‘We showed grit.’ Two of state’s hottest baseball teams fight to the finish in 11th Region.

Lexington Catholic stood on the wrong end of a pitchers’ duel trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning during Wednesday’s 11th Region high school baseball tournament championship game at Madison Central’s Don Richardson Field.

Great Crossing starter Dylan Jarvis kept the Knights off-balance all night, allowing only two hits up to that point.

But the top of Lexington Catholic’s formidable lineup was due up.

And its next hit changed the game.

“We knew we had to step up,” said leadoff hitter Griffin Cameron. “The entire game, he was beating us. So, we had to make an adjustment.”

Cameron’s swing on a 3-2 pitch adjusted the ball’s trajectory over the right-field fence for a home run. He emphatically stepped on home plate to tie the game.

“I just shortened up my swing and got me a fastball inside, and I took it that way,” Cameron said.

The blast provided No. 4 ranked LexCath the crack it needed to knock off red-hot Great Crossing, which toppled two top-10 teams to reach the finals. The Knights added two more runs in the sixth on their way to a 3-1 victory and the program’s first region title since 2011. Cameron was named tournament MVP.

“We showed grit. We showed that dog in us,” said Cameron, a senior committed to Kentucky. “Throughout the entire season, we knew what we were capable of, and we’re going to show the entire state that we’re capable of winning a state championship here.”

Owen Jenkins followed Cameron’s homer with a sharp single to left. A balk moved Jenkins to second base, and a Harrison Tibe single and an intentional walk to Zach Grigalis loaded the bases with no one out.

Next, it was senior shortstop Max DeGraff’s turn at the plate. DeGraff has displayed his mettle on the football field as a game-winning kicker and game-breaking wide receiver.

Showing a bunt, DeGraff fouled off the first pitch. With Jenkins bursting halfway down the third base line on the second pitch, DeGraff’s bunt bounded toward Great Crossing’s pitcher, but Jarvis’ throw home could not beat Jenkins to the plate and the Knights took the lead.

Zach Rayyan hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Tibe and provide the final margin.

“We had to get back to our approaches,” LexCath Coach Scott Downs explained. “We were swinging at some of the pitches he was throwing that we don’t like. But we had our leadoff guys coming up and when we get on base, good things can happen.”

Reliever Jack Sams came on in the seventh with one on and no out and got a strikeout and a game-ending 3-6-3 double play (first to short to first) for the save. The sophomore relished the moment.

“I’ve been in this situation before. I know how it is,” Sams said. “I like when it’s tight on me. That’s when I perform best I feel like.”

Drew Bowles pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Starter Brody Rogers allowed just one run on six hits over the first four innings for the Knights.

Great Crossing got its run in the second inning after Peyton Mullannix’s leadoff triple was cashed in by Micah Mullins’ sacrifice fly.

The Warhawks (24-13) reached the school’s first region baseball finals by stunning No. 6 Paul Laurence Dunbar 10-7 on Monday and toppling No. 7 Sayre 4-3 on Tuesday.

“That’s what I was trying to tell these guys. We shocked the world,” Great Crossing Coach Greg Stratton said. “The guys fought right to the very end. One inning, one pitch and things change and that’s the game. … That’s a really good team over there. And they knew we were here.”

Next, Lexington Catholic will face Raceland, the 16th Region champion, in the first round of next week’s Baseball State Tournament at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Counter Clocks Field.

Lexington Catholic (29-9) has won the state baseball title three times (1999, 2006 and 2009). And it will be one of the highest ranked teams in the field along with defending champion and No. 1 St. Xavier, who the Knights beat 6-4 on March 23 to establish themselves as a top-tier team.

For now, though, the Knights have time to enjoy this win.

“This is why I came back to coach. It’s for the kids,” said Downs, a former University of Kentucky and longtime major league pitcher who was a Kentucky Mr. Baseball and state champion for Pleasure Ridge Park in the 1990s. “I got to have fun as a kid. I’m having fun now as a grownup being a kid in a kid’s game.”

11th Region All-Tournament Team

Owen Jenkins, Pierre Kauffmann, Cody Decker and Griffin Cameron (MVP), Lexington Catholic; Nathan Beaven, Caleb Morrison and Peyton Mullannix, Great Crossing; Parker Mullins, Daniel Bauer, Madison Central; Grady Johnson, Graham Johnson, Sayre; Landon Sparks, Franklin County; Scott Kendrick, Paul Laurence Dunbar; Paul Garner, Scott County; Hayden Cain, Madison Southern.

State tournament

At Counter Clocks Field in Lexington

Schedule listed in bracketed order

Thursday, June 1

1:30 p.m.: 6th Region vs. 7th Region

10 a.m.: McCracken County (28-10) vs. 8th Region

8:30 p.m.: Raceland (25-9) vs. Lexington Catholic (29-9)

5 p.m.: Beechwood (27-8) vs. Apollo (23-12)

Friday, June 2

5 p.m.: Pikeville (24-11) vs. 10th Region

8:30 p.m.: Henderson County (18-17) vs. 12th Region

10 a.m.: LaRue County (22-14) vs. 13th Region

1:30 p.m.: Breathitt County (22-14) vs. South Warren (26-9)

Saturday, June 3

Quarterfinal games at 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Friday, June 9

Semifinal games at 12:30 and 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 10

7 p.m.: Championship game

‘Just a regular day.’ LexCath, Great Crossing keep calm, carry on in tense baseball semis.

‘It’s big.’ Great Crossing rallies from 5-0 deficit to grab its first region baseball win.