The win was a jubilant ending to a long week for Barren. The Trojans played Monday against Bowling Green in a game that was delayed by rain for five and a half hours. Barren was scheduled to play again Wednesday, but rain on Tuesday once again changed the tournament schedule. With graduations on Thursday and Friday, that forced the Trojans to play the semifinal and final games on Saturday.

“It’s been a long week. We came down here Monday.....just waiting to play Bowling Green. Then we got all the rainouts,” Gillon said. “I guess the one thing it did, it did give us a chance to pitch our one and two all week, so we were happy for that and it worked out in our favor.”

Gillon added that the championship was extra special for his team’s nine seniors, to come back and win the regional tournament a year after setting a school record for wins.

“These seniors have been playing for four years now,” Gillon said. “They took their lumps the first two years. Last year we set a school record, we tied it this year with our 27th win. Last year was the first time I think they’d experienced anything like this. We came in and we didn’t get to do what we wanted to last year.

“But I think that experience brought us back this time. I kept telling our kids there’s no pressure on us. The first pressure we had was in the district (tournament) against Glasgow. That was our pressure game. And then after that everybody did a good job.”

Barren broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead. Tyler Miller reached on an error to lead off the inning and moved up on Riddle’s single. Seth Edmunds drove in Miller with a single for a 1-0 lead. Mason Myatt then singled to right to drive in courtesy runner Dillon Clark. Edmunds scored on an error in right field on the play to push the lead to 3-0. Riley’s infield single brought in Myatt for a 4-0 lead.

The Trojans doubled their lead in the fifth. Mohon walked and Miller singled to put two runners aboard. Riddle’s single drove in Josh Crews, in as a courtesy runner for Mohon, to push the lead to 5-0.

That ended the day for Greenwood starting pitcher Ryan Watson after four-plus innings. Watson, the Gators’ ace, also threw three innings in relief against Metcalfe earlier in the day.

Relief pitcher Matt Jewell hit Edmunds to load the bases and then hit Myatt to drive in a run. Jewell was taken out for Shane Wood, who walked Michael Fields with the bases still loaded. That brought in Clark to extend the lead to 7-0. Riley’s one-out ground out drove in Myatt for the Trojans’ final run of the inning.

Hunter Thompson broke up Mohon’s no hitter to lead off the sixth inning. After a walk and a fielder’s choice, the Gators had runners at the corners with one out. Barren committed two errors and Greenwood got back-to-back RBI singles to cut the lead to 8-4. After a walk, Mohon struck out the side to end the threat.

Barren got its final tally in the bottom of the sixth. Mohon doubled to lead off the inning and Clark, in again as a courtesy runner, moved to third on Miller’s ground out. Edmunds lifted a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Clark and extend the lead to 9-4.

At Western Kentucky

Greenwood 000 004 3 - 7 4 2

Barren 000 441 X - 9 8 5