MAYSVILLE, Ky. — The 2026 39th District baseball tournament kicked off at the Mason County baseball field on Monday, with the Mason County Royals and Augusta Panthers facing off in the semifinals.
Twice this season the Royals and Panthers had competed against one another, with Mason County taking the victory in both of their prior meetings. The Royals picked up a 25-4 win on April 6, and an 8-0 win on April 13. These two wins made up both of the Royals’ wins against district opponents, with a 2-2 record in the 39th, securing them the No. 2 seed heading into the district tournament.
Mason County held Augusta scoreless in the top of the first, before bringing in four runs in the bottom half of that inning. Augusta picked up a double play following a fly ball from Marquis Bluford caught by Hayden Taylor, Luke Butler then tagged out at third. A ground ball from Micah Payne, a walk from Brady Mefford and a double from Carter Roark then brought in the Royals’ first two runs of the night, followed by another walk from Hayden Workman and a single from Macen Grooms, batting in two more.
“I’m a risk taker, and I may have put a couple of our kids in a little uncomfortable of a position on the base paths, but you gotta make them make plays and they made a few plays today. Hats off to Augusta,” said Royals head coach, Jason Butler. “Anytime we get on the base paths man, we’re fun to watch. I’ve got at least seven guys in the lineup that’s got some decent speed. The more that we can get out and run the bases, I think we are a better team.”
The Royals led 4-0 over Augusta through the bottom of the third, adding one more that inning after Mefford was hit by a pitch and batted in by a sacrifice fly from Workman. Mason County continued to pull ahead as the game continued, with a single, two ground balls and sacrifice bunt bringing their lead to 7-0 over the Panthers in the bottom of the fourth.
“They came in here, the freshman on the mound, Miller. He threw a bunch of off-speed that kept us somewhat fooled. That’s when I decided I was gonna bunt a little bit and put them on their heels a little bit,” said coach Butler.
“We got the nerves out of them. This was a district tournament game, so they’re all gonna be nervous. For most of them, this was the first time they’ve played in a tournament like this. After they got settled down and made a few plays in the field, Griffin did a good job pitching. I was proud of how he’s been our lead all year long, and all of our other players who have stepped up and hadn’t had the opportunity before, and they all became better baseball players this year,” said Panthers head coach Craig Miller.
A pair of singles from Roark and Workman brought in one more in the bottom of the fifth. A walk from Butler and a single from Payne drove in the Royals ninth run of the game in the bottom of the sixth. As Payne worked his way to third, a ground ball from Mefford allowed him to steal his way home, scoring the Royals 10th, ending the game in six innings.
“I had Micah Payne who’s a three sport athlete, he’s got some wheels on him. Good base-runner, good reader of the ball coming off the bat. I told him I was gonna have him lay down the bunt. It’s not a squeeze bunt, so you don’t have to go, so when he took off I was like ‘Oh boy’, because the bunt went right to the pitcher, but luckily enough their pitcher bobbled the baseball and the throw at home was late,” said coach Butler.
This loss brings an end to the Panthers’ 2026 baseball season, but coach Miller expressed pride in his team’s grit and their growth throughout the season.
“We’re only losing two players. Hopefully everybody will come back out next year, and we’ll pick up a few more and we’ll be ready to play ball again,” said coach Miller. “I’m very proud of them. They hung in and gave it their all, all season long. We don’t look like a 1-23 team. There’s a lot to be said about none of them giving up, they played through everything all year long and I’m proud of every one of them.”
With this win, the Royals advanced to the 39th District championship game later that evening against the Bracken County Polar Bears. The Royals and Polar Bears had faced off against one another twice prior this season, Bracken County taking both contests.
“It’s a new season. All the pressure is on them, we just gotta come out and play clean baseball and do the small things that matter in big games,” said coach Butler. “I like who we are. We played a pretty good schedule this year, and we’ve shown glimpses of being pretty dag-gone good. These kids, they wanted to advance and get to this ball game. I don’t know what the outcome is gonna be, but I’m glad that we’re here.”
AUGUSTA
IP: Miller 5.1
K: Miller 4
BB: Miller 3
MASON COUNTY
H: Gregory 2, Roark 2, Workman, Payne, Grooms, Butler, Crabtree
R: Roark 2, Workman, Payne 2, Butler 2, Crabtree, Mefford 2
RBI: Roark, Workman 2, Payne, Grooms, Butler, Crabtree, Bluford
2B: Roark
IP: Grooms 6.0
K: Grooms 7
BB: Grooms 3
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