The Ryle Raiders baseball team (10-3) is in control of its destiny in terms of the top seed in the 33rd District Tournament after sweeping the host Cooper Jaguars 8-4, to move to 4-0 in district seed play.
“We talk about how tough this district is from top to bottom,” said Joe Aylor, Ryle head coach. “Even when a team is picked to have a down year, we know everyone has that one pitcher that can beat you. Cooper bounced back really well, which is kind of the expectation in the 33rd, and we knew we were coming into a tough game. We didn’t play a perfect. But obviously, we did the things we felt we had to do to take care of business.”
Senior TJ Schira (3-2) pitched the first five innings to pick up the win, striking out seven and walking four. Junior Sam Eppley pitched the last two innings striking out three, retiring all six batters he faced.
Ryle batted .290 (9 for 31) overall. The top three hitters batted .500 (5 for 10) setting a huge tone. Junior left fielder Tate Cordrey led the way going 2-for-3 with a double and scored twice. Senior center fielder Landon Sawyer went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and scored once.
Senior second baseman Roman Furuta hit a big three-run home run in the top of the first to put the Raiders up 3-0. Cordrey reached on an error to lead off the game and Sawyer singled him to second.
“It always helps set the tone for our lineup when our leadoff hitter is hot,” Sawyer said. “It gets the two and three-hole going. That’s how we jumped on them early. It really got the dugout and the whole lineup going, which was really good for us.”
Cooper (3-11) fell to 0-4 in district seed play. The Jaguars batted .250 (7 for 28) in the loss. Junior shortstop Mark Nowak led the way going 2-for-4 with a triple, one RBI and scored twice. Junior center fielder Connor Robinson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first.
Senior Trevor Ollier (0-1) pitched the first three innings striking out five and walking two. Nowak finished the game striking out four and walking four.
Ryle plays at Beechwood (8-3) in the Doc Morris Invitational on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Cooper takes on Covington Catholic (7-3) at St. Henry at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the Doc Morris Invitational.
Boone County 5, Conner 4
The Rebels (5-8-1) earned their first 33rd District seed win, stunning Conner jumping out to a 4-1 lead and holding onto it.
Boone County batted .227 (5 for 22) overall in the win and drew five walks. Junior catcher Chris Henson led the way going 2-for-2 driving in two. Junior shortstop Jack Moore had a double and drove in two.
Junior Maddox Jones pitched the first five innings to pick up the win for the Rebels. He struck out five and walked three. Sophomore Ethan Rossi pitched the last two innings striking out two.
Conner batted .259 (7 for 27) overall. Junior shortstop Rex Richter went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and senior third baseman Cody Henson went 2-for-4 driving in two. Senior Logan Tucker had a double.
Senior Jackson Bucks started the game. But senior Jeffery Vest took over in the first and finished the game striking out six and walking two.
Conner travels to Simon Kenton (9-3) to start the Doc Morris Invitational on Thursday at 5 p.m. Boone County plays host to Williamstown (8-5) on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Walton-Verona 10, Carroll County 1
The Bearcats (10-3) won the 8th Region All “A” crown in convincing fashion.
Walton-Verona batted .387 (12 for 31) overall. Senior designated hitter Jimmy Shields led the way going 4-for-5 with a double, one RBI and one run scored. Junior right fielder Cayden Smithers went 3-for-3 with a triple, two RBI and scored twice. Senior first baseman Lance Coleman went 2-for-4 with three RBI and scored once. Senior center fielder Ethan Mills added a double.
Junior Mason Howard (4-0) pitched a complete game to earn the win. He struck out eight, walked two and allowed just three hits and one earned run.
Walton-Verona plays host to Anderson County (5-7) on Saturday at Noon.
Other Baseball Scores
Campbell County 9, Dixie Heights 0
Highlands 9, Bishop Brossart 1
Beechwood 15, Holmes 0 (4 innings)
Miami Valley Christian (Ohio) 16, Ludlow 6 (5 innings)
Cincinnati (Ohio) Trailblazers Home School 10, St. Henry 5
Newport Central Catholic 8, Lloyd Memorial 0
Holy Cross 3, Scott 2 (10 innings)
Calvary Christian 13, Villa Madonna 3 (5 innings)
Softball
Highlands 7, Dixie Heights 5
The Bluebirds (9-3) led the Colonels (5-7) 3-1 entering the bottom of the sixth in the rematch of last year’s classic 9th Region championship game.
But host Dixie Heights scored four to go up 5-3. Junior third baseman Taylor Ingram belted a three-run home run to put the Colonels on top.
But Highlands responded with four runs in the top of the seventh to win the game. Senior first baseman Kennedy Baioni hit a solo home run to lead off the inning before junior center fielder Bailey Markus singled in eighth grade left fielder Allison Meyers to put the Bluebirds up 6-5. Freshman shortstop Payton Brown gave Highlands an insurance run singling in Markus.
Freshman Kaitlyn Dixon pitched a complete game for Highlands striking out seven and walking two. Highlands made three errors behind her.
Junior Riley Hopkins (4-5) also pitched a complete game for Dixie Heights striking out four and walking none. The Colonels committed two errors behind her.
Highlands outhit Dixie Heights, 13-4. Markus, Meyers, Baioni, Brown, junior catcher Michelle Barth and freshman second baseman Morgan Pompilio had two hits each. Brown added a triple and three RBI and Barth drove in two. Markus and Pompilio scored two runs each.
Dixie Heights did not have any player with multi-hit games. But three players had extra-base hits. Senior shortstop Ella Steczynski tripled and junior first baseman Skylar Mitchell doubled.
Both teams play again Thursday. Highlands plays host to Henry County (5-6) at 5:30 p.m. Dixie Heights travels to Lloyd Memorial (3-6) for a 34th District game at 5:30 p.m.
Other Softball Scores
Bishop Brossart 5, St. Pede (Illinois) 4
Bishop Brossart 12, Avon Lake (Ohio) 2
Beechwood 24, Newport Central Catholic 5 (4 innings)
Notre Dame 10, Campbell County 5
Walton-Verona 26, Newport 3 (3 innings)
Dayton 14, Holmes 4 (5 innings)