The Ryle Raiders baseball team (6-1) has displayed consistency to start the season and it continued on the road against the Covington Catholic Colonels.
Ryle ventured to Jerry Collins Field, took the lead in the first inning and never looked back on the way to a 5-2 win over the host Colonels (2-1) in the second game on CovCath’s new turf infield. It marked the first win for the Raiders at Jerry Collins Field since a 7-0 win on April 1, 2016.
“We know when we come here, it’s a very good baseball program,” said Joe Aylor, Ryle head coach. “We know we’re going to have to be on our best game and we were able to do it. We feel like when we have our pitchers on the mound, we know we can play with anybody in the state. If we start getting some timely hits here and there, we’re going to see a different baseball team by the end of the season.”
The Raiders pounded out nine hits, four of them doubles. Sophomore catcher Josh Caudill had three doubles and walked in his first plate appearance to go with a run batted in to lead the way. Caudill has a team-high five doubles this year.
“I was just seeing (the ball) well taking what I could get,” Caudill said. “I saw the curve up and swung as hard as I can. The energy on the field, in the dugout is great. Just being able to catch for the team is great.”
CovCath struggled at the plate with just four hits, only one of them for extra bases. It came in the fifth inning when sophomore shortstop Jackson Reardon doubled with one out. But the Colonels could not bring him home.
Ryle had three players record multi-hit games. Senior shortstop TJ Schira had the other Ryle double going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored with senior second baseman Roman Furuta going 2-for-4 with one RBI. Ryle junior center fielder and lead-off hitter Tate Cordrey scored two runs.
Sophomore pitcher Dylan McIntyre (2-0) pitched six innings to pick up the win striking out seven and walking just two. The Raiders played error-free defense behind him and junior Sam Eppley, who retired the side in the seventh inning for the save.
Junior Bradley Zekl (0-1) took the loss for CovCath pitching the first three innings. Sophomore Marcus Suwinski finished the game for the Colonels. Junior Owen Leen made some web gems at third to help keep the Colonels in the game.
Covington Catholic veteran head coach Bill Krumpelbeck pointed out the Raiders put the first batter on base in each of the first five innings and three ended up scoring and the Colonels only did it twice. That started in the first inning when Cordrey singled to right, moved to third on a Furuta single and scored when Schira singled to center to give the Raiders a 1-0 advantage.
“In high school baseball when that happens, he’s going to score most of the time,” Krumpelbeck said. “It’s a very high percentage. It’s like 90 percent. When you get behind this early in the season and we have a young team, the pressure was on. We were taking called third strikes and other things we have to make adjustments on.”
It happened again in the top of the third when Schira doubled to right center, moved to third when senior third baseman Keegan Flaherty grounded out to second and scored on a Caudill double. That gave the Raiders a 2-0 lead.
The Raiders added two more in the top of the fourth to go up 4-0 starting again when senior right fielder Cody Hemmert walked then took second when Cordrey reached on the game’s lone error. The two moved up when senior center fielder Landon Sawyer grounded out before Furuta singled in Hemmert. Cordrey then scored when Schira grounded out.
“We work on the offensive approach every day. These guys are really buying in to what we’re trying to teach them not necessarily trying to pull the ball, but be productive and take advantage of opportunities,” Aylor said. “We know the ball will fall eventually. When we put it all together, we know this (season) has the potential to be something very special.”
CovCath tried to put together a furious rally in the fourth inning. Senior catcher Jonathan Fitz and junior center fielder Charlie Dieruf led off the inning with consecutive singles and McIntyre hit senior first baseman Max Lawrie to load the bases. Senior left fielder Tyler Rennekamp then singled in Fitz and Dieruf to trim the Ryle lead to 4-2.
But Ryle got out of the inning without any further damage. Senior designated hitter Chris Young popped out to Caudill before junior Vincent DiTommaso lined one back up the middle that McIntyre snagged for the web gem. Suwinski then hit a low line drive that Sawyer dove to make the catch in center to end the threat for another web gem.
“That really helped me out. After that, I just locked back in and felt really good after that,” McIntyre said. “Everything was on. All my pitches were working. It makes everything better because you can control where (batters) hit the ball, too.”
The Raiders added an insurance run in the top of the seventh starting with Caudill’s third double with one out. Junior pinch runner Aiden Williford came around to score when junior first baseman Caleb Mann singled.
Both teams return to action Thursday against Ohio opponents. Ryle plays Cincinnati Moeller (2-0) at 5 p.m. at Thomas More Stadium in Florence. CovCath plays host to Cincinnati McNicholas (2-0) at the same time.
Other Baseball Scores
Campbell County 6, Wyandotte (Michigan) Roosevelt 5
Conner 7, Harrison (Ohio) 0
Walton-Verona 4, Scott 0
Simon Kenton 14, Boone County 2 (5 innings)
St. Henry 15, Villa Madonna 0 (4 innings)
Newport Central Catholic 5, Holy Cross 1
Dayton 6, Bellevue 5
Calvary Christian 11, Covington Latin 1 (5 innings)
Highlands 15, Holmes 0 (5 innings)
Softball
Cooper 4, Notre Dame 0
The Jaguars (5-2) shut out the Pandas (1-1) in a Ninth Region win. Cooper has two shutouts this year.
Senior pitcher Kendall Blau (3-2) threw a complete game, striking out 12, walking three and allowing just four hits. Blau also singled in a run.
The Jaguars batted .250 (5 for 20) in the win. Junior Ava Scott led the way going 3-for-3 with a double, triple, two RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.
Cooper plays host to St. Henry (1-5) on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Simon Kenton 9, Scott 3
Junior pitcher Landrey Dance (3-0) threw her first complete game this year coming off an off-season injury. Dance struck out seven, walked none and allowed just five hits helping the Pioneers (5-2) to a Kenton County rivalry win over the Eagles (5-5). She also went 3 for 4 at the plate with two RBI.
The Pioneers batted .406 (13 for 32) overall. Sophomore Courtney Beach went 4 for 4 with two doubles, two RBI and scored once. Junior Emilie Young and sophomore Larkin Mitchell both went 2 for 4. Young homered batting in three and Mitchell scored twice.
Sophomore center fielder Elise Manhardt led Scott going 2 for 3 with a triple, RBI and run scored. Junior Emma Scribner doubled in a run in her lone at-bat.
Sophomore Addyson Riley (2-3) took the loss pitching into the sixth inning striking out two. Scribner finished the game.
Both teams play in doubleheaders on Saturday. Simon Kenton plays host to Lakota East (Ohio) at 10 a.m. then Cooper (5-2) at 2 p.m. Scott plays at Highlands against the host Bluebirds (4-1) at 9 a.m. then Grant County (4-2) at 10:30 a.m.
Other Softball Scores
Beechwood 18, Bellevue 0 (3 innings)
Newport Central Catholic 8, Villa Madonna 1
Augusta 20, Newport 5 (4 innings)
Ryle 11, Bracken County 4
Conner 12, Carroll County 1 (5 innings
Dayton 15, St. Henry 0 (3 innings)
Holy Cross 19, Lloyd Memorial 6
Boone County 6, Reading (Ohio) 5
Williamstown 13, Walton-Verona 9