It was one of those games the Beechwood Tigers baseball team (12-1 overall) came in heavily favored to dominate the visiting Holmes Bulldogs (1-14).
But the Tigers still had to go out and execute. It turned out to not be an issue as Beechwood run-ruled Holmes, 15-0 in four innings.
“We tried to tell them baseball is a weird game sometimes,” said Kevin Gray, Beechwood Head Coach. “You have a couple errors and a team scores a couple runs. They start playing happy and you never know. But it was definitely one of those games we had to make sure that we stayed focused.”
Beechwood made no errors defensively and Holmes made four. The Tigers scored five unearned runs off those Bulldog errors.
Senior Jack Briney (1-0) had been scheduled to start three games. But they were rained out. He made the most of his first start this season striking out seven and walking two. Briney and senior Brett Holladay combined to no-hit the Bulldogs. Holladay pitched the fourth inning striking out all three batters he faced.
“(Holmes) had a couple guys that swung the bat pretty well,” Gray said. “(The Bulldogs) looked pretty young. We just wanted to try to get up on them as fast as we could and try to get the game over with. Sometimes that doesn’t work the way that you want it to. But (Monday), luckily, it did.”
Beechwood finished .524 (11 for 21) at the plate. Junior center fielder Mitchell Berger hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the second and scored twice. Holladay finished 2 for 2 with a run batted in and three runs scored. Sophomore Shawn Sowder scored three runs with senior Tanner Jackson scoring twice.
“We got some younger guys in,” said Torin O’Shea, Beechwood junior. “It helps a lot. The younger guys get some experience (at the varsity level).”
The Tigers finished with five extra-base hits including four doubles. Junior right fielder Cameron Boyd, junior shortstop Ben Meier, sophomore Michael Detzel and freshman Carson Welch had them.
Beechwood stole eight bases. Holladay led the way with three with Berger and Sowder swiping two each.
The Tigers scored five runs in the first then four in the second to go up 9-0. They scored two in the third before finishing the game in the bottom of the fourth with four.
The turf field at Beechwood allowed the game to be played. Early morning rains forced the cancellation of many games across the region.
Other April 18 NKY Baseball Score:
Holy Cross 12, Newport 1 (6 innings)
Other April 18 NKY Softball Score:
Bellevue 1, Newport 0 (forfeit)
