The Simon Kenton Pioneers baseball team (3-1 overall) had the chance to play in the Champions Classic scheduled to take place Friday and Saturday at different locations throughout Northern Kentucky.
But it worked out better for the Pioneers to play an 8th Region opponent at home in the Owen County Rebels (1-3) after the tournament was called off because of freezing temperatures. Simon Kenton downed Owen County, 9-3 to earns its third straight win and move to 2-0 in region play.
“That’s one of the things we preach is control the controllables,” said Troy Roberts, Simon Kenton Head Coach. “You can’t control the uncontrollables – the weather, the umpires, whatever it is. We practice in this. We hardly ever go in the gym so they’re kind of used to that and they take pride in that.”
The Rebels scored six times in the first inning and pulled away in the sixth inning for the victory. The three Simon Kenton pitchers combined to strike out 13 Rebels, allowed just one earned run and threw no wild pitches.
Sophomore Logan Cones (1-0) stated the game for the Pioneers striking out nine. He only allowed one hit in four innings pitched.
“It just felt good,” Cones said. “I was hitting all my spots and throwing good off-speed (pitches). (The Rebels) were taking good at-bats. You have to be mentally prepared. You can’t be made at the umpire. They’re all human and they make mistakes. I feel like I was focused the whole game.”
Junior Ben Stephens took over in the top of the fifth. But after Owen County scored twice and loaded the bases with one out, senior Ethan Breadon came in and retired the next two Rebels to end the threat. Junior first baseman Cam Fitzgerald fouled out to senior Peyton Fernbach near first base and junior right fielder Brady Kemper popped out to Simon Kenton sophomore Daniel Uhl at second base.
“(Breadon) is used to that. That was his role last year,” Roberts said. “We brought him into a lot of tough spots. I wouldn’t say he’s comfortable in that spot. But he’s been in that spot before. He came in and was nails for us. He threw a lot of strikes and finished the game. He’s going to be a starter for us this year. But he hasn’t thrown all week. We were going to use him Monday. But it doesn’t look like we’re going to use him Monday.”
Only three runners reached off Breadon in the final two innings. He struck out four including three in the sixth.
Simon Kenton batted .400 at the plate going 10 for 25. Senior shortstop Hunter Parks led the way going 3 for 4 with two runs scored. Senior left fielder Nolan Schreiber and junior right fielder Ian Powell had two hits each.
Uhl and Parks singled to start the game off Owen County junior starting pitcher Cameron Bond (0-1). Senior designated hitter Thomas Lind then stepped to the plate and crushed a 2-0 pitch over the wall in left field to put the Pioneers up 3-0.
One out later, Powell singled to right and took second on a Rebel fielding error. Powell then took third when Fernbach singled. Fernbach took second on the throw. Powell scored and Fernbach ended up at third after another Owen County error. Simon Kenton led 4-0 at this point.
Senior center fielder Logan Grubenhoff then walked and stole second for the Pioneers. Then sophomore catcher Chad Atchley hit a sacrifice fly to center scoring Fernbach and Grubenhoff scored on another Owen County error to give the Pioneers a 6-0 advantage.
Owen County sophomore Cayden Dezarn took over on the mound and limited the Pioneers to just two hits over the next four innings. One came in the fourth inning when Schreiber doubled and took third on a passed ball. But Simon Kenton could not get him home.
“That curve ball (Dezarn) was throwing was really tight and late,” Roberts said. “Our guys had a hard time picking it up. He got in a rhythm and he just kept going. For some reason, we had a hard time seeing it out of his hands.”
But in the bottom of the sixth, Uhl walked then took second on a Parks single and third when the new pitcher in senior Joe Hamilton hit Lind with a pitch to load the bases with one out. Schreiber singled to score Uhl and Parks before Lind scored on a wild pitch to make the final score.
“What was going through my mind is it felt good to plate two runs in a key situation,” Schreiber said. “We needed them. Owen County never quit.”
The Rebels had two players with multi-hit games going 5 for 22 at the plate for a .227 clip. Hamilton and senior center fielder Bailey Carrier had two hits each. Hamilton hit in two and Carrier one.
Simon Kenton plays host to Covington Catholic (1-0) on Monday. Game time is 5 p.m.
Dixie Heights 14, Holy Cross 2:
The Colonels (2-0) took care of the Indians (1-4) in a 9th Region game. They led 8-1 after three innings, scored six in the bottom of the fourth and held Holy Cross scoreless in the top of the fifth to force the run-ruling.
“They walked a few kids and hit some batters there early in the game. We had some key hits,” said Chris Maxwell, Dixie Heights Head Coach. “It was miserable weather and kind of a sloppy game.”
Junior Brayden Runion (1-0) pitched the first four innings to record the win for Dixie Heights. He struck out three, walked four and allowed two hits and two earned run.
The Colonels hit .423 (11 for 26) at the plate. Junior shortstop Jay Flynn led the way going 3 for 4 with an RBI and three runs scored.
Dixie Heights saw three different players record multi-hit games. Senior right fielder Mark Dugan went 2 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Senior third baseman Logan Wilson went 2 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored with junior catcher Ethan Bosley recording a double.
Holy Cross went 2 for 16 at the plate for a .125 clip. Junior pitcher/first baseman Will Lachmann had a double for the Indians.
Dixie Heights travels to Frederick Douglass (4-0) on Monday. Game time is 7 p.m.
Softball:
Scott 10, Prestonsburg 5 (4 innings):
The Eagles (4-1) did not know much about the Blackcats (2-3) from the 15th Region.
Prestonsburg only listed stats from the first two games on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association web site. But things worked out for Scott winning the first game of the C.S.I. Lady Cat Invitational at Bath County. The game finished after the top of the fourth inning because an inning could not start after an hour and 15 minutes.
“I couldn’t look to see how (Prestonsburg) had been hitting so that made it difficult,” said Lisa Brewer, Scott Head Coach. “But sometimes not knowing your opponent gives you an upper edge because you’re more conditioned to be on your toes and ready to play. It was tough because we got here and had about 20 minutes to warm up because our bus was late getting there. We took the AA (Ashland to Alexandria Highway) and the back roads to get there. It was a long bus ride. I was really pleased with the bus ride given all of that.”
Scott batted .500 going 9 for 18 at the plate with two players recording multi-hit games. Sophomore first baseman Paige Shepherd went 2 for 2 with a double, two runs batted in and one run scored. Sophomore second baseman Ivy Cochran also went 2 for 2 with two RBI and one stolen base.
“We played pretty well. We were as aggressive at the plate as you can be and aggressive on the bases,” Brewer said. “We had some solid shots. I was proud of the way the girls played given the conditions with how cold it was.”
Scott had three extra-base hits. The Eagles scored four in the bottom of the first and five in the second to go up 9-1. Prestonsburg made things interesting with two in the third and two in the fourth. Senior left fielder Morgan Chalk had an RBI double and junior shortstop Audrey Griffin hit a two-run inside-the-park home run.
“(The team chemistry) is really good. We’re all super close to each other,” Griffin said. “They’re my best friends so we communicate when we’re out there. We back each other up when we get down.”
Sophomore pitcher Emma Scribner (4-1) pitched another complete game for the Eagles. She struck out 12, walked six and limited Prestonsburg to three earned runs. The Lady Blackcats went 5 for 17 off her for a .294 average. Both teams
Scott takes on Greenup County (0-3) back at Bath County on Saturday. Game time is 10 a.m.
Other March 25 NKY Baseball Scores:
Harrison County 13, Bishop Brossart 4 (5 innings)
Villa Madonna 12, Newport 4
Dayton 14, Holmes 7
Newport Central Catholic 10, Bellevue 0 (6 innings)
Walton-Verona 10, Gallatin County 0 (5 innings)
Walton-Verona 8, Trimble County 1
Ludlow 7, Williamstown 0
Other March 25 NKY Softball Scores:
Bath County 10, Bishop Brossart 5
Scott County 5, Ryle 0
Anderson County 6, Highlands 1
Henry County 16, Walton-Verona 0 (3 innings)
St. Henry 14, Holmes 5
Holy Cross 8, Calvary Christian 5
Bellevue 1, Newport 0 (forfeit)
Oldham County 11, Conner 1 (6 innings)
Ballard 11, Simon Kenton 0 (5 innings)
Fern Creek 16, Boone County 1 (4 innings)
