The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds baseball team (2-1) ventured over to Simon Kenton and recorded its second straight shutout behind junior pitcher Connor Seiter.
Seiter (1-0) struck out four, walked one and allowed just three hits in the win. He also walked and scored in the top of the second when senior third baseman Brady Reckers singled. Senior shortstop Matthew Landrum scored the game’s other run in the top of the fourth when he stole third and scored on a Simon Kenton throwing error.
Junior Logan Cones (0-2) took the loss, pitching five innings and striking out nine to go with one walk and one earned run for the Pioneers (2-2). Junior Daniel Uhl pitched the last two innings, striking out three.
NewCath has a game scheduled for Friday against Dixie Heights (1-1) at home at 5 p.m. depending on the weather. Simon Kenton does not play again until Monday against Scott (1-3) at home at 5:30 p.m.
Baseball
Highlands 10, Beechwood 2
The Bluebirds (1-2) faced a number of 9th Region contenders out of the gate and came away with the win over the three-time defending region champion Tigers (2-1).
Highlands outhit Beechwood 7-4. The Bluebirds had senior Jack Hendrix go 2-for-4 with a double, four runs batted in and a run scored. Juniors Drew Barth and Callum McAtee added doubles.
“The guys really went to the plate to do damage. That’s what I’ve liked the first few games of the season,” said Jeremy Baioni, Highlands head coach. “We made some really good plays defensively to help stop some threats.”
Junior Brody Benke (1-1) pitched three innings to pick up the win and went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBI. Benke struck out three, walked three and allowed just one hit before Hendrix pitched the seventh, striking out two.
“Some general keys are just making sure you keep everything in the strike zone and just knowing situations,” Benke said. “If it’s a 2-0 count, you can’t give them an easy pitch to hit. You want ground balls and can’t let their playmakers make plays.”
Senior second baseman Ben Meier went 2-for-3 to lead the Tigers and senior left fielder Landon Johnson doubled. Senior pitcher Sam Stacy (1-1) took the loss pitching the first three innings striking out two and walking two.
Highlands plays host to Cooper (0-2) on Friday depending on the weather at 5 p.m. and Beechwood plays host to Campbell County (1-1) at the same time.
Other Baseball Scores
Calvary Christian 15, Paris 2 (5 innings)
Conner 6, Scott 0
Covington Catholic 13, Holmes 1 (5 innings)
Villa Madonna 15, Ludlow 6
Holy Cross 5, Dayton 0
Softball
Ryle 10, Dixie Heights 3
An early-season battle between two 9th Region contenders saw the Raiders explode for six runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull away after Dixie Heights scored twice in the top of the sixth. Both teams are 2-1 on the young season.
“We put pressure on them just about every single inning, which is what I was going for,” said Jarret Goddard, Ryle head coach. “Timely hits didn’t happen until that last inning when we did what we needed to do. We have a very talented team. There’s still some things that we’re figuring out. We have some work to do.”
Ryle racked up 15 hits in the victory, scoring seven earned runs. Senior shortstop Avery Parsons and third baseman Payton Godfrey set the tone at the top of the line-up. Parsons went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and Godfrey went 3-for-4, belting a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to put Ryle up 7-3.
“It got us hyped. I didn’t expect it. But I was trying to do anything to get us up,” Godfrey said. “I just try to see the ball as much as I can and put it in the gap to move the runners. Producing is my goal.”
Senior first baseman Grace Tranbarger and designated hitter Lerin Moreland both went 2-for-4. Moreland doubled in two of her three runs in the bottom of the first to put the Raiders up 3-1 and Tranbarger scored twice.
Junior pitcher Maddie Goddard (2-1) pitched a complete game for the Raiders. She struck out eight, walked none and allowed just one earned run as both teams committed three errors.
Dixie Heights collected just four hits in the game. Junior first baseman Skylar Mitchell led the Colonels going 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Junior pitcher Riley Hopkins (2-1) doubled and pitched a complete game for the Colonels. She struck out five and walked one.
Both teams have games scheduled Friday depending on the weather. Ryle plays host to Grant County (3-1) at 5:30 p.m. and Dixie Heights travels to Cooper (3-1) at the same time.
Other Softball Scores
Calvary Christian 15, Bellevue 0 (4 innings)
Cooper 15, Holy Cross 0 (3 innings)
Highlands 15, Lloyd Memorial 0 (3 innings)
Newport Central Catholic 11, Ludlow 1 (5 innings)
Pendleton County 12, Conner 0 (5 innings)
Simon Kenton 20, Williamstown 1 (3 innings)