lawrence County, 6 p.m.
Wednesday: Webster County vs. Paul Dunbar, 8:30 p.m.
Thursday: Male vs. Rockcastle County, 6 p.m.
Thursday: Boone County vs. LaRue County, 8:30 p.m.
Friday: Semifinals, 6 and 8:30 p.m.
Saturday: Finals, 7 p.m.
38-4
Dunbar’s record
25-1
Combined record of Dunbar pitchers Josh Ellis, Matt Byzet and Robby Reeves
.155
Batting average of Dunbar opponents against Ellis, Byzet and Reeves in nine playoff games
51
Number of times Dunbar batters have been hit by a pitch in 42 games this year
8
Number of Lexington high school teams that have won state baseball championships: Henry Clay (1973); Tates Creek (1978, ’80, ’86); Lafayette (1988, ’89, ’92); Lexington Catholic (1999)
(1) by CHARLES BERTRAM , STAFF FILE PHOTO – Dustin Morrow, right, was congratulated by third base coach Kevin Goins after a home run earlier in the season at Applebee’s Park. Morrow leads Dunbar with a .468 batting average and 41 RBI.
(2) by CHARLES BERTRAM , STAFF FILE PHOTO – Dunbar’s Craig Dunn, center, says an early-season win over a Florida powerhouse helped the Bulldogs believe they could beat anybody.