For Beechwood, the goals rarely change—and a 9th Region Class “A” baseball title is always near the top.
All the early-season preparation paid off Thursday night, as the Tigers secured their fourth straight crown—just the second time in school history—with a 12-4 win over Newport Central Catholic at Thomas More Stadium in Florence. The program also rattled off four consecutive titles from 2004-07.
“This is one of our goals from day one,” Beechwood coach Kevin Gray said. “Win the Ninth Region All ‘A’, then the sectional and state. Then, of course, we worry about our district opponents and the region, but this is always our first goal. I love it—being at a small school, you can win two regions and two state tournaments, so it’s pretty cool.”
It all starts with pitching for the Tigers. They entered Thursday’s game riding a streak of three consecutive shutouts. While they gave up four runs, their control on the mound was still evident.
Starting pitcher Chase Flaherty gave up three runs in the first inning, cutting the lead to 4-3 in Beechwood’s favor, but it didn’t take long for him to settle in and find his rhythm.
“We prepare for this with our pitching,” Gray said. “We don’t overuse anybody and we set everything up for this tournament. Sometimes in the first inning Chase gives up a couple runs, but when he gets in to about the third inning, he gets into a groove and rolls from there. It’s fun to watch when he gets in rhythm.”
Flaherty went five innings, allowing five hits and recording eight strikeouts. Brant Stiles closed out the final two frames with four strikeouts and didn’t allow a hit.
While Beechwood leaned on experience on the mound, Newport Central Catholic turned to its youth. The Thoroughbreds used three sophomore pitchers in the loss.
Thomas Ruschman got the start but lasted just one inning, allowing seven runs on three hits with one strikeout. Jonathan Meyer and Henry Brooks pitched the remaining six innings, combining for six hits, five runs, and six strikeouts.
“It’s a learning curve for them,” NewCath coach Jeff Martin said. “We battle with strikeouts—we’re not getting the ball in play. It’s tough to play against a good team; you’ve got to play perfect baseball. We made some routine errors, and against teams like that, it’s magnified.”
After surrendering three runs in the first inning, Beechwood responded with four more in the second, then added two runs each in the fourth and seventh. The Tigers’ offense kept rolling, while the defense limited NewCath to just one more run the rest of the way—a fifth-inning score that proved too little, too late.
Though junior Brooks Becker was named MVP, he was quick to credit the team effort behind the win.
“It’s a new thing, especially for my first year playing varsity, but I’m excited to play with friends,” Becker said. “They’re like brothers to me, so I enjoy it with them. The biggest thing is that we play together and win. We go by a saying, ‘play for the guy next to you,’ and I know everyone on the team does it.”
Becker went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. Chase Flaherty, who also delivered on the mound, led all hitters with three hits and three RBI. Keagan Hutton joined both on the all-tournament team.
For Newport Central Catholic, Ian Mann and Mitchell Martin were named to the all-tournament team. Sophomore Henry Brooks also stood out at the plate, finishing with two hits, a double, a triple, one run scored, and two RBI.
The Thoroughbreds dropped to 7-5 on the season, while Beechwood improved to 7-4 and advanced to the state tournament for the 14th time. The Tigers will host the 10th Region winner in the sectional round. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship will be held at Daviess County High School in Owensboro.
Photo gallery below, provided by Charles Bolton
TIGERS 12, THOROUGHBREDS 4
BEECHWOOD — 440-200-2 — 12-9-1
NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC — 300-010-0 — 4-5-3
RBI — (B) Flaherty 3, Becker 2, Cottengim 2, Carlisle, (NCC) Brooks 2, C. Meyer 2
2B — (B) Flaherty, (NCC) Brooks, C. Meyer
3B — (NCC) Brooks
WP — Flaherty. LP — Ruschman.
Records: Beechwood 7-4, Newport Central Catholic 7-5