For the fourth straight season, eight of the same teams will embark on their way to Florence Y’alls Thomas More Stadium for the 9th Region baseball tournament that begins on Monday.
Beechwood enters as the four-time reigning champ with Covington Catholic and Ryle having standout seasons and ranked in the top 20 of the state. Dixie Heights and Highlands are the other two to enter with winning records while St. Henry, Conner and Newport Central Catholic have shown upset potential, evidenced by some of their results throughout the season.
Starting off play on Monday at 10 a.m. is the four-time champs Beechwood against Conner. The Tigers (22-13) enter on a high with a 14-3, 35th District championship victory over CovCath while the Cougars (15-23) sputtered down the stretch, losing 15 of their last 18. The two met twice this season with split results, Beechwood took the first meeting 8-3 on March 16, Conner returning the favor with a 6-0 victory on April 13.
Following is a 1 p.m. game between Dixie Heights (24-14) and Newport Central Catholic (12-18). It’s a rematch of last year’s 9th Region tournament quarterfinal matchup, an 8-5 Dixie victory. The two met twice this season, Dixie bringing out the bats in both contests with 11-4 and 12-6 wins. There’s room for optimism in the third meeting for the Thoroughbreds, having not thrown Connor Seiter or Noah Ohradzansky in either contest. NewCath was 7-17 at one point, winning five of their last six with wins over Beechwood and Simon Kenton during that stretch. Dixie Heights has won 10 of their last 11, including a fourth straight 34th District championship.
The bottom half of the bracket starts at 4 p.m. when Highlands (22-16) and Covington Catholic (30-5) meet. The Colonels not only enter as one of the favorites, but finished the regular season ranked No. 9 in the state. They were given a bit of a wake-up call in the district championship loss to Beechwood, but certainly have the tools to win their first region title since 2005. Highlands is the last team not named Beechwood to hoist the 9th Region championship trophy, doing so for four straight years from 2015-18. The two met twice in the regular season, which were both early in the season. CovCath prevailed 10-1 on March 16 and 7-3 on March 21. Both teams sport an impressive record against the 9th Region, CovCath 20-4 while Highlands is 13-4 against 9th Region foes.
The final game of the day on Monday is Ryle (28-9) and St. Henry (13-17) at 7 p.m. The Raiders finished No. 17 in the state in the final regular season poll of the season and have the most pitching depth in the field. They enter on a eight-game winning streak and back-to-back 33rd District titles. They’ve gone 15-3 against 9th Region opponents, but one of those losses came to St. Henry, a 2-1 setback on May 8. It was quite the contrast to the first meeting between the two this season, a 21-2 Raiders victory in six innings on March 19. The Crusaders were 9-8 at one point, but finished the season 4-11 in their last 15 games.
Semifinals are set for Tuesday at 5 and 8 p.m. with the championship on Thursday at 7 p.m.