While Highlands’ softball team proved another point of why they’re the top team in the area, in baseball the picture is a lot more muddy.
Granted, neither team threw their top pitcher, but Highlands 11-0 run-rule victory over Ryle in the matchup of the top two teams in the region proved the Bluebirds will be the team to beat come when the Ninth Region softball tournament rolls around.
As far as baseball, it’s shaping up very similar to what the Ninth Region basketball tournament was doing a couple months ago. There’s no clear-cut favorite and all of the top teams keep beating each other, as was the case last week when Beechwood defeated Covington Catholic, but also lost to No. 3 ranked Ryle. Those were the top three teams entering last week and have been the most consistent, the three a combined 42-6 in Ninth Region play.
But then there’s Simon Kenton and Campbell County, the Pioneers beating CovCath twice this season and Beechwood once but also have losses to Ryle, Highlands and Conner. The Camels defeated Ryle in dramatic fashion last week, but also lost to Holy Cross in the same week and have dropped bouts to Ryle earlier in the season, Covington Catholic, Walton-Verona and Conner.
Not to mention that Conner, Walton-Verona and Highlands certainly can’t be ignored with the arms they possess on the mound. The Cougars earned wins over two top 20 teams last week.
A few that can certainly play the sleeper role based off some results over the course of the season are St. Henry, Bishop Brossart, Dixie Heights, Boone County, Cooper and Newport Central Catholic.
It’s the final week of the regular season and postseason play begins as early as Saturday, so here goes for one of the final installments of the LINK nky top 10 baseball and softball rankings (for Boone, Campbell and Kenton County).
BASEBALL
- Beechwood (21-6, Previous Week: 2) — Defeated Highlands, Covington Catholic and Hazard after the loss to Ryle to start the week. Will open their postseason with Holmes in the 35th District tournament, a team they defeated 15-0 back on April 12.
2. Ryle (21-9, Previous Week: 3) — Wins over Beechwood, Bryan Station and West Jessamine were mixed in with losses to Campbell County and Tates Creek. Their postseason begins Saturday with Boone County in the 33rd District tournament on the Rebels home field. Raiders defeated Boone 10-0 and 13-3 back on April 3 and 4.
3. Simon Kenton (20-9, Previous Week: 6) — After a head-scratching 13-0 loss to St. Henry, the Pioneers salvaged their week by going 3-1 with impressive wins over CovCath, Highlands and Great Crossing. The Pioneers have locked up the No. 1 seed for the 32nd District tournament, which will be a date with Williamstown on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Walton-Verona. The Pioneers defeated Williamstown 8-4 back on April 20.
4. Covington Catholic (20-7, Previous Week: 1) — A 1-3 week drops the Colonels from the top spot. They’re locked into the two-seed in the 35th District with the loss to Beechwood, meaning they’ll face Holy Cross in the semifinals, hopeful for another shot with the Tigers. CovCath defeated Holy Cross 12-2 way back on March 27, and are slated to play the Indians again on Monday evening.
5. Conner (21-10, Previous Week: 4) — An impressive 4-1 week that included wins over Frederick Douglass and Lexington Catholic, which are two top 20 teams in the state. The Cougars will get Cooper to open up the postseason in the 33rd District tournament on Saturday at Boone County at 3 p.m. The Cougars won both matchups during the regular season, 4-2 on April 4 and 7-4 on April 7.
6. Campbell County (22-9, Previous Week: 8) — Losses to open and close the week were sandwiched with four wins. After a loss to Holy Cross, the four-game winning streak came against Ryle, Bishop Brossart, Tates Creek and Apollo before closing the week with a loss to Henry Clay. The Camels did their job in securing the No. 1 seed in the 37th District with a win over Brossart and will now face Scott in the opening round of the district tournament.
7. Highlands (16-12, Previous Week: 5) — An 0-3 week drops the Bluebirds after losses to Beechwood, Simon Kenton and Madison Central. Three games left in the regular season before they host the 36th District tournament, opening up with Dayton on Saturday at 11 a.m. Highlands defeated the Greendevils 10-0 on April 25. They win that, then a date with Newport Central Catholic most likely looms in the district title game on Monday.
8. Walton-Verona (21-6, Previous Week: 7) — Defeated Grant County and St. Henry before an extra innings loss to Collins for a 2-1 week. The Bearcats will get Grant County again on Sunday in the 32nd District semifinals on the Bearcats homefield at 5 p.m. Walton-Verona has handed the Braves two losses this season, 10-1 on April 18 and 9-6 on May 2.
9. St. Henry (12-15, Previous Week: 9) — A 3-2 week for the Crusaders with wins over Simon Kenton, Boone County and South Oldham and losses to Walton-Verona and South Oldham in a doubleheader. They get a first round bye before awaiting the Ludlow and Villa Madonna winner in the 34th District Tournament at Lloyd Memorial. They’ll play on May 15 in the semifinals with hopes of making it to the May 17 championship.
10. Dixie Heights (11-19, Previous Week: NR) — The Colonels finished with a 3-2 last week with wins over Lloyd Memorial, Hazard and Ludlow with losses to Conner and East Carter. They’ll face Lloyd Memorial in the 34th District tournament on the Juggernauts homefield on May 16. The lone meeting was this past week, a 10-0 Colonels victory.
Next up: Bishop Brossart (14-16), Holy Cross (13-18), Boone County (9-16-1)
SOFTBALL
- Highlands (21-6-1, Previous Week: 1) — Bluebirds posted a 4-0 week with wins over Dayton and Newport in district play and then impressive victories over Ryle and Harrison County. A good week of competition against Notre Dame, Pendleton County and Campbell County before they enter the 36th District tournament against teams they’ve won by a combined score of 62-1.
2. Ryle (14-8, Previous Week: 2) — Started the week 3-0 with wins over Simon Kenton, Notre Dame and Tates Creek before losses to Highlands and Harrison County. Three regular season games left before they open up with Conner in the 33rd District Tournament.
3. Cooper (16-9, Previous Week: 5) — Jags jump a spot with the win over Dixie Heights last week, also taking down Bracken County and Oldham County before a loss to Tates Creek. Cooper opens with Boone County in the 33rd District tournament, but not before they close out their regular season with five games this week.
4. Dixie Heights (14-12, Previous Week: 3) — Went 1-2 last week with losses to Great Crossing and Cooper and a victory over Boone County in extra innings. Colonels get a first round bye in the 34th District Tournament as they’ll await the St. Henry-Ludlow winner in the semis. They’ll finish out this week with four regular season games before the district tournament, outscoring 34th opponents 82-8 this season.
5. Campbell County (14-5, Previous Week: 4) — A light week with a 1-1 record after a win over Mason County followed by a loss to Lewis County. A four-game week to close out the regular season with Calvary Christian looming in the 37th District Tournament. Another team that’s dominated their district foes, outscoring them by a combined score of 48-6.
6. Simon Kenton (13-13, Previous Week: 7) — Pioneers went 2-2 last week, opening with a loss to Ryle and then a trio of 8th Region opponents, beating Henry County and Owen County before a loss to Collins. Will start next week as the No. 1 seed in the 32nd District tournament, facing Williamstown at Grant County. The Pioneers won 20-1 in the first meeting.
7. Notre Dame (10-6, Previous Week: 6) — A 2-2 week was met with losses to Ryle and Grant County to open the week followed by wins over St. Henry and Newport Central Catholic. A busy five-game week and then the 35th District Tournament for the Pandas. They also should fare well in the district tournament, outscoring the three opponents by a score of 41-1.
8. Conner (10-14, Previous Week: 9) — Just a two-game week with a win over Grant County and a loss to Harrison County. Three regular season games left with the 33rd District Tournament to follow against Ryle, a team they’ve lost to 8-1 on April 11 and 14-4 on April 20.
9. Scott (12-8, Previous Week: 10) — Won the Bulldog Bash at Holmes by going 3-0 with victories over Beechwood, Holmes and Lloyd Memorial. Finishes out the regular season with three games this week and then a highly anticipated rematch with Bishop Brossart in the 37th District Semifinals. The Eagles won the first battle, 11-9 on April 25.
10. Boone County (8-15, Previous Week: 8) — Went 0-2 last week with the extra inning loss to Dixie Heights and a loss to Henry Clay. Will try and snap out of a four-game losing streak with a busy six-game week to close out the regular season. Cooper looms next week in the 33rd District Tournament.
Next up: Bishop Brossart (13-13)
