The Beechwood Tigers baseball team (16-1 overall) took its act on the road about one hour and a half to the southeast to face an unfamiliar opponent looking to find its way back to the All A State Tournament.
The Tigers took care of the host Nicholas County Blue Jackets (13-7), 12-2 in five innings Sunday afternoon in the 9th/10th Region All A Sectional Game. But similar to other times they’ve won by that much, Beechwood had to earn every run. Neither team committed any errors.
Beechwood faces the 8th Region champion Walton-Verona Bearcats (13-6) in the All A State quarterfinals at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The All State Baseball Tournament takes place at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. Beechwood edged visiting Walton-Verona, 4-3 on Saturday.
It helped the Tigers had four home runs off Nicholas County sophomore left-handed pitcher Ryan Johnson. Johnson pitched until the final out of the fifth inning when senior Branson Sosby struck out Beechwood senior first baseman Tanner Jackson. Johnson finished with 11 strikeouts in addition to walking four and throwing one wild pitch.
“We’re going to see (Johnson) at a big-time college in a couple years,” said Kevin Gray, Beechwood Head Coach. “We were just trying to put the ball in plays making them make plays. We had a couple nice shots for home runs. It wasn’t as easy as the score looked. That’s for sure.”
Beechwood junior pitcher Mitchell Berger (5-0) displayed his usual consistency striking out seven, walking one and recording one wild pitch. Nicholas County batted .316 (6 for 19) against him.
Berger had issues against the second and clean-up hitters for the Blue Jackets in junior center fielder Tate Letcher and senior shortstop Dalton Davenport. They both went 2 for 2. Davenport hit in Letcher for both runs. But the other spots in the Nicholas County line-up had just two hits.
“I was throwing strikes and not getting behind in counts,” Berger said. “Their second, third and fourth (hitters) are pretty good. You just have to trust the guys behind you because you know they’ll make plays.”
Beechwood junior right fielder Cameron Boyd had a fabulous day at the plate reaching all four times. Boyd hit three solo home runs to right field and drew a hit by pitch scoring four runs. Boyd has nine home runs on the season.
“I was just swinging at my pitch,” Boyd said. “(Johnson) kept throwing me my pitch and I kept hitting it. He’s a pretty good pitcher. But it set the tone for sure.”
All but two spots in the line-up had at least one hit for the Tigers and only one spot did not reach base at least once. Berger aided his cause on the mound going 2 for 4 with four RBI and two runs scored. The speedy Berger belted a three-run home run into the win blowing out in right field at Billy K Anderson Stadium. He also had a couple web gems fielding balls off the mound.
“Mitchell throws so hard and then his curve ball is so good,” Gray said. “When he’s throwing his curve ball like he was (Sunday), it makes his fastball look it’s 95 (miles per hour). When he has command of every pitch, he’s hard to hit.”
The top four spots in the Tiger line-up scored at least two runs. Senior left fielder Brett Holladay singled and walked in four plate appearances scoring twice. Junior catcher Brice Estep reached three times on a single and two walks.
Sophomore Shawn Sowder has run for Estep all season and did the same thing in this game. Sowder scored three runs.
“We’re a very aggressive team. It’s easy to do when you have guys who can hit the ball all over the place,” Sowder said. “Coach Gray and (staff) are always talking making sure you’re aware of everything. They never let you down.”
Boyd hit a home run to right on the second pitch of the game and the Tigers never looked back. Estep then drew a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. After Jackson reached on a hit by pitch, junior shortstop Ben Meier singled to score Estep giving Beechwood a 2-1 lead.
The Blue Jackets earned one back in the bottom of the first with two out. But Beechwood responded with five runs in the top of the second sending 11 batters to the plate. Johnson hit three Tigers in that inning.
Senior second baseman Sam Cottengim singled to start it and moved to second with one out when Johnson hit Boyd. Holladay singled to load the bases and Estep drew a hit by pitch scoring Cottengim. Berger singled in Boyd before Jackson drew a bases-loaded walk to score Holladay making it 5-1 Tigers. One out later, Johnson hit senior third baseman Jackson Roseburrough to make it 6-1 Beechwood before Cottengim singled to score Berger to give Beechwood a 7-1 advantage.
Boyd hit his second solo shot in the top of fourth to put Beechwood up 8-1. The Tigers held the lead at 8-2 after four innings.
But before going to the plate in the top of the fifth, Gray challenged Beechwood to put the ball in play. With two out, Boyd responded with the third solo home run and Berger belted his fourth one of the season scoring Holladay and Sowder in front of him.
Berger did get into a jam in the bottom of the fourth inning. Letcher doubled and Johnson singled him to third before Davenport singled Letcher home and Johnson moved to second. But Berger coaxed sophomore catcher Lincoln Morris into a double play forcing Davenport at second. With Johnson at third, Soby drew a base on balls. But Berger got sophomore second baseman Jacob Hatton to ground out to Roseburrough at third to end the inning.
“We try practice-wise not to take plays off,” Gray said. “If you have two out with none on, you go after that third guy. Mitchell Berger was sensational again. He’s definitely our number one and he proved it again (Sunday).”
Beechwood continues its season with a second meeting against Highlands (12-7) on Monday in Fort Mitchell. Game time is 5 p.m.