Dixie Heights is getting healthy and hot at just the right time.
Without the services of ace Kyle Flynn for pretty much the entirety of the regular season, Flynn came back in the district championship to pitch a couple innings and got the ball in Monday’s 9th Region baseball tournament quarterfinal against Covington Catholic at Thomas More Stadium in Florence.
Flynn pitched six scoreless innings and delivered the game-winning hit to break a 0-0 deadlock for a 1-0 Dixie win.
“The adrenaline got to me for sure,” Flynn said. “Just felt good while I was out there, kept going until got in trouble or the max pitch count.”
After Will Steczynski got the seventh inning rally started with a single and stole second, Wyatt Pott followed with an infield single.
Flynn stepped to the plate and looked at two strikes, staring at an 0-2 count. He took a pitch to right center field and scored a head first diving Steczynski into home.
“Just put it in play with two runners on, just got to do a job, at least move them,” Flynn said. “Feels good being able to come out here when it matters most. We weren’t very hot at the start and then we’re getting hotter now towards the end of the season, so it means a lot.”
It’s Dixie’s 10th win in their last 12 and eighth straight.
“You get your two best returning pitchers that haven’t really played the whole season,” Dixie coach Chris Maxwell said. “But you know, my sophomores stepped up and had a great second half of the year.”
On top of Flynn’s six scoreless innings pitched and Noah Cline’s 1-2-3 frame in the seventh in relief, Dixie can thank their defensive execution. Catcher Luke Tucker mowed down to CovCath runners trying to steal second and Flynn picked a runner off second, throwing to Steczynski with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the fourth.
“That’s Will and Kyle playing together for years,” Maxwell said.
As good as Flynn was, Micheal Bryson was too for CovCath. He pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just four hits and walked one while striking out seven. Someone had to lose the pitchers duel and Bryson did with the Steczynski and Pott singles on his stat line. Nick Thompson came on in relief and gave up the game-winning hit to Flynn.
It ends CovCath’s season at 19-17 as their region championship drought now spans 24 years. They tallied just three hits in the contest and struck out 10 times. Speaking of injuries, CovCath had to deal with a lot of them this season in John Michels first year at the helm.
Pott led Dixie with two hits as they finished with five. Flynn struck out eight in six innings, allowing three hits and walking three. He was on a pitch count limit, finishing at 85 pitches. Last year, they stunned Ryle 4-3 in the first round of the tournament.
While this one probably shouldn’t be considered an upset, the Colonels have certainly found their ways of making magic recently in Florence. They reached the region finals in 2024 and have won a first round game four straight years now.
“I got faith in these kids and they’re playing good baseball right now,” Maxwell said.
DIXIE 1, COV CATH 0
COVINGTON CATHOLIC — 000-000-0 — 0-3-0
DIXIE HEIGHTS — 000-000-1 — 1-5-0
RBI — (DH) Flynn
WP — Cline. LP — Bryson.
Records: Covington Catholic 19-17, Dixie Heights 20-14
