The Beechwood Tigers (8-0 overall) and St. Henry Crusaders baseball teams (8-2-1) shut out their All A 9th Region semifinal opponents to make it to the title game.
The game takes place at 7 p.m. back at Florence Y’alls Stadium. The Crusaders beat the Tigers, 11-4 in the title game last year before driving to the All A State semifinals and losing 4-1 to eventual champion Owensboro Catholic.
Beechwood downed the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (7-1), 11-0 in a full seven innings. But the Tigers had to earn all 11 runs as neither team committed an error in the game.
Beechwood junior pitcher Sam Stacy (3-0) pitched the first six innings striking out eight, walking four and allowing just three hits. Junior Matthew Kappes pitched the seventh striking out one and allowing one hit.
Senior Luke Brockman started the game for the Thoroughbreds pitching the first three innings. Senior Luke Wiles pitched the last four striking out nine.
“There was nothing easy about (Thursday),” said Kevin Gray, Beechwood Head Coach. “(Brockman) threw really well, kept us off-balance the first round. In the second round, we were hoping we’d start teeing it up. Luke (Wiles) throws probably 88 (miles per hour) so he brings it. He was mowing us down in the beginning. But we did have a couple good shots. It was a lot closer game than 11-0 to be honest.”
Beechwood did record 10 hits in 29 at-bats for a .345 average. The Tigers also took advantage of 10 walks.
“I’m actually shocked that we walked 10 times,” Gray said. “It didn’t really seem like we walked that many times to me. I was glad that we won. But I was disappointed also that we left a lot of guys on base.”
Senior third baseman Jackson Roseburrough led Beechwood at the plate going 4 for 4 with an RBI, two stolen bases and two runs scored. Junior catcher Brice Estep went 3 for 4 with a double, triple and five runs batted in. Senior second baseman Sam Cottengim went 2 for 3 with one RBI and one run scored. Senior designated hitter Brett Holladay walked and scored three times.
NewCath did not have any extra-base hits. Gray credited junior shortstop Ben Meier for making tough plays on the left side to end some innings defensively for the Tigers.
“I just want to be a someone guys can count on and make plays,” Meier said. “If you’re not ready to make them, they’re not routine. (It’s about) expecting yourself to make the plays. A big part is your feet and making sure your glove is out in front of you and making sure your head is strong.”
St. Henry downed the Villa Madonna Vikings (7-7), 13-0 in five innings in the first game. Sophomore John Lubert pitched the first three innings for the Crusaders striking out five, walking four and allowing just three hits. Junior Sam Martin pitched the last two innings striking out two and walking three.
The Crusaders went 12 for 28 at the plate for a .428 average seeing four players record multi-hit games. Junior center fielder Matthew Resing led the way going 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Junior first baseman Luke Keipert went 2 for 4 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored. Senior left fielder Owen Eilerman went 2 for 3 with four RBI and a run scored with senior catcher Carter Scheben going 2 for 4 with two RBI and one run scored.
NewCath travels to Simon Kenton (6-4) for a 5 p.m. game Friday. Villa Madonna travels to Augusta (5-3) for a 5 p.m. game Friday.
Baseball:
Conner 10, Cincinnati (Ohio) Turpin 5:
The Cougars (10-1) originally had a game scheduled at Cincinnati McNicholas. But the Rockets needed to make a Greater Catholic League Co-Ed game. But they said Turpin is looking for a game so Conner jumped on the opportunity and hit the road.
Conner fell behind 5-1 after three innings against the Spartans (2-3). But the Cougars rallied to tie the game at 5 in the sixth inning before scoring five times in the top of the seventh to pull away.
“This is the most adversity we’ve faced outside of (Conner’s lone loss against) Campbell County,” said Brad Arlinghaus, Conner Head Coach. “They were gritty (Thursday). We didn’t pitch the ball extremely well. We didn’t have the best approaches at the plate. They grinded out this victory.”
Junior center fielder Ayden Lohr and senior first baseman Kaden Early led the Conner comeback effort. Lohr went 3 for 3 with two doubles, three RBI and four runs scored. Early went 3 for 4 with three RBI. Senior catcher Briggs Yeunger had a double and two RBI with senior left fielder Cody Crawford scoring twice.
“This is the most enjoyable team that we’ve had in a while,” Arlinghaus said. “They like each other. They get along with each other. They’ve got each others’ backs. Even (Thursday), the bench was in it the whole time. We talked about how big the bench is. Just because you’re not playing doesn’t mean you’re not a part of what’s going on. It provides the energy for the guys out in the field. One through 24 came together. It’s a fun team to be around.”
Both teams committed two errors. But Conner turned a triple play in the game. Arlinghaus said that is the third one in Conner history.
Junior Jackson Bucks started for Conner pitching the first three innings striking out three. But junior Jeffrey Vest (2-0) pitched the final four innings striking out three, walking three and allowing no runs and two hits to pick up the win.
“I just went out there, tried to throw strikes and trust my defense,” Vest said. “We have a very good defense. I knew if I kept us in the game, our offense would come around. That’s exactly what happened.”
Conner takes on Lawrenceburg (Indiana) in Hebron on Friday. Game time is 5 p.m.
Walton-Verona 12, Simon Kenton 7:
The Bearcats (9-2) have won eight in a row picking up a crucial 32nd District road win over the Pioneers (6-4).
Walton-Verona batted .333 (11 for 33) at the plate with four players recording multi-hit games. Junior first baseman Lance Coleman led the way going 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBI. Junior left fielder Evan Kerns went 2 for 5 with a home run, double, four RBI and two runs scored. Senior pitcher/shortstop Nick Allen went 2 for 5 with four runs scored and an RBI and junior shortstop/third baseman Carter Krohman went 2 for 4 with an RBI and run scored.
Simon Kenton built a 7-0 lead entering the bottom of the fourth. After the Pioneers scored three times in the bottom of the fourth, Walton-Verona scored twice in the sixth and three more in the seventh.
Allen pitched the first four innings striking out four, walking four and allowing three hits and three earned runs. Sophomore Mason Howard pitched the last three innings striking out four and allowing six hits.
Simon Kenton made things interesting scoring four times in the bottom of the seventh inning. But the Pioneers could not make the comeback.
Sophomore second baseman Daniel Uhl led Simon Kenton going 2 for 4 with an RBI and one run scored. Senior center fielder Logan Grubenhoff doubled and drove in two with senior left fielder Nolan Schreiber scoring twice.
Simon Kenton faces Newport Central Catholic (7-1) at home Friday at 5 p.m. Walton-Verona travels to Dixie Heights (5-3) for a 5:30 p.m. game Friday.
Campbell County 11, Ryle 9:
The Camels (6-3) and Raiders (5-5) finally played each other after two other scheduled match-ups were rained out.
Campbell County built a 9-3 lead after five innings. But Ryle scored six in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at nine before the Camels scored twice in the top of the seventh.
Ryle committed four errors to three for Campbell County. The Raiders scored six unearned runs to four for the Camels.
Senior Trent Sorgenfrei started for Campbell County and pitched five innings striking out five, walking two and allowing four hits. Sophomore Chris Bramley (1-0) pitched the sixth inning earning the victory before freshman Zach Franzen pitched the seventh striking out one to earn his first save of the year.
Ryle threw six pitchers in the game with sophomore Grant Ashcraft going five innings striking out five. Senior Josh Furtado (1-1) took the loss.
The top of the line-up did most of the damage for Campbell County. The Camels batted .267 (8 for 30) in the game. Junior shortstop Aydan Hamilton went 3 for 4 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI. Senior third baseman Ty Fowler went 2 for 3 with three runs scored and senior center fielder Greg Vineyard scored three times. Senior first baseman Jake Napier batted in two with senior Anthony Florimonte scoring twice.
Ryle batted slightly better going 9 for 30 for a .300 average. Senior first baseman Brayden Stewart went 4 for 4 with one double, three RBI and one run scored. Junior center fielder Landon Sawyer went 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. Junior third baseman TJ Schira had a double and three RBI and sophomore Tate Cordrey drew two walks and scored twice.
Campbell County plays host to Highlands (6-3) at 5 p.m. Ryle plays Scott (2-9) at 5:30 p.m. in Union.
Cooper 4, Covington Catholic 3:
The Jaguars (2-6) won the road game over the Colonels (4-5) scoring three times in the top of the fifth.
Senior Jacob Jennings (1-2) threw a complete game for Cooper. In the seven innings, Jennings struck out seven, walked three and allowed six hits and one earned run.
Cooper batted .222 (6 for 27) in the game. Junior catcher Chase Gartner led the way going 2 for 3. His two-run double in the top of the fifth gave Cooper the lead for good.
Covington Catholic batted .261 (6 for 23) in the game. Junior catcher Jonathan Fitz had a double with sophomore center fielder Charlie Dieruf scoring twice. Sophomore second baseman Owen Leen had two RBI including a squeeze bunt in the bottom of the second to put CovCath up 2-0.
Cooper travels to Lloyd Memorial (4-4) on Friday at 5 p.m. CovCath travels to Ryle (5-5) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Softball:
Cooper 8, Ryle 6:
The Lady Jaguars (5-2) won the crucial 33rd District seed game over the Lady Raiders (6-6). Cooper is 2-0 in district play and this marked the first district seed game for Ryle.
The teams were tied 6-6 after three innings. But Cooper took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth at 7-6 when sophomore second baseman Ava Scott led off with a double and older sister in senior shortstop Dylan Scott doubled her home.
The Lady Jaguars added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Ava Scott and Dylan Scott recorded consecutive singles. Ava Scott advanced to third on Dylan Scott’s single and Dylan Scott took second on the throw. With two out, Ryle intentionally walked Cooper senior catcher Gweny Wessling to load the bases. But sophomore Maddie Childress walked to score Ava Scott.
“(On Wednesday) we had practice and we went over our (game) plan and prepared ourselves,” Dylan Scott said. “All our work (Thursday) was (Wednesday’s) work. We just transferred it over into the game. I can tell Ava, myself, Amber and a lot of my teammates work really hard.”
The top of the line-up did the most damage for Cooper. The Lady Jaguars batted .467 (14 for 30) in the game. Senior left fielder/pitcher Amber Chaney went 3 for 4 with one RBI and one run scored. Ava Scott went 3 for 4 with a double and three runs scored with Dylan Scott going 3 for 4 with a home run, stolen base, double, two RBI and one run scored. Wessling went 2 for 3 with a double, two RBI and one run scored. Junior pitcher/first baseman Kendall Blau batted in two.
Blau started the game for Cooper pitching three innings striking out two to go with two walks, eight hits and four earned runs. Chaney (2-0) pitched the last four striking out three and allowing three walks and three hits.
“She was a competitor,” Cooper Head Coach Rusty Scott said of Chaney. “She came in and shut them a little bit with fire in her belly. She was a beast in the circle.”
Sophomore Madison Goddard (5-3) threw a complete game for Ryle. She struck out eight, walked three and allowed five earned runs. Ryle had two errors to one for Cooper.
“Ryle is a good team. Madison is a tough pitcher and they were ready to play,” Coach Scott said. “I don’t think Ryle gets as much credit as (the Lady Raiders) should. They’re very, very similar to us. They have quite a few hitters in the lineup so we’re blessed. Gweny had a big hit early to get a rally going.”
Ryle batted .333 (11 for 33) with five players recording multi-hit games. Junior first baseman Grace Tranbarger went 2 for 3 with a home run, two RBI and one run scored. Senior left fielder Anna Prince went 2 for 3 with a double and run scored. Junior Payton third baseman Payton Godfrey went 2 for 4 with a double and run scored. Junior second baseman Lerin Moreland went 2 for 4 with an RBI and run scored and junior shortstop Avery Parsons went 2 for 5.
Cooper travels to Notre Dame (2-2) on Friday at 5 p.m. Ryle travels to Boone County (4-5) for a 5 p.m. battle.
Simon Kenton 9, Notre Dame 5:
The Lady Pioneers (7-4) took down the Pandas (2-2) in a non-region game in Independence.
Sophomore Landrey Dance (4-2) threw a complete game to pick up the win for Simon Kenton. Dance struck out nine, walked four and allowed three hits and three earned runs.
Simon Kenton scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth and never looked back. The Lady Pioneers batted .500 (14 for 28) in the game. Freshman second baseman Larkin Mitchell led the way going 3 for 3 with three stolen bases, two runs scored and an RBI. Senior Alexis Baker went 2 for 4 with three RBI, one double, one triple, two runs scored an two stolen bases.
The Lady Pioneers had six players with multi-hit games. Junior right fielder Kaylee Korros went 2 for 3 with a run scored. Sophomore catcher Emilie Young went 2 for 3 with a double, three RBI and one run scored. Dance went 2 for 4 and freshman left fielder Courtney Beach went 2 for 3 with one run scored.
Notre Dame did not have any multi-hitters. But the Pandas saw senior Addison Mack hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh. Mack had two RBI and scored twice.
Simon Kenton travels to Walton-Verona (4-6) at 5:30 p.m. Notre Dame plays host to Cooper (5-2) on Friday at 5 p.m.
Other Thursday, April 7 NKY Baseball Scores:
Bishop Brossart 11, Paris 0 (5 innings)
Holmes 7, Dayton 5
Bourbon County 17, Holy Cross 4 (5 innings)
Other Thursday, April 7 NKY Softball Scores:
Dixie Heights 16, Ludlow 0 (3 innings)
Boone County 10, St. Henry 0 (5 innings)
