A lot of high school coaches like to say they are senior-friendly, but Ryle softball coach Dave Meier is really good to his seniors. The coach likes to give them extra chances on the playing field, and he shows more patience. He also likes to let his seniors know that some perks come with the job of being an older leader. One of those privileges is helping Cincinnati paint the town red.
Coach Meier and his four seniors were part of the Reds’ opening day festivities, including the 107th Findlay Market Opening Day Parade. Among the nearly 150 parade entries were Ryle senior softball players Makenna Hirshey, Karysa Lowery, Rayne Patsel and Brooklyn Roland. They were part of the Cincinnati Reds Kid Glove Program entry. They got to meet Hall of Fame voice of the Reds Marty Brennaman, who walked just ahead of them in the parade. Brennaman is the local Kid Glove spokesman.
An estimated crowd of 120,000 showed up along the 1.4-mile parade route in the run-up to the start of the Reds’ regular season against the Boston Red Sox. Ryle’s involvement in the festivities highlights an active connection with the major league club. Coach Meier is the treasurer and a board member of the Cincinnati Reds Kid Glove Program, which is invited to the opening day parade every year. The seniors carried the local Kid Glove banner.
“It’s a new tradition at Ryle. It’s pretty cool and the girls love it,” said coach Meier, who also had his seniors work the 2025 Elly De La Cruz Youth Baseball Camp last summer at Sycamore High School in Cincinnati.
The 16-4 Raiders are not only keeping fast company, but they finished fast in April. They won four games in a row at the end of the month, going 10-2 for April. The bats continue to boom, ranking second statewide with 13.8 runs scored per game. Ryle ranks eighth with a .411 team batting average.
Hitting leaders Patsel (.676), Kiley Patterson (.571) and Emily Gehring (.569) all rank in the state top 30. Patterson is top 20 statewide with 12 doubles. Gehring is top 20 in RBI, and Cam Patterson is top 20 in runs. Korlin Rechtin leads the team with five homers. Patterson, Rechtin, Preslee Steiber and Roland are all batting over .400.
“This team has hit from day one,” Meier said. “As we’ve gone along in the season, the pitching room has developed.”
The arms have steadied of late with four straight games allowing three runs or fewer. That moved the team ERA down toward 5.00, led individually by sophomore Addi Farmer’s 3.57. Farmer is 6-0 on the year. Freshman Keegan Murr (4-2) has won her last three starts. Patsel (5-2) allowed just one earned run over a three-start stretch earlier in the month while picking up a pair of wins.
Local pitchers just too fast
Scott pitcher Ty Cook set a program single-game record April 20 by striking out 16 batters in a win over Bishop Brossart. Just a sophomore, Cook hurled six innings of one-hit ball before giving way to Jay Race. He struck out two in the seventh. That gave the Eagles’ pitching staff 18 strikeouts on the day. The contest was a part of the Reds Futures Showcase. Cook also hit a home run in the contest and was named MVP of the game.
Race, Scott’s prom king, and Cooper’s Jayden Duane are the only local qualifying pitchers with ERAs still below 1.00. Both pitchers sit at 0.91, ranking in the state top 20.
Though Cook’s effort against Brossart generated a lot of swing and miss, it’s not the highest strikeout total this season by a local pitcher. Villa Madonna’s Joe Rice fanned 19 batters against Holmes at home on April 10.
Softballers off to fast starts
Entering Friday, four of the top eight softball hitters in the KHSAA’s rankings for batting average are from northern Kentucky.
Villa Madonna’s Brooklyn Clark and Cooper’s Kaitlyn Furnish lead the hit parade with .667 averages. That’s good for a third-place tie in Kentucky. Furnish leads the state with eight triples. They are followed by Holy Cross’s Madison Urlage, seventh statewide at .649, and Calvary Christian’s Kennedy Wright, eighth at .645.
Two more players are in the state top 20. They include Villa Madonna’s Cam Kratzer and Campbell County’s Hope Hamilton. Kratzer ranks 14th at .611. Hamilton is 16th at .608. Her Campbell County teammate Josie Feebeck ranks 21st with a .587 average.
Life in the fast lane
Dixie Heights track and field standout Vinnie Lane has set the school record in the 100-meter dash, twice. Lane hit the finish line with a winning time of 10.82 seconds at the Campbell County Camel Classic. The annual meet was held April 25 on the school’s eight-lane rubberized track.
Lane’s winning time at Campbell County was the only one eclipsing 11 seconds in the race. He finished well ahead of second-place Bredyn Elder of Ryle, who clocked in at 11.10. Garrett Gallagher from Covington Catholic was third in 11.25.
“Mike Martin’s record of 10.9 for 100 meters is a converted time from the 100-yard dash that was ran back in the 1970s,” Dixie track and field coach Steve Saunders said. “All of Vinnie’s times are for 100 meters.”
The 100-meter dash is approximately 109.36 yards long. That’s about 10% longer than the traditional 100-yard race.
Not to be outdone, Lane bettered himself on Thursday with another speedy win. “He just broke it again last night at the Bishop Brossart Gold Medal Meet,” coach Saunders said. “He posted a 10.78-second time.”