This one came came down to the last batter and the host Beechwood Tigers baseball team (2-0 overall) came through to down the Campbell County Camels (1-2) by an 8-7 count in non-region action.
Tied at seven in the bottom of the seventh, junior second baseman/center fielder Nazario Pangallo walked and stole second with two out. That’s when senior designated hitter Brett Holladay stepped to the plate and singled to center scoring Pangallo to give Beechwood the victory.
“I was looking to do damage – anything in the middle of the field to ultimately score the runner to win the game,” Holladay said. “It was a 2-0 count. The ball was a little elevated. I got my pitch and I did what I practice all the time. It worked out.”
Beechwood wound up batting .364 (12 for 33) for the game drawing five walks and committed four errors. Holladay went 2 for 4 with a double, run and run batted in. Junior catcher Brice Estep went 3 for 4 with a double, three RBI and one run scored. Senior starting pitcher and second baseman Sam Cottengim went 3 for 4 with one RBI and one run scored. Pangallo added a double.
Junior Torin O’Shea (1-0) picked up the win in relief taking over in the fifth inning. He struck out one and did not allow any hits or walks.
Beechwood led 5-4 after four innings. But Campbell County struck for three in the top of the fifth to go up 7-5 before the Tigers tied it in the bottom of the fifth.
“It was a really big win for us against a really good Campbell County team – well-coached,” said Kevin Gray, Beechwood Head Coach. “It was back and forth, back and forth. We both had some miscues that helped the other team.”
Campbell County batted .273 (9 for 33) with three walks and committed three errors. Senior second baseman Tyler Flower went 3 for 4 with two doubles, one RBI and one run scored. Junior third baseman Evan Clark went 2 for 4 with one RBI. Senior center fielder Greg Vineyard doubled and scored twice and senior left fielder Caeleb James tripled, batted in two and scored once.
“(Campbell County junior Aydan Hamilton) is really good. He’s a hard out,” Gray said. “Campbell County has a good line-up. You have to be careful, especially with their top. You have to buckle down. But then you also want to buckle down on the bottom of the line-up because you don’t want them to roll back to the top. We feel fortunate to win the game. Playing them, you always feel like your team got better.”
Junior Jake Gross started for the Camels and pitched three innings striking out four to go with two earned runs and four hits. Junior Max Lause pitched the fourth inning and allowed one earned run and four hits before junior Braden Kramer (0-1) finished the game taking the loss. Kramer struck out two and allowed four hits and three earned runs.
With the Champions Classic cancelled for the next two days because of a bad weather forecast, the Wyandotte (Michigan) Roosevelt is the next opponent for both teams. The town is located 11 miles south of Detroit on the Detroit River. The Camels face the Bears in Alexandria on Monday at 5 p.m. and the Tigers play them Tuesday at 5 p.m. in Fort Mitchell.
Baseball:
Conner 12, Grant County 1:
A third day in a row produced another five-inning run-ruling for the Cougars (3-0) at home against the Braves (1-2).
Junior Ayden Lohr had the strong start for the Cougars. In three innings, he struck out four to go with one walk, three hits and an unearned run. Senior Trevor Jordan and Tyler Parson pitched the fourth and fifth innings respectively. Jordan struck out two and the Cougars had one error behind them.
The Cougars batted exactly .500 (12 for 24) in the victory taking advantage of six walks and two Grant County errors.
“It’s kind of been a repeat of the whole week,” said Brad Arlinghaus, Conner Head Coach. “We’ve hit the ball pretty well. We’ve fielded it and our pitchers have been pitching the ball really well. As long as we can continue to do those three things, good things are going to happen for us.”
Four players recorded multi-hit games for Conner. Senior designated hitter Briggs Yeunger went 3 for 3 with a double and four RBI. Lohr went 3 for 4 with a double, three runs scored and RBI. Senior shortstop Gage Testerman went 2 for 4 with three RBI and two runs scored with senior first baseman Kaden Early going 2 for 4 with two RBI and one run scored. Senior third baseman Andrew Minkley added a double.
“We’ve been hot. We need to stay consistent and we need to keep our bats rolling,” Lohr said. “We need to trust our teammates to knock us in and keep going from there. For me, it’s seeing the off-speed (pitches) well. In the cage, you don’t get it as much. When you get live at-bats, you pick it up and get a feel for it more.”
The Champions Classic was called off Friday and Saturday because of the bad weather forecast. Conner faces Cooper (1-1) in the Denny Taney Classic at 4:30 p.m. at Holy Cross before taking on Theodore Roosevelt from Wyandotte (Michigan) in Hebron at 7:30 p.m.
Scott 9, Holy Cross 4:
The Eagles (2-4) snapped a four-game losing streak with the road win over the Indians (1-3).
Junior Brisen Merrill (1-1) threw five innings to pick up the win for Scott. He struck out four, walked two and allowed five hits and one earned run. Freshman Brady Smith finished it out striking out one, walking two and allowing three hits and two earned runs.
“It was good that we finally got a quality start out of our starting pitching and it wasn’t easy,” said Kevin Goin, Scott Head Coach. “Brisen had one inning where he got out of a bases loaded jam where he gave up only one run. But he settled in. Brady Smith is learning each time out. But he has a lot of talent that’s going to help us for years to come and the time is now.”
Scott batted .300 (9 for 30) and drew 10 walks in the victory. Both teams committed two errors. Junior designated hitter Leo Brown led the Eagles going 4 for 4 with two RBI and one run scored. Junior center fielder Casey Hilbert went 2 for 4 with a triple, two runs scored and RBI. Sophomore left fielder Gunner Bleha had two RBI and senior second baseman Hunter Blackburn scored twice.
“I was just trying to put the bat on the ball and help the team win,” Brown said. “We’ve been going through a tough stretch. But we’ve been working hard to win games.”
The Indians batted .276 (8 for 29) in the loss. Junior right fielder Jason Dorning led the way going 3 for 3 with one RBI. Junior pitcher/shortstop Riley Harbor went 2 for 5 with one run scored.
Holy Cross travels to Dixie Heights on Friday. Game time is 4:30 p.m. Scott travels to George Rogers Clark (1-2) on Saturday. Game time is 1 p.m.
Simon Kenton 15, Henry County 5:
The Pioneers built a 7-0 lead entering the bottom of the third inning. The Wildcats trimmed the margin to 8-5. But Simon Kenton put two runs on the board in the sixth inning then five more in the seventh to pull away in the 8th Region battle. Both teams are 2-1 on the season.
“I felt like we came out and started well,” said Troy Roberts, Simon Kenton Head Coach. “We swung the bats pretty well. They had a few misplays and we took advantage. They put four on the board and it becomes a different ballgame. But we responded well. We just kept answering when they answered. When you have a seven-run lead, that’s all you have to do.”
Senior Peyton Fernbach threw the first three innings to pick up the win for the Pioneers. He struck out four and allowed no walks, six hits and four earned runs. Junior James Allen pitched the fourth and fifth innings striking out two, walking three and allowing one earned run and two hits.
Junior Gavin Riley pitched hitless sixth and seventh innings for the Pioneers. He struck out two and did not allow any walks or runs.
“When you’re hitting your spots and living low, you’re doing well and when you have a good defense behind you, it helps a ton,” Fernbach said. “When you have guys come in behind you and throw strikes, it really helps out the team. I can trust the defense behind us to make plays and not have to worry about striking every batter out.”
Simon Kenton outhit Henry County, 10-8 and took advantage of four Wildcat errors and eight walks. The Pioneers had just one error.
Senior left fielder Nolan Schreiber led the Pioneers going 3 for 4 with one double, two RBI and two runs scored. Fernbach went 2 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Junior right fielder Ben Stephens went 2 for 3 with two runs scored. Riley also had two RBI.
Sophomore second baseman Daniel Uhl had a two-run shot for the first varsity home run of his career. Uhl finished with four runs scored and three RBI. Senior shortstop Hunter Parks scored three runs and walked twice.
Simon Kenton takes on Owen County (1-2) on Friday in Independence. Game time is 6 p.m.
Softball:
Cooper 6, Woodford County 4:
The Lady Jaguars opened the season on the road scoring four times in the top of the seventh with two out to down the Lady Yellow Jackets (2-1) from the 8th Region in Versailles.
Senior shortstop Dylan Scott started the rally with a double and senior catcher Gweny Wessling singled her home. Junior third baseman Emily Schmeltz followed that up with a double scoring Wessling to tie the game at four. Sophomore second baseman Ava Scott then singled to left to score Schmeltz and put Cooper up 5-4. Ava Scott then scored on a wild pitch to make the final score.
“It really was a gut check,” said Rusty Scott, Cooper Head Coach. “They fought through it. They just kept passing the bat big hit after big hit after big hit. The top six in our line-up really did a good job.”
The Lady Jaguars batted .300 (9 for 30) in the game. Dylan Scott went 2 for 4 with a triple, double, one RBI and two runs scored. Schmeltz and Ava Scott also went 2 for 4 with one RBI and one run scored each. Schmeltz and Ava Scott had one double each.
Junior Kendall Blau started at first base for Cooper but pitched the final four innings to pick up the win. Blau struck out three and allowed two walks, five hits and one run. She also had a double.
“It was about having confidence out there trying to pick up what the other pitcher did, help her out and show her I had her back,” Blau said. “Wooford County has some pretty decent hitters, especially the number three hitter (junior pitcher/third baseman Kristyn Murphy). Hitting my spots was hard. But I did it. (Wessling) behind the plate helped me do it.”
Senior Amber Chaney started the game on the mound for Cooper. She allowed five hits, three earned runs and walked three in three innings.
Cooper had three errors to one for Woodford County. But the errors are not as big a concern to Coach Scott as other aspects of the game.
“Errors are going to happen,” Coach Scott said. “It’s more the mental mistakes. We made some base running mistakes. We had a couple situations where we should have tagged and we didn’t tag, a couple situations where we could have dove after a ball and we didn’t dive. Those are things I get hung up on a bit.”
Cooper has two games scheduled depending on the weather against Ohio opponents. The Lady Jaguars take on Centerville at 1 p.m. then host Kings at 3 p.m.
Ryle 19, Beechwood 3:
The Lady Raiders evened their record at 1-1 with the three-inning run-ruling over the visiting Tigers (1-2).
Ryle batted an astounding .692 (18 for 26) at the plate with six players recording multi-hit games. The Lady Raiders also took advantage of three Beechwood errors and committed none. Junior second baseman/third baseman Payton Godfrey led the way going 3 for 3 with one double, two RBI and three runs scored.
“We finally opened it up a little bit, which is great to see,” said Jarret Goddard, Ryle Head Coach. “We have a pretty solid core group of hitters on the team. We didn’t show it the other day in Harrison County. But (Thursday) we showed up with the sticks and it’s exactly what we asked the team to do.”
Ryle hit three home runs in the game. Freshman catcher/right fielder Laney Schuster went 2 for 2 with two home runs, six RBI and two runs scored. Eighth grade right fielder Brooklyn Roland also went 2 for 2 with four RBI, one home run and two runs scored.
Junior Avery Parsons went 2 for 3 with a triple, two RBI and three runs scored for Ryle. Sophomore pitcher Madison Goddard went 2 for 2 with a double and RBI. Junior first baseman Grace Tranbarger went 2 for 2 with one RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore first baseman Zoe Coop scored three runs for Ryle.
Madison Goddard (1-1) pitched the first two innings to pick up the win. She struck out five and allowed one hit. Junior Lerin Moreland pitched the third inning striking out three and allowing four hits and two earned runs. Beechwood had no walks.
“”It wasn’t in the 40s and raining so that helped us a little bit,” Coach Goddard said. “It was definitely a stronger performance by our pitching staff so I was definitely pleased with that piece of it all.”
Beechwood batted .357 (5 for 14) at the plate. Junior second baseman Katie Rolf and sophomore third baseman Katelynn Murphy had doubles to lead the Tigers.
Ryle plays in the Cardinal Classic in Georgetown on Friday. The Lady Raiders face Scott County (2-1) at 6 p.m. Beechwood travels to Villa Madonna on Monday for a 5:30 p.m. contest.
Other NKY March 24 Baseball Scores:
Bishop Brossart 11, Ludlow 9
Newport Central Catholic 7, Boone County 3
Other NKY March 24 Softball Scores:
Bishop Brossart 16, Holy Cross 1 (3 innings)
Bracken County 9, Dayton 2
Grant County 7, Campbell County 4