Two games in two nights resulted in a Ryle regular season sweep over 33rd district
foe Conner and a 6-0 record in district play, earning the No. 1 seed for the 33rd District tournament.
The night before in Hebron, the Raiders claimed the 11-2 victory. They followed that
up by defending their home field with a 7-2 win.
“I’d say we had a little momentum from it,” Ryle coach Joseph Aylor said. “But we
play in the toughest district in Northern Kentucky. I think it’s the deepest district,
so we know we have to come every day and clear our minds. That’s kind of the
conversation we had before the game. The win last night means nothing. It’s 0-0 now
and we’ve got to start over. We did a pretty good job of that.”
Ryle is playing their best baseball right now, thanks to success at the plate and in the field.
The success poked through in the fifth inning as the Raiders took advantage of
Conner’s command struggles on the mound. After mustering up three runs in four innings, Ryle put four on the board in the fifth.
Dylan Hart was able to minimize Raider rallies through the first four, but ran into trouble in the fifth. He was then replaced by Tristan Winterman who walked the first three batters he faced. A 3-2 game suddenly turned into a 7-2 Raider lead.
“We’ve got to learn to compete,” Conner coach Mike Hart said. “Both games we had
these guys in a one-run ball game and then ended up giving it up late. The score
probably doesn’t reflect how close the game was for five or six innings, but we just
have to tighten it up a little bit and finish the game off. I feel like we’re right there.”
Sophomore AJ Curry continued his sweltering start to the season with three hits and two runs batted in. He knocked two doubles and stole a base.
“It was a great day to play baseball out here.” Curry said, “So happy I could do my best
to help my team win. I’m always pretty confident, looking for the right pitch at the
right time. It’s really thinking about where to go in the situation and knowing what
to do with the baseball.”
Xavier Owens and Caleb Mann also provided two RBI at the dish for the Raiders.
Sam Eppley came up big on the hill for the Raiders with eight strikeouts in six innings, giving up just two runs. At the plate, he provided a hit.
“When we get those runs in, pitching-wise, I feel way calmer,” Eppley said. “I’m
willing to let them get some hits, put the ball in play and let the defense do the job.
Our defense did really good today and I have a lot of trust in them.”
Conner did have a breakthrough in the fourth inning with two runs as Max Brunkel
sent in two runs, but Ryle’s answer proved to be too much.
The Raiders are winners of 11 of their last 12 games.
“It sure does help, having AJ (Curry), but we also have excellent pitching,” Aylor said,
“We ‘ve got probably one of the deeper staffs in the state. I think we have guys willing
to lay a bunt down or whatever it takes to get us a run on the board. Things are kind
of clicking right now.”
Ryle improves to 15-7 and will face Bishop Brossart on the road, Friday at 5 p.m.
Conner falls below .500 to 12-13, but can change that in the Bryan Stevenson
Memorial Tournament, where they take on Dixie Heights, West Jessamine, and
Covington Catholic on Friday and Saturday.
RAIDERS 7, COUGARS 2
CONNER – 000-200-0 — 2-5-3
RYLE – 010-240-x — 7-6-0
2B – (R) Curry, Eppley, (C) Bushman, Wichmann
WP – Sam Eppley. LP – Dylan Hart.
Records: Conner (12-13, 3-2), Ryle (15-7, 6-0)