They know each other well and expect the chaos, but in the Beechwood–Covington Catholic rivalry, the Tigers have still been finding the last word.
Thursday evening, Beechwood walked into Tom Berger Stadium in Park Hills and left with their fourth straight win in the series and the No. 1 seed in the 35th District tournament after a 13-5 rout of the Colonels.
Rivalries are built on unpredictability, but for the Tigers, it wasn’t uncertainty about the outcome, it was how it would happen and who would step up.
The back half of the lineup answered the call, accounting for 10 of Beechwood’s 17 hits, seven of the team’s 10 RBI, two doubles, and seven runs scored.
“If you had told me we would hold Tyler Fryman to 1-for-5 with a single, I would have taken that, and so would every other coach in Northern Kentucky,” Covington Catholic head coach John Michels said. “Their top four guys were 5-for-17, and I would have jumped for joy at that. The bottom of the order killed us. That’s good for them because that’s pretty rare to find.”
Batting seventh, Luke Brauch went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double. Bobby Meier, hitting eighth, finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Leading the Tigers at the plate was junior Jackson Mando, who went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, three runs scored, and a double.
Most players on the field had experienced the rivalry before, but Mando had seen it from both sides.
“This was my first time back here since I transferred from CovCath,” Mando said. “I was here for my freshman and sophomore year. It was kind of weird, but after the first inning I got the hang of it and just kept going. It’s such a big rivalry. I’ve seen it in football, baseball, and basketball, and it’s one of the best rivalries to play in.”
Still, the emotions of returning, the rivalry atmosphere and the district seeding on the line never seemed to affect Mando at the plate.
“I wasn’t really looking for much,” Mando said. “I was just having fun. No other way to put it. I came here to have fun and I think I did that.”
For the first three innings, the game looked exactly how rivalry games usually do. Records and rankings meant little as both teams traded momentum-swinging plays through a scoreless start.
Sawyer Carlisle got the start for Beechwood and struck out four while allowing just one baserunner through the opening three innings. He finished with six innings pitched, allowing four hits, three earned runs and two walks while striking out nine.
CovCath countered with Austin Landwehr, who entered with five pitching appearances on the season and made his first start Thursday night. He allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out two over the early innings before the Tigers broke through.
The Colonels used five pitchers in total, with reliever Nate Pieper taking the loss.
After the scoreless opening stretch, Beechwood scored in every inning the rest of the way, two in the fourth, four in the fifth, two in the sixth and five more in the seventh.
CovCath never found the same offensive rhythm until the final inning, though the Colonels did plate a run in the fifth.
After a walk and a single opened the seventh inning, Beechwood went to the bullpen as Carlisle left the mound to a standing ovation. Reliever Roland King recorded one out before CovCath answered with a two-run double from Brady Gaskins, along with RBIs from Austin Landwehr and Jack Nolan.
“As a coach, it’s 13-1 and all of a sudden it’s 13-4, then 13-5,” Beechwood head coach Kevin Gray said. “I look up and the bases are loaded, and I’m thinking, ‘A grand slam and it’s 13-9.’ Now you worry about the tying run coming to the plate. I never felt like I could relax because they’re not going to quit.”
Paul Stephenson entered and recorded the final two outs to close it out for the Tigers.
As a team, CovCath went 5-for-24 at the plate and committed four errors.
As the No. 1 seed in the district tournament later this month, Beechwood will face No. 4 seed Holmes, while No. 2 seed CovCath will take on No. 3 seed Holy Cross.
MORE PHOTOS: Provided by Charles Bolton
TIGERS 13, COLONELS 5
BEECHWOOD — 000-242-5 — 13-17-0
COVINGTON CATHOLIC — 000-010-4 — 5-5-4
RBI — (B) Meier 3, Mando 2, Becker, Brauch, Edwards, Fryman, Ollier (CC) Gaskins 2, Landwehr, Smith
2B — (B) Arrasmith, Brauch, Mando (CC) Gaskins 2, Lanwehr, Nolan, Smith
3B — (B) Becker
WP — Carlisle. LP — Pieper.
Records: Beechwood 23-8, Covington Catholic 15-15