Every 33rd District baseball championship is special because of the competitive nature of the games with four county schools with similar sizes.
Ryle not only knocked off Conner for the third time this season, but it finished off an unblemished district slate and got revenge on the team that’s beat them in this same game the prior two seasons with an 8-5 victory over the Cougars.
TJ Schira made the difference. The senior shortstop took home tournament MVP honors as he blasted two home runs and drove in five. His first dinger was a grand slam to put the Raiders up 4-1 in the third, the second a solo shot to give the Raiders a 7-2 lead in the fourth.
“We knew from the beginning that Conner was going to come back,” said Joe Aylor, Ryle head coach. “You’re talking two of the top 20 teams in the state of Kentucky. We knew up 6-1 there would be one more push and just had to be able to stop that push. That’s a very well-coached team. We have a lot of respect for them. We knew we had to do something late too.”
Both teams were able to put plenty of runners on the paths. Ryle had nine hits with eight walks, the Cougars 10 hits with six walks.
The homeruns were the first of the year for Schira, who wanted to pick up his game for the injured senior Roman Furuta. Furuta played Saturday against Boone County, but Schira said Furuta got injured in practice.
The grand slam came on a 1-1 pitch.
“Right when I hit it, I knew it was gone,” Schira said. “I decided to step up. (A district crown) has been a goal of ours since I’ve been on varsity. It felt great.”
Schira’s second blast came on a solo shot to center with two out in the bottom of the fourth.
“We’ve asked guys all year to step up,” Aylor said. “We’ve played big games. We’ve played the Trinity’s, the Moeller’s and we’ve asked guys to get out of their comfort zone a bit and that’s what he did. We asked guys to put balls in play and be productive. I’d say he was pretty productive.”
Ryle sophomore first baseman Dylan McIntyre also had a multi-hit game going 2-for-3 with two RBI. He singled in sophomore catcher Josh Caudill and junior infielder Xavier Owens to give the Raiders a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the third.
“It was big, especially against a good team like Conner,” McIntyre said. “You just have to keep going and keep scoring to keep your lead. It says we’ll battle teams. It shows how good of a team we are.”
Conner’s bats were paced by Cory Henson with a 3-for-5 showing with a double and two runs scored. Senior third baseman Cory Henson went 3-for-5 with a double and scored twice. Senior right fielder Braiden Stidham went 2-for-3 with two walks, one RBI and scored once. Senior left fielder Jackson Bucks went 2-for-4 with a double with one run scored.
“Ryle puts up that six spot in the third. That’s a gut punch and we responded,” said Brad Arlinghaus, Conner head coach. “We had multiple people on base. We left 15 guys on base. You can’t leave 15 guys on base and win a game. I’m proud of their fight. Earlier in the year, I questioned them. I challenged them. They showed that fight (Monday). We came out on the wrong end. We still get to play.”
Junior Caleb Mann (3-1) pitched four innings to earn the win for Ryle, striking out eight and walking four. Junior Sam Eppley pitched one inning before Schira took over in the sixth and finished the game. Eppley struck out two and Schira struck out one and walked two.
Ryle’s defensive miscues didn’t cost them as much as they could have, committing five errors, but the Cougars only able to capitalize for two runs off of them.
Senior Oliver Kerns (3-2) started and pitched into the third before senior Zander Allen finished it. Cody Henson pitched the fourth and fifth before junior Rex Richter pitched the sixth. The four pitchers combined to strike out four Raiders.
Conner took its lone lead scoring one in the top of the third. Cory Henson singled with one out, took second on a balk, third when Stidham singled then scored when senior designated hitter Jeffrey Vest walked with the bases loaded. But Mann struck out senior first baseman Brody Mangold and senior catcher Logan Tucker to end the threat.
The Cougars scored once in the top of the fourth to make it 6-2 Ryle. Bucks led off the inning with a single and took second on a Ryle error. He moved to third when senior center fielder Ayden Lohr grounded out then scored on another Ryle fielding error.
Conner made things interesting in the top of the sixth. Richter singled and Cory Henson doubled him to third. Stidham then hit an infield single to score Richter before Cody Henson reached on an error scoring Cory Henson. Schira came in and walked Vest to load the bases and Mangold grounded into a fielder’s choice scoring Stidham leaving runners at first and third.
But Schira escaped more damage retiring the next two Cougars. He got Tucker to fly out to shallow left and struck out Bucks.
The Cougars mounted a threat with two out in the top of the seventh. Cory Henson singled and Stidham walked. But Schira got Cody Henson to fly out to senior right fielder Cody Hemmert to end the game.
“When I saw the ball in the air, I got pretty excited because I knew I was going to make the play,” Hemmert said. “It was a really good feeling. It just shows the character of our team and how we can battle. We’re not done yet.”
Sawyer and McIntyre made the All-Tournament team for Ryle with Cody Henson and Stidham making it for Conner. Cooper senior Trevor Ollier and Boone County junior Chris Henson rounded out the All-Tournament team.
The drawing for the region tournament is Thursday. Highlands is another district champ while the other two district championships take place Tuesday and Wednesday. Conner and Newport Central Catholic are two of the four runner-ups.
Other Baseball Scores
34th District semifinals at Lloyd Memorial
St. Henry 8, Villa Madonna 0
37th District semifinals at Scott
Campbell County 7, Scott 6
Bishop Brossart 2, Calvary Christian 0
Softball
37th District Semifinals
Scott 5, Bishop Brossart 4
There was definitely some motivation to make sure longtime head coach Lisa Brewer’s career did not end in this one. Brewer announced her retirement from education and coaching last week.
The Eagles (15-10) made it back to the 10th Region Tournament for the first time since 2019 holding off the visiting Mustangs (14-16).
“They’ve been doing so well these past nine games. They lost a couple. But we had a stretch of games where they were seeing the ball well,” Brewer said. “Defensively especially (Monday), we didn’t let it get us down when we made errors or any missed plays. They hung tough and wanted it for the seniors.”
They take on five-time defending champion Campbell County (18-5) at home Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Campbell County run-ruled Calvary Christian15-0, in four innings in the first game.
“They’re a good team. They have great pitching and hitting,” Brewer said. “I told them, ‘Don’t be content with just going to the regional tournament.’ We want to compete. We just have to come in, be resilient and do the best that we can. Anyone can be beaten on any given day. It just depends on which team shows up to play.”
Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Scott scored twice to make the final score. With two out after a double play, Scott shortstop Audrey Griffin drew a hit by pitch moving sophomore third baseman Addyson Riley to second. Senior first baseman Kayla Overman then walked to load the bases and junior designated hitter Paige Shepherd walked scoring Riley to tie the game. After the walk, Bishop Brossart made a bad throw allowing Griffin to score.
Junior Emma Scribner (6-3) pitched a complete game, striking out nine, walking four and allowing two earned runs. But she had to dig out of trouble in the top of the sixth.
“Taking it inning by inning was definitely key for us,” Griffin said. “When they’d score one, we knew we’d have to score more. When they got key hits, we got more hits. We want to go out as best as we can with (Coach Brewer).”
Bishop Brossart senior left fielder Natalie Reis tripled to right before senior center fielder Brooke Shewmaker walked and stole second. But the two were left stranded as Scribner struck out junior shortstop Maddie Kremer then got senior third baseman Savannah Seiter to pop out.
Brossart freshman second baseman Rachel Shewmaker then flied out to Scott left fielder Lainey Jones to end the inning. Scott sophomore Elise Manhardt nearly collided with Jones running over from center field on the play.
“I just kept my eyes on the ball the entire time,” Jones said. “I didn’t pay too close attention to what was going on around me.”
Senior pitcher Morgan Kramer walked to start the seventh inning. But Scribner retired the next three Mustangs to end the game, finishing it with a strikeout of senior pinch hitter Ava Thomas.
Both teams finished with seven hits. Scribner led Scott going 2-for-3. Sophomore catcher Emerson Morman doubled in Cochran and Riley to give Scott a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third taking third on the throw home before Griffin singled her in to give Scott a 3-1 lead.
Brooke Shewmaker led Brossart going 2-for-3, scoring twice with Rachel Shewmaker going 2-for-4 with two doubles, three RBI and scored once. Seiter added a double. Rachel Shewmaker doubled in her older sister and Kremer to tie the game 3-3 in the top of the fifth before scoring on a wild pitch to give the Mustangs a 4-3 lead.
Kramer (13-14) pitched a complete game for the Mustangs. She struck out six, walked five and allowed five earned runs.
Brossart took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Brooke Shewmaker singled to start the game then wound up at third when Kremer grounded out. After Seiter struck out, Rachel Shewmaker doubled Brooke Shewmaker home.
Brossart graduates seven seniors from the team. They are twins Molly and Morgan Kramer, Seiter, Thomas, Reis, Brooke Shewmaker and Lily Schultz.
32nd District Semifinals at Grant County
Simon Kenton 10, Williamstown 0 (6 innings)
Grant County 10, Walton-Verona 0 (5 innings)
34th District First Round at Dixie Heights
Ludlow 19, St. Henry 9 (5 innings)
35th District Semifinal at George Bowman Park
Notre Dame 15, Holmes 0 (4 innings)