After the game Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds baseball Head Coach Jeff Martin told the team the ability to execute key plays could go a long way in determining how far teams go in the postseason.
NewCath executed enough of them to down the St. Henry Crusaders, 7-4 at Newport Stadium in a 9th Region game. NewCath is 9-5 against region opponents and St. Henry (11-7-1) is 8-6.
St. Henry outhit NewCath, 5-4. But the Thoroughbreds drew eight walks and committed one error to six walks and two errors for the Crusaders. NewCath scored three unearned runs and gave up none in the win.
“We capitalized with an individual with a rocky start,” Martin said. “He settled down. This game is a lot more fun when you can swing the bat, hit the ball and score runs. We’re struggling to do that right now. Our pitching is there. I like our chances. Postseason is what we’re primed for. The 9th Region is loaded. We just have to do what we can and hope it’s good enough.”
The Crusaders may have lost four straight. But Head Coach Greg Pass said St. Henry is currently battling injuries. He said the younger players are gaining some valuable experience as a result.
“I love this team. This is probably my favorite team I’ve had here in the last seven years,” Pass said. “Things will turn around. We were hot early. Once we get our full team back, I think we’ll be back to where we were.”
Junior center fielder Luke Runyon and freshman right fielder Ian Mann drew two and three walks respectively. Runyon scored twice stealing two bases and Mann added a double.
“You have to stay disciplined and make (the pitcher) consistently throw strikes,” Runyon said. “I’m quick. I’m (running hard stealing bases) trying to put myself in scoring position for the next person up.”
NewCath senior Brennan Seiter went 2 for 4 at the plate with two RBI and one run scored. Sophomore brother Connor Seiter had a two-RBI ground out in the bottom of the first to give the Thoroughbreds a 4-0 lead.
Senior Joel Iles pitched the first four innings to record the win. He struck out five, walked five and allowed three hits and four earned runs. Brennan Seiter finished the game for the save striking out four, walking one and allowing just two hits.
“We tell them to make plays in the field and swing the bat and put the bat on the ball,” Martin said. “We’re going to work on that in practice (Tuesday) pretty intense. It’s time to pick it up. There’s a lot of baseball in a short amount of time.”
Sophomore second baseman John Lubert went 2 for 3 with two RBI to lead St. Henry. Senior third baseman Matthew Miller hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the second to cut the NewCath lead to 4-2.
Senior pitcher Camden Fedders started the game taking the loss. He pitched into the fourth inning striking out two, walking six and allowing one hit and four earned runs. Sophomore Carson Shea finished the game striking out two, walking two and allowing three hits and no earned runs.
NewCath grabbed a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Brennan Seiter singled to center scoring Runyon. Senior first baseman Luke Brockman then grounded out scoring Mann before Seiter’s two-run ground out.
The Crusaders tied the game with two runs in the top of the fourth at 4-4. Junior designated hitter Luke Keipert reached on a hit by pitch before Miller and junior right fielder Sam Martin drew consecutive walks with one out to load the bases. Lubert then singled to score Keipert and Miller.
But NewCath took the lead back in the bottom of the fourth at 5-4 when junior pinch runner Nick Rouse scored on a St. Henry error. The Thoroughbreds scored the final two runs with two out in the bottom of the sixth. Junior Matt Landrum reached on an error with one out and Runyon drew a walk. Mann doubled to center to score them.
Senior pinch hitter Owen Eilerman walked to lead off the top of the seventh for the Crusaders and senior shortstop Luke Mason came back in to run. Two outs later, St. Henry junior first baseman Nick Browning lit into a pitch that appeared headed out. But Mann tracked it down to end the game.
“You have to dig deep. I went out there in the top of the seventh and tried to throw strikes,” Brennan Seiter said. “I let them put the ball in play and my defense picked me up. I let the stress go out (when Mann caught the final out). (Mann) is one of the top freshmen in this region.”
NewCath plays at Dayton (4-8) on Wednesday at 5 p.m. St. Henry plays host to Walton-Verona (14-6) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Baseball:
Beechwood 9, Highlands 2:
The Tigers (17-1) jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings on their way to a seventh straight win beating the Bluebirds (12-8) for the second time this season.
Junior Sam Stacy (3-1) pitched the first four innings to record the win. He struck out three, walked two and allowed two hits. Junior Torin O’Shea pitched the last three striking out one, walking one and allowing two hits and two earned runs.
The Tigers batted .296 (8 for 27) overall. Senior left fielder Brett Holladay went 3 for 4 with one RBI and three runs scored. Junior catcher Brice Estep went 2 for 3 with a double and RBI. Junior right fielder Landon Johnson and junior shortstop Ben Meier drew two walks each.
“(Beechwood Head Coach Kevin Gray) told us to stay true to ourselves,” Johnson said. “Good things will happen when you put the ball in play. That was our main focus. When you work the counts, it frustrates pitchers like that because you’re not swinging at their pitches. You sit back. Walks are just as good as hits.”
Beechwood had three errors to two for Highlands. The Tigers had three unearned runs to none for the Bluebirds.
Senior lefty Connor Schwalbach (2-2) started the game pitching the first inning. He struck out two, walked five and allowed three hits and four earned runs. Sophomore Zach DeSylva finished the game striking out four, walking four and allowing five hits and two earned runs.
“The good thing for us is we kind of saw a hard-throwing lefty (Sunday) down at Nicholas County in (sophomore Ryan) Johnson,” Gray said. “Schwalbach just decided (Monday) on a college (Transylvania University in Lexington). He struggled a bit on the mound with control which got us going.”
Highlands senior first baseman Ryne Wiseman hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth to trim the Beechwood lead to 5-2. But the Tigers scored four in the bottom of the sixth.
Beechwood plays host to Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder (6-5) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Highlands plays host to Walton-Verona (14-6) at 5:30 p.m.
Campbell County 10, Cooper 0 (5 innings):
The Camels (11-8) downed the Jaguars (6-12) seeing four players tally two hits.
Junior shortstop Aydan Hamilton went 2 for 2 with a home run, double, three RBI and three runs scored. Junior right fielder Brayden Wells went 2 for 2 with one RBI. Senior first baseman Jake Napier went 2 for 3 with a double, RBI and one run scored. Sophomore catcher Parker Schweitzer finished 2 for 3 with a double and three RBI.
“We got after it. We came in hitting before the game,” Parker Schweitzer said. “We just executed when we had people on base. We did a lot better job than we have in the past.”
The Camels scored five times in the bottom of the first and never looked back. They added two in the bottom of the second when Hamilton hit a two-run blast.
“Really all that matters is once you get into the 37th District,” said Scott Schweitzer, Campbell County Head Coach. “The top seed puts you in the drivers seat of getting to the (10th) Region Tournament. I was really glad we got the game in so our guys got some live at-bats before we roll into (Tuesday).”
Freshman Zach Franzen pitched a complete-game win making his second varsity start. He struck out nine, walked one and allowed just two hits working around one Camel errors. The Camels scored one unearned run off two Jaguar errors.
“I just went out there and did my thing,” Franzen said. “I had to do as best as I can. (Parker Schweitzer and I) have been playing together for a while so he knows how I work and I know how he works. It works out well.”
Cooper threw four different pitchers in the win. The Jaguars elected not to start any seniors in the game that started a stretch of six games in six days. That includes consecutive games against 33rd District rival Conner (19-2) with the first one Tuesday at home at 5 p.m.
“We were a little late to the schedule party. I got my schedule in the middle of August into at least September,” said Scott Buckler, Cooper Head Coach. “We had some games scheduled and realized we had two district seed games. With the rain and such, we chose it to be an opportunity rather than a loss. We brought up some pitchers that were pretty strong on JV. We had some guys that needed work on varsity. Meanwhile, our guys are getting work back home. Hopefully, we come out tough against Conner.”
Campbell County plays Scott (5-14) in a 37th District game in Alexandria on Tuesday. Game time is 5:30 p.m. The Camels are 1-0 in district seed games.
Walton-Verona 7, Owen County 4:
The Bearcats (14-6) stopped a three-game losing streak with an 8th Region road win over the Rebels (8-11). Walton-Verona is 10-0 in region play.
“I liked our guys’ focus and approach at the plate,” said Clint Coleman, Walton-Verona Head Coach. “They really just did a good job. It wasn’t their best pitcher. But (Owen County) threw a good pitcher at us. They did a good job of staying disciplined and scattering enough hits to get the job done.”
Walton-Verona batted .276 (8 for 29) in the game. Sophomore Julian Dixon went 2 for 3 with three RBI and one run scored. Senior shortstop Nick Allen belted a solo home run in the top of the seventh. Junior center fielder Ethan Mills scored twice and sophomore second baseman Bryce Corpus drove in two.
Junior Evan Kerns (2-1) earned the pitching win striking out six in six inning, walking none and allowing just two hits. Senior Maddox Moffett and Dixon worked in the seventh inning.
“My curve ball was falling,” Kerns said. “(Bearcat junior catcher) Ethan Hager did phenomenal (calling pitches). We usually do pretty well together. It was nice.”
Walton-Verona travels to Highlands (12-8) on Tuesday. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Dixie Heights 10, Scott 0 (5 innings):
The Colonels (12-6) scored in all but one inning recording a non-region home win over the Eagles (5-14).
Senior Evan Dickerson (1-0) recorded the win in his first varsity start. He struck out five, walked three and allowed just one hit.
“I went out there with the mindset of trying to keep them off-balance because I know my fastball is not the fastest,” Dickerson said. “I ended up getting the job done. (Dixie Heights Head) Coach (Chris Maxwell) texted me (Sunday) saying I’d be throwing, which I’d been throwing in the bullpen and such. But I never thought I’d get the game opportunity so the text kind of shocked me. That ended up working fine.”
The Colonels batted .333 (7 for 21). Senior left fielder Gabe Thelen led the way going 2 for 2 with two RBI and one run scored. Senior catcher Mark Dugan had a double and RBI. Senior shortstop Jay Flynn and junior first baseman Owen Lawrence scored twice. Sophomore second baseman Luke Abeling batted in two.
“”I think my guys that have been hitting kind of went on a little blimp,” Maxwell said. “Some kept popping the ball up. But we got some other guys hitting a little bit so that was good.”
Dixie Heights plays Beechwood (17-1) at home at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Scott plays at Campbell County (11-8) on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Covington Catholic 8, Simon Kenton 1:
The Colonels (11-8) pulled away with six runs in the bottom of the fifth to beat the Pioneers (10-8) for the second time this season.
Both teams committed three errors. The Colonels scored three unearned runs off them.
Senior Will Burke (4-0) pitched into the sixth inning to earn the win. He struck out seven, walked two and allowed three hits and one earned run. Burke went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI at the plate.
CovCath batted .433 (13 for 30) overall. Junior catcher Jonathan Fitz went 4 for 4 with one double and one RBI. Sophomore center fielder Charlie Dieruf went 2 for 4 with one run scored. Senior Sam Epplen and junior designated hitter Max Lawrie added doubles. Freshman second baseman Alek Yuskewich added two RBI.
Junior Gavin Riley (1-3) took the loss for Simon Kenton. He struck out three, walked two and allowed six hits and two earned runs in four innings.
CovCath plays at Holy Cross (6-14) on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Simon Kenton travels to Scott (5-14) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Softball:
Boone County 7, Pendleton County 5:
The Lady Rebels (8-9) recorded a huge home win over the two-time defending 10th Region champion LadyCats (8-6).
Boone County and Pendleton County met in the first round of the state tournament last year after the Lady Rebels won the 9th Region. The LadyCats won that game 8-2 at John Cropp Stadium on the campus of the University of Kentucky. Pendleton County lost in the state quarterfinals last year and in 2019.
Neither team committed any errors. Freshman Dani Wright (3-3) pitched a complete game for the Lady Rebels striking out two and walking three.
“Our defense played well,” said Andy Petridis, Boone County Head Coach. “If you look at the web gems on ESPN, there aren’t that many in games. You have to make the routine plays.”
Boone County scored all of its runs in the first two innings batting .333 (9 for 27) in the game. Wright and sophomore third baseman Josie Hollingsworth went 2 for 3. Wright batted in two with Hollingsworth doubling, batting in two and scoring once. Senior right fielder KB Irwin went 2 for 4 with a double and run scored.
Boone County junior shortstop Harper Kinman and sophomore second baseman Amariana Sweet had doubles and scored two runs each. Sweet batted in two.
“We’ve just been working really hard and getting these wins so we can get more confidence,” said Abbey Sproles, Boone County senior first baseman. “Warm weather makes you happier, makes you play harder. We just need to keep doing what we know how to do.”
Pendleton County started seventh grader Hannah Spaulding (1-1). She pitched the first two innings before junior standout Kayley Bruener pitched the final four striking out nine and allowing one hit.
Boone County travels to Highlands (11-10) on Wednesday. Game time is 5 p.m.
Highlands 20, St. Henry 2 (3 innings):
The Bluebirds (11-10) took care of the Crusaders (3-9) in a 9th Region game in Erlanger. Highlands has won six of seven and St. Henry has dropped six in a row.
Junior Carly Cramer (2-2) earned the win for Highlands. She struck out six, walked two and allowed just three hits and one earned run. Cramer went 2 for 4 at the plate with three runs scored.
Highlands batted .690 (20 for 29) in the win seeing nine players record multi-hit games. Sophomore shortstop Bailey Markus went 3 for 3 with a triple, walk, one RBI and two runs scored. Senior shortstop Anna Greenwell went 2 for 2 with a home run, double, four RBI and two runs scored before seventh grade center fielder Allison Meyers went 2 for 2 with one RBI and two runs scored. Eighth grade catcher Payton Brown went 2 for 2 with a double, RBI and three runs scored.
Highlands sophomore third baseman Michelle Barth went 2 for 4 with a double, three RBI and one run scored. Eighth grade second baseman Morgan Pompilio went 2 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Eighth grade left fielder Kaitlyn Dixon went 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored with senior first baseman Eleanor Todd going 2 for 3 with four RBI and one run scored. Senior Hailey Parks scored twice.
“We were able to stay back for the most part and drive the ball,” said Milt Horner, Highlands Head Coach. “You need to be able to do that. What I told them is it’s a sign of hitting maturity to be able to adjust to the pitcher. I think we showed some maturity to be able to do that.”
St. Henry had five errors to two for Highlands. The Bluebirds scored seven unearned runs and yielded one.
“l was very pleased with our result going to a speed difference,” Parks said. “Oldham County has a fast pitcher so we had to use a short swing (Saturday) to get the ball in play. We slammed the ball pretty hard and jumped on it whenever we could.”
The Crusaders had one extra-base hit. It came when senior pitcher Mackenzie Smith doubled.
Highlands plays host to Newport Central Catholic (7-1) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. St. Henry travels to Lloyd Memorial (1-7-1) on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Henry County 6, Simon Kenton 0:
The Lady Pioneers (10-5) lost on the road against the Ladycats (12-5). Simon Kenton is 2-1 against 8th Region opponents.
Simon Kenton batted just (2 for 23) against Henry County senior pitcher Grace Adams (12-5). Adams struck out 17.
Sophomore Landrey Dance (6-3) took the loss pitching five innings striking out four, walking none and allowing nine hits and two earned runs. Simon Kenton committed three errors to none for Henry County leading to four unearned Ladycat runs.
Simon Kenton plays host to Grant County (7-10) in 32nd District action on Tuesday. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Harrison County 12, Scott 0 (5 innings):
The Lady Eagles (6-10) dropped their sixth straight against one of the 10th Region favorites in the visiting Fillies (20-4).
Scott batted .211 (4 for 19) overall. Sophomore second baseman Ivy Cochran had a double for the Lady Eagles.
Scott plays at Holmes (6-8) in the Bulldog Bash on Wednesday. Game time is 8:45 p.m.
Other April 25 NKY Baseball Scores:
Bishop Brossart 7, Holy Cross 3
Lloyd Memorial 8, Calvary Christian 5
Ludlow 3, Dayton 2 (9 innings)
Holmes 12, Newport 2 (5 innings)
Other April 25 NKY Softball Scores:
Bellevue 15, Ludlow 0 (4 innings)
Calvary Christian 11, Holy Cross 5
St. Ursula Academy (Ohio) 12, Dayton 0 (6 innings)
St. Patrick 13, Holmes 0 (6 innings)
Augusta 1, Newport 0 (forfeit)
Newport Central Catholic 8, Villa Madonna 2
