I’ve always wondered why the KHSAA baseball/softball season starts so early in March? Around 40-degree weather (which occurred for the majority of March) isn’t real baseball weather.
While it’s good to get the kids on the field and get them reps, it’s nowhere near what teams will see come end of May when it really matters in the postseason. Cold weather baseball/softball isn’t the greatest gauge of how things will play out come that time (ball doesn’t carry, arms not stretched and dangerous in cold weather), so results early in the season are taken with a grain of salt.
Alas, weather is finally heating up (hopefully for good) this week with temps in the 60’s and 70’s all week with not much rain the forecast (no jinx) and things will really start to heat up on the diamond as most schools finished up their Spring Break last week.
The LINK nky area rankings will be the same as how the basketball season went, strictly for Boone, Campbell and Kenton County teams, which derives of the LINK nky coverage area.
Here’s the first crack of the bat at the rankings:
BASEBALL
- Ryle (8-3) — Maybe the surprise of the early season? Ryle has wins over Highlands, Campbell County and Covington Catholic. The Raiders were ranked No. 18 in the latest statewide Kentucky Prep Baseball Report top 25. Their lone losses are to Trinity, a top five ranked team in the state and two Ohio teams (Moeller, Brunswick). They face two seed games with Cooper on Tuesday and Wednesday before playing in the Doc Morris Invitational, opening up with Beechwood on Thursday. The Raiders have done it with pitching early on, five that have logged at least eight innings with a sub-three ERA. Roman Furuta is hitting .424 with 16 RBI in 33 at-bats.
2. Covington Catholic (6-1) — The Colonels lone loss is to Ryle as they rank No. 19 in the current PBR top 25. Their season really heats up starting this week as they’re scheduled to play 19 more games in April. The Colonels are hitting .324 as a team as Jonathan Fitz (.556 BA), Max Lawrie (.476), Jackson Rearden (.462) and Charlie Dieruf (.444) are all hitting over .400. They also sport a 1.11 ERA through their first seven games, which is tops in the state.
3. Conner (11-1) — While pitching was known to be their strength entering the season, the Cougars are averaging 8.2 runs per game. All that while allowing 2.7 runs per game. Their lone loss is to Covington Catholic and will get their crack at Ryle next week in back-to-back 33rd District seed games. Cody Henson leads the way at the plate, hitting .500 and the team is not shy when they get on the basepaths with 40 stolen bases in 42 attempts. Six others are hitting at least .300 with at least 23 at-bats.
4. Beechwood (7-3) — The three-time defending Ninth Region champs have already claimed one title…the Ninth Region All “A” title for the second straight year and did so in dramatic fashion with a late rally over St. Henry. The Tigers have been raking at the plate, hitting .341 as a team and leads the Ninth Region with 8.5 runs per game. Cameron Boyd is leading the way, hitting .543 with three homeruns and 18 RBI.
5. Campbell County (8-3) — Camels are looking to three-peat in the 10th Region and their pitching has them on track to do so. They’re allowing just 2.3 runs per game but their bats need to get going a little more, scoring six runs in their three losses, including one in a 2-1 loss to 10th Region foe George Rogers Clark.
6. Highlands (5-6) — The Bluebirds are 1-3 against the top five on this list with the lone win over Beechwood and yet to face Covington Catholic. Four of their six losses have come by two runs or less, so they’re right there. Drew Barth leads the way at the plate with a .417 average and the pitching from the Bluebirds looks to be on point, allowing more than five runs in a game just once in a 10-9 loss to Conner. Brody Benke has a 0.66 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts.
7. Simon Kenton (7-3) — The Pioneers are allowing just 2.7 runs per game and seven of the eight pitchers that have hit the mound this season are sporting a sub-three ERA as they’ve struck out 67 in 60 innings pitched.
8. Walton-Verona (7-2) — A 3-2 loss to Simon Kenton last week puts them in an early hole in the 32nd District, but the Bearcats will look to defend their back-to-back Eighth Region All “A” championships this week when they open up with Owen County on Monday night.
9. Bishop Brossart (7-5) — The Mustangs will look for some revenge on Nicholas County in the 10th Region All “A” semis on Saturday, trying to avenge a defeat in last year’s championship. Robbie Verst has been a standout at the plate, hitting .472 while Evan Moore has a 0.72 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched. Moore forms a nice duo with Brandon Burkhardt on the bump, Burkhardt with a 1.12 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched.
10. St. Henry (3-6) — After an 0-5 start to the season in which they lost by a combined 16 runs, the Crusaders continue to try to get back on the right track after their heartbreaking loss to Beechwood in the Ninth Region All “A” championship. Their schedule has been tough to start, facing five teams in this top 10 and Ballard. The schedule should have them prepped for the 34th District as they’ll try to dethrone two-time champ Dixie Heights.
Next up: Newport Central Catholic (3-5), Dixie Heights (4-6)
SOFTBALL
- Highlands (7-2) — The defending Ninth Region champs haven’t shown any reason to not be ranked at the top based off their early body of work. They’re hitting .373 as a team and allowing just under four runs per game. Kennedy Baioni has 41 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched with a 2.55 ERA. Kaitlyn Dixon and Carley Cramer have shown depth in the circle as well, the two combining to pitch 31 innings and allowing seven earned runs. Five hitters are batting .414 or higher.
2. Cooper (9-3) — The early season surprise? They were ranked fifth in the region in preseason rankings and have posted an impressive start with wins over Pendleton County, Notre Dame and Daviess County. The Jaguars are averaging 9.3 runs per game while posting five shutouts. Kendall Blau is 6-2 with a 2.29 ERA and 58 strikeouts. The team is hitting .381 and have knocked 10 homeruns.
3. Ryle (3-3) — A big week ahead with 33rd District foes Conner (Tuesday) and Cooper (Thursday) on the docket. Hitting and fielding has been a struggle early on for the Raiders just six games in. They’ve allowed 23 unearned runs and are hitting .284 as a team with 51 strikeouts in 162 at-bats. Avery Parsons is hitting .526 at the plate while Madison Goddard has a 1.56 ERA in 36 innings pitched.
4. Dixie Heights (4-5) — Another team struggling in the field early on, having allowed 20 unearned runs. Ella Steczynski leads a trio of hitters hitting over .400, Steczynski at .581 with six extra-base hits. Skylar Mitchell (.464 BA) and Taylor Ingram (.407) have also stood out at the plate, but will need more elsewhere if they plan to get back to the Ninth Region championship game. The next best hitter that’s played all nine games is sporting a .214 average.
5. Simon Kenton (8-2) — The Pioneers are making the scoreboard operator busy with 11.5 runs per game in their first 10. Three batters are hitting over .500, four others over .500 that have played in all 10 games this season. They’ve knocked 24 doubles and have 33 extra-base hits on the season. If they can clean up the 20 unearned runs they’ve allowed, Simon Kenton will be a tough out come Eighth Region tournament time. Monday will be another good test for them early on in the season when they host Highlands.
6. Bishop Brossart (6-3) — Morgan Kramer has pitched 43 of their 48 innings this season while also hitting .542 at the plate. Brooke Shewmaker leads an offensive onslaught that’s putting up over 11 runs per game, hitting .607 while striking out just once in 28 official at-bats. The Mustangs are on Spring Break this week, headed to Pigeon Forge, TN to play in the Cal Ripken Experience before taking on Paris in the 10th Region All “A” Classic on Saturday in the semifinals.
7. Campbell County (6-2) — Another team averaging over 10 runs per game early on in the season. Samantha Perry leads a trio of hitters batting at least .500 at the plate, Perry at .571 with just one strikeout in 21 official at-bats. Hope Hamilton and Josie Feeback are both at .500 on the season, Hamilton with five homeruns in 30 at-bats.
8. Notre Dame (2-1) — A very light schedule to begin makes it a tough gauge to see where the Pandas are this early in the season. Notre Dame has just 22 games scheduled for the regular season. Things will start to heat up for them next week as they have 17 games scheduled in the final four weeks of the season.
9. Conner (5-5) — A pair of one-run losses to Simon Kenton and Campbell County and the Cougars would be a little higher on the board. With 41 unearned runs allowed, it points to the inconsistencies early on. But they’ve been roping the ball early on, six hitters averaging at least one hit a game and five of them hitting at least .385. Big 33rd District contests with Ryle on Tuesday and Boone County on Thursday loom.
10. Scott (5-5) — A busy March in which they played 10 games followed with a 16-day break. They’ll finally hit the field again for game action on Friday against Holy Cross. The Eagles have split pitching duties among a trio, Emma Scribner leading the way with a 2.37 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched. Audrey Griffin is 12-for-17 (.706 BA) in eight games for the Eagles.
Next up: Boone County (4-7), Beechwood (4-3)