For as consistent as senior lefty Evan Moore (5-1 overall) has been in his career on the mound for the Bishop Brossart Mustangs, this one might be hard to top.
Moore mixed things up so well striking out 14 and retiring 21-of-22 batters he faced for the complete game, lifting the visiting Mustangs to a big 9-0 win over the Scott Eagles in a 37th District seed game. Brossart moved to 2-0 in district seed play and will face Campbell County for the top seed May 1 at home. Scott is 0-2 in district seed play and will face Calvary Christian for the third seed the same day.
“I think it being a district game definitely plays a factor in how focused and on we are as a team,” Moore said. “But it all starts with those first few runs. When we get up, that helps me out, makes me feel more comfortable and we just keep piling it on.”
The Brossart (11-12) battery with sophomore catcher Keegan Gulley worked well behind the plate. The Scott batters worked the count to three balls just two times. They both came in the seventh inning.
“It was amazing. He just dominated every way,” Gulley said. “He just put it there and they couldn’t hit it.”
Moore has a 0.71 ERA on the season in seven starts. He’s struck out 60 and has allowed just 19 hits, four earned runs and has walked 20 in eight appearances.
“That was one of the best I’ve seen in all my years of coaching,” said Ron Verst, Brossart head coach. “He was just consistent with his strikes. His breaking pitch is probably the best I’ve seen all year and that just makes our defense better. It’s not like we’re walking guys and lulling people to sleep. Our defense was alert. When Evan’s on the mound, we seem to play better not just because Evan’s a good pitcher. I think everyone’s more relaxed with him on the mound.”
Scott’s (7-12) lone hit came in the bottom of the seventh with one out after Moore retired the first 19 Eagles he faced. On a full count, Scott junior Dylan Giffen singled to left center to break up the perfect game bid. But Moore retired the next two ending the game with a swinging strikeout.
The Mustangs offense finished the day batting .400 (12-for-30) overall and took advantage of nine walks. Eight of the nine spots in the Brossart lineup pounded out at least one hit.
“We don’t take anyone lightly,” Verst said. “We know we have a tough game against Scott or anyone else we play. But I think what helped us (Monday) is consistently getting runners on base.”
Gulley went 2-for-5 at the plate with one run batted in and one run scored. Moore walked three times going 1-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Senior first baseman Robbie Verst and senior designated hitter Colin Combs also had two hits. Combs scored twice and senior third baseman Brandon Bezold batted in two.
“It’s really just contagious,” Robbie Verst said. “When one of us gets a hit, it kind of just goes throughout the whole lineup and we all start hitting. Hopefully, it keeps going.”
Combs led off the second inning with a double for the game’s lone extra-base hit for the Mustangs. He later scored on a Bezold single. Junior center fielder Alex Amin singled Combs to third and later scored on a Scott error to put Bishop Brossart up 2-0. Brossart scored at least one run in five of the last six innings.
The Mustangs added three more in the top of the fifth to go up 8-0. With one out, six straight Mustangs reached on a combination of four walks, one single and one hit batter. Moore scored the game’s final run in the top of the seventh when Bezold hit a sacrifice fly to right.
Scott senior Casey Hilbert (0-2) retired the first three batters he faced, striking out four in four innings pitched and walking three. Senior Blaise Huiet and junior Kyle Groneck pitched in relief for Scott.
“We were victims of bad luck early in the game,” said Kevin Goins, Scott head coach. “They found bloop hits, well-placed ground balls that I preached to the guys in our post-game speech, we sit around and wait for the game to come to us instead of attacking, attacking, attacking. It backfired on us a bit. This is the third straight time we’ve faced Evan Moore. He gets better every single time unfortunately for us. But we know what we’re staring at in four weeks and it’s not going to be an easy road. Hopefully these last three weeks, we turn the corner a bit, learn how to fight a bit more and be prepared the time district tournament comes around.”
Brossart plays host to Walton-Verona (16-3) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Scott plays host to Highlands (12-9) on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Baseball
Ryle 5, Simon Kenton 3
The Raiders (15-7) downed the Pioneers (14-6) in a non-region game.
Ryle batted .208 (5 for 24) overall. Junior left fielder Tate Cordrey went 2-for-3 with a triple and senior third baseman Keegan Flaherty had a double and two RBI. Sophomore catcher Josh Caudill scored two runs.
Sophomore pitcher Dylan McIntyre (6-0) pitched the first six innings, striking out six and walking one. Junior Maverick Rabe pitched the seventh to record his third save this year.
“(The Pioneers) hit the ball well and pitched well,” said Joe Aylor, Ryle head coach. “We got out early and we felt like we had the momentum going there for a while. We feel like we just need to get used to having that momentum and carrying that all the way through learning not to give up the big run and take care of business as soon as possible going into postseason.”
Simon Kenton batted .192 (5 for 26) overall. Senior center fielder Ben Stephens went 2-for-3 to lead the Pioneers. Junior designated hitter Logan Cones had a double and scored twice and junior shortstop Daniel Uhl added a double.
Junior Nick Veid pitched a complete game striking out three and walking three. He threw 110 pitches with 63 strikes.
Ryle travels to Dixie Heights (7-14) on Wednesday for a 5 p.m. game.
Boone County 5, Campbell County 3
The Rebels (7-11-1) pulled off a huge win over the host Camels (15-6), scoring three times in the top of the first inning when junior catcher Chris Henson belted a three-run home run and never looked back.
Henson homered twice going 2-for-3 at the plate with four RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore center fielder Ethan Rossi also went 2-for-3 at the plate as the Rebels batted .250 (7-for-28) overall.
Sophomore Elijah Burks earned the win, pitching six innings limiting the Camels to three hits with no strikeouts and four walks. Junior Maddox Jones pitched the seventh to earn the save, striking out two and walking two.
Senior shortstop Aydan Hamilton went 2-for-4 for the Camels with two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored and freshman right fielder Tyler Schumacher added a double. Hamilton has three home runs this year.
Senior Max Lause (3-2) pitched a complete game for Campbell County allowing four earned runs. He struck out three and walked three.
Boone County plays host to Simon Kenton (14-6) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Other Baseball Scores
Beechwood 13, St. Henry 6
Covington Catholic 4, Conner 1
Cooper 10, Dixie Heights 3
Frankfort Christian 19, Covington Latin 9 (6 innings)
Walton-Verona 9, Holy Cross 4
Highlands 13, Lloyd Memorial 2 (5 innings)
Newport Central Catholic 15, Holmes 5 (6 innings)
Softball Scores
Beechwood 21, Dayton 0 (3 innings)
Holy Cross 8, Gallatin County 7
Lloyd Memorial 20, Holmes 7 (5 innings)
Dixie Heights 18, Villa Madonna 2 (5 innings)
Bracken County 15, Conner 0 (4 innings)
Grant County 3, Highlands 0
Eminence 7, Walton-Verona 5
St. Ursula (Ohio) 11, Newport Central Catholic 1 (6 innings)