Beechwood Tigers head baseball coach Kevin Gray joked he did not know the Tigers would play a doubleheader late into the evening.
But in the end, he could not complain too much as visiting Beechwood (23-6) beat the defending state champion Louisville St. Xavier Tigers, 1-0 in 14 innings. St. Xavier (27-8) lost for just the fourth time to a Kentucky opponent this year.
“We play teams like this all year to get us ready for the postseason,” Gray said. “To come down here and play them in a game like this was incredible. Both teams’ pitchers threw well and both defenses played well. We just got the big hit in the 14th inning.”
Beechwood scored the game’s lone run in the top of the 14th inning. With two out, eighth grade center fielder Tyler Fryman walked, stole second and scored when junior first baseman Shawn Sowder singled him home off St. Xavier senior relief pitcher Jack Koenig (2-1).
Beechwood senior pitcher Sam Stacy (3-2) then came back out to finish the game. Stacy admitted his track record in relief is not the greatest. But Stacy and the Beechwood defense came through in this situation.
Stacy struck out St. Xavier junior pinch-hitter Jake Gregor to start the inning, bringing St. Xavier back to the top of the lineup. Senior center fielder Zach Marks singled and advanced to second on a Beechwood error. But Stacy coaxed senior shortstop Landon Akers into flying out to right before retiring senior third baseman Cooper Smith on a ground out to Beechwood shortstop Ben Meier, who made a nice play for the out making up for the error earlier in the inning.
“That’s baseball right there,” Stacy said. “We have to be confident going into every game. We can put together good games when everyone is on. (Wednesday) was me going out, trying to stay relaxed even after the error. It was a tough play. I was still two outs away and had to stay confident and pound the strike zone. That’s all you can think about in that situation.”
St. Xavier doubled up Beechwood, 12-6 in hits. Senior right fielder Cameron Boyd went 3-for-6 and stole two bases to lead Beechwood.
Sophomore Chase Flaherty started the game pitching six innings, striking out three and walking two before sophomore Keagan Hutton pitched an inning, striking out one and walking none. Senior Torin O’Shea pitched the next five-plus innings before Stacy took over.
Beechwood finishes the regular season Friday at Great American Ballpark against Conner (22-11) at 8:15 p.m.
Bishop Brossart 8, Covington Catholic 7 (8 innings)
The Mustangs (15-16) took down the Colonels (21-8) splitting the two meetings this season. This also marked Brossart’s first win over CovCath since a 6-2 win all the way back on May 17, 2006.
Brossart senior lefty Evan Moore (6-2) pitched a complete game, striking out 10 and walking one. Moore also went 2-for-3 at the plate, walking twice and driving in one.
The Mustangs batted .438 (14 for 32) overall. Senior third baseman Brandon Bezold and senior left fielder Sam Willike both went 3-for-4. Willike drove in two and scored once with Bezold scored twice and drove in one. Senior right fielder Derek Martin went 2-for-4 driving in two and scoring once. Senior first baseman Robbie Verst also drove in two.
CovCath batted .324 (11 for 34) overall. Sophomore shortstop Jackson Reardon went 3-for-4, scoring once and junior center fielder Charlie Dieruf went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Junior Owen Leen added a double and junior second baseman Luke Pieper drove in two.
The Colonels used five pitchers. Leen pitched three innings, junior Bradley Zekl, junior Eli Wagner, senior Chris Young then sophomore Logan Dirks. Dirks (0-1) took the loss walking two.
Bishop Brossart plays at Lloyd Memorial (14-15) on Thursday at 5 p.m. CovCath plays Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller on Friday at 5 p.m. at Great American Ballpark.
Other Baseball Scores
Holy Cross 3, Bellevue 1
Williamstown 2, Calvary Christian 1
Newport Central Catholic 10, Cooper 1
Harrison (Ohio) 9, Ryle 0
Lloyd Memorial 5, Grant County 2
Dixie Heights 15, Scott 0 (4 innings)
Conner 9, St. Henry 2
Villa Madonna 13, Gallatin County 3 (6 innings)
Other Softball Scores
Boone County 3, Beechwood 1
Bellevue 17, Newport 2 (3 innings)
Notre Dame 9, Bishop Brossart 4
Campbell County 16, St. Henry 1 (3 innings)
Holy Cross 7, Dayton 3
Oldham County 2, Highlands 1
Newport Central Catholic 7, Lloyd Memorial 4
Holmes 13, Villa Madonna 9