Things became more interesting in the 33rd District when the Ryle Raiders baseball team (8-8) ventured to Hebron and took down the Conner Cougars (17-2), 3-2 Tuesday.
Both teams came into the rematch at Pat Roesel Field in Union with 2-1 records leading the battle for the top seed in the district tournament that will take place at Conner in a matter of weeks. But Conner snatched the top spot back quickly with a 6-1 victory.
“We had the letdown (Tuesday),” said Brad Arlinghaus, Conner Head Coach. “I know what comes with district seed games. But we told them it’s just a loss. The great thing about baseball is you get to come back and play the next day and we got to play the team that just beat us. In football, you have to wait seven days to play again. They came out ready to go. Our defense was not very good (Tuesday). (Ryle’s) three runs were all unearned. (On Wednesday), we played excellent defense.”
The game stayed close until the top of the seventh inning when senior first baseman Kaden Early blasted a three-run home run to center with one out scoring junior designated hitter Brayden Stidham and senior shortstop Gage Testerman for his second home run of the season. Stidham doubled with one out and Ryle intentionally walked Testerman.
“You have to stay focused every play,” Early said of the district battles. “(Ryle) laid down some bunts on us trying to small ball back into the game. (The Raiders) couldn’t do that after the home run. They had to swing away.”
Both teams had quality starts from the starters. Conner sophomore Rex Richter (4-0) pitched six innings striking out seven, walking one and allowing just five hits and one earned run. The Cougars had no errors in the game.
Conner senior Tyler Parsons pitched the seventh striking out two then coaxing a pop out to end the game after walking Ryle sophomore designated hitter Caleb Mann to open the inning.
“They made the routine plays. I was super proud of Rex with the way he threw the ball,” Arlinghaus said. “The 33rd has some bright futures in front of them with (Richter and McIntrye) on the mound. Then you had a senior coming in and getting those last three outs, which are the hardest three outs to get.”
Ryle freshman Dylan McIntyre (2-2) pitched into the fifth inning striking out eight before senior Tyler Sickmeyer finished the game striking out two. Both Raider pitchers walked three and allowed four hits and three earned runs. Ryle had one error. But it did not lead to any unearned runs.
“Dylan threw it well,” said Joe Aylor, Ryle Head Coach. “He’s huge for us right now. He’s thrown in two huge district seed games for us. We kind of stuck to our game plan. It didn’t work. It is what it is.”
Conner batted .296 (8 for 27) overall. Senior left fielder Cody Crawford went 2 for 2 with two walks and one run scored for Conner. Junior right fielder Jackson Bucks went 2 for 4 with one double and an RBI.
“We had a lot of good at bats with two strikes,” Arlinghaus said. “We took a lot of balls to right field. We took fly balls where they were pitched to us. Dylan McIntyre is going to be pretty special I think. I thought he threw really well. Coach Aylor and staff do a great job. It’s a great program that we’re going to have to see again at some point.”
Bucks made a crucial play to end the bottom of the sixth and a runner on third leaving the score 3-1 Conner. Ryle senior shortstop Josh Furtado appeared to light into one. But Bucks snagged it to end the threat.
“We just came out and did our job on defense,” Bucks said. “It’s simple. I trust our defense and trust our bats to do what we need to win. We’re always communicating (in the outfield) reading that wind and getting ourselves in position after what (opponents) do in that first (at-bat). It doesn’t matter. We’re out there covering that whole field.”
Ryle junior third baseman Keegan Flaherty singled to start the inning and junior right fielder Roman Furuta singled Flaherty to second before the two moved up on a wild pitch. Ryle junior second baseman TJ Schira grounded out to Conner second baseman Blaise Bowman scoring Flaherty for Ryle’s lone run.
“We tried to string some hits together,” Aylor said. “We left five guys in scoring position and we lost by five runs. They got some timely hits early and we didn’t. That’s the difference in the game.”
Conner slowly built a 3-0 lead after five innings. Crawford singled with two out in the top of the second and Bucks doubled to deep left. Crawford just beat the throw home to give Conner a 1-0 lead.
The Cougars added a second run in the top of the third. Bowman singled and junior center fielder Ayden Lohr sacrifice bunted him to second before Stidham drew a hit by pitch. After Bowman stole third, Testerman hit a sacrifice fly to right scoring Bowman.
Conner went up 3-0 in the top of the fifth. Lohr and Stidham drew consecutive walks with one out and Testerman singled to right scoring Lohr and moving Stidham to third. A double play ended the threat.
Both teams play in the Doc Morris Invitational. Ryle plays at Beechwood (13-1) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Conner plays Walton-Verona (12-3) on Friday at Campbell County at 5:30 p.m.
Baseball:
Cooper 1, Boone County 0:
The Jaguars (4-10) outlasted the visiting Rebels (5-10) in a 33rd District seed game. Cooper is 2-1 in district seed play just half a game out of the top spot and Boone County is 0-3.
The teams were scheduled to meet Tuesday at Boone County. But neither field was dry enough to play the game. The target date to make it up is May 6.
“There are no light games,” said Scott Buckler, Cooper Head Coach. “Every game is tough. Every game, you have to go out and win. I’m certainly proud of our guys. I think we did a heck of a job.
Cooper outhit Boone County, 4-1. Both teams made two errors. That led to the game’s lone run.
It came in the bottom of the fourth. Junior third baseman James Crowe led it off with a single. One out later, Crowe stole second and scored when junior Trevor Ollier reached on a Boone County fielding error.
“It’s been a goal for us to field the ball cleanly and not give away anything,” Buckler said. “I think we’re working toward that. But by no means did we execute that wholly. We just happened to be on the kinder end of some mistakes. You have to give credit to Boone County. You have to give credit to (Boone County) Head Coach (Wayne) Huff and the young men over there. They have a ton of seniors and they’re going to bring it to you. One error doesn’t make us a better ballclub. It just makes us luckier. It could have easily been 1-0 Boone and we’re talking about something else.”
Cooper junior pitcher Chase Gartner (1-1) won the pitching dual with Boone County senior Tyler Krohman. Gartner struck out five and walked three. Krohman struck out five and walked one.
“Everything just seemed to click,” Gartner said. “I have three really good pitches. I had command over all those pitches. If you mix them up well, good things will happen. A lot of the contact was right at my (teammates). They were there to get most of the outs.”
Boone County has lost five in a row. Huff confirmed the game at Lafayette on Friday is not a forfeit since the umpires did not show.
Both teams play in the Doc Morris Invitational starting Thursday. Cooper travels to Scott (4-11) for a 5 p.m. game and Boone County travels to Simon Kenton (10-6) for a 5:30 p.m. game.
Beechwood 14, Newport Central Catholic 2 (6 innings):
The Tigers (13-1) handled the host Thoroughbreds (9-4) for the second time this year. Neither team committed any errors.
“We expect them to (play consistent daily) with as hard as they work in batting practice and things like that,” said Kevin Gray, Beechwood Head Coach. “It seemed like the ball was flying off the bat. The six home runs were bombs. It was nice to see.”
Freshman Matthew Cottengim (1-0) pitched the first five innings for Beechwood stiking out five, walking one and allowing four hits and one earned run. Senior Sam Cottengim pitched the sixth striking out one and allowing three hits and one earned run.
Beechwood batted .433 (13 for 30) overall with three players recording multi-hit games. Junior right fielder Cameron Boyd led the way going 3 for 4 with two home runs, one double, four RBI and three runs scored. Senior left fielder Brett Holladay went 3 for 4 with three RBI, two home runs and two runs scored. Matthew Cottengim went 2 for 3 with a home run, four RBI and one run scored. Junior Landon Johnson also homered driving in two. Junior shortstop Ben Meier added a double and scored twice. Junior center fielder Mitchell Berger had a double.
A number of Tigers received at bats in the game. Junior Matthew Kappes scored twice.
“(Coach Gray) told me at the beginning of the year I’m probably going to pitch most of the year,” Kappes said. “If your time come to play at third so be ready when your name is called. When he told me I was going to third, I was ready to play.”
Senior Joel Iles (4-1) took the loss for the Thoroughbreds striking out three in five innings to go with three walks. Junior Luke Runyon pitched the sixth.
NewCath batted .292 (7 for 24). Sophomore third baseman Connor Seiter led the Thoroughbreds going 2 for 3 with a home run, two RBI and one run scored. Wiles had a double.
Both teams play in the Doc Morris Invitational at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Beechwood plays host to Ryle (8-8) and NewCath plays at Dixie Heights (9-5).
Scott 7, Bellevue 3:
The Eagles (4-11) ventured on the road to beat the Tigers (4-12) in a non-region game.
“It’s great to be on the positive end for the second game in a row,” said Kevin Goins, Scott Head Coach. “The longer you let a team hang around, the tougher it can be. We’re learning as we go.”
Sophomore Dylan Giffen (1-0) started on the mound for Scott pitching four innings striking out four and allowing three hits. Senior Logan Wiehoff pitched the next two innings striking out two to go with three walks, two hits and two earned runs with sophomore Porter Huston pitching the seventh.
Scott batted .296 (8 for 27) overall. Sophomore infielder Gunner Bleha went 2 for 3 with a double, RBI and two runs scored. Junior center fielder Casey Hilbert went 2 for 3 with one RBI and three runs scored.
“We’re starting to hit the ball better. That’s led to more guys getting on base and scoring more runs,” Giffen said. “The seniors have been getting on people lately. Holding people accountable has really helped us out.”
The Tigers batted .200 (5 for 25) in the game. Junior designated hitter James Long went 2 for 3 and eighth grade third baseman Eddie Bivens finished 2 for 4.
Both teams play in the Doc Morris Invitational in the next couple days. Scott plays host to Cooper (4-10) on Thursday at 5 p.m. Bellevue faces Calvary Christian (12-5) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Covington Catholic 7, Dixie Heights 0:
The CovCath blue Colonels (8-7) knocked off the host red Colonels (9-5) for the second time this season.
Senior Will Burke (3-0) pitched a complete game for CovCath. He struck out five, walked three and allowed just four hits.
CovCath batted .379 (11 for 29) overall. Sophomore center fielder Charlie Dieruf led the way going 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Senior first baseman Luke Lenhof went 2 for 4 with a double, two RBI and one run scored. Junior Max Lawrie went 2 for 3 with one double. Junior Tyler Rennekamp scored twice for the blue Colonels.
Senior Brennan Staton (0-1) took the loss for Dixie Heights. He struck out four, walked three and allowed five hits and two earned runs. Senior Brendon Cullen pitched the last two innings striking out one to go with one walk.
Dixie Heights batted just .160 (4 for 25) in the loss. Junior Owen Lawrence led the red Colonels going 2 for 3.
Both teams play in the Doc Morris Invitational in the next couple days. Dixie Heights plays host to NewCath (9-4) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CovCath plays at St. Henry (11-3-1) on Friday at 5 p.m.
Bishop Brossart 3, Highlands 2:
The Mustangs (9-7-1) bounced back from their 3-0 loss to Nicholas County in the All A 8th Region title game and handed the Bluebirds (9-7) their fourth straight loss.
Bishop Brossart broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Senior second baseman Ryan Ebert had a two-run double scoring freshman Aiden Schultz and senior Adam Bezold.
Highlands had four errors to two for Bishop Brossart. The Bluebirds scored one unearned run off those errors.
The Bluebirds batted .185 (5 for 27). Senior left fielder Drew Hack went 2 for 4 to lead Highlands. Bishop Brossart had just two hits.
Senior Charles Hartig (3-1) pitched into the seventh striking out three and walking four before junior Colin Combs came into record the final two outs. Combs struck out one.
Junior Elijah Hale started for Highlands striking out six in five innings and allowing four walks, one hit and one earned run. Senior Austin Eads came on in relief in the bottom of the sixth taking the loss before junior Logan Weber finished it.
Highlands takes on St. Henry (11-3-1) in the Doc Morris Invitational at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Bishop Brossart plays host to Pendleton County (5-7) at 5:30 p.m.
St. Henry 12, Villa Madonna 2:
The Crusaders (11-3-1) won their third in a row in a 34th District win over the host Vikings (8-8).
Three different pitchers saw action for St. Henry. Junior Luke Keipert threw the first inning before sophomore Carson Shea took over pitching the next five and striking out five. Junior Sam Martin pitched the seventh.
St. Henry batted .313 (10 for 32) overall with two players recording multi-hit games. Junior center fielder Matthew Resing went 3 for 5 with two RBI and one run scored. Senior catcher Carter Scheben went 2 for 3 with one double, one RBI and one run scored. Shea had a double, two RBI and scored twice with Martin adding a double. Senior Luke Mason scored twice with senior Eli Meiman and senior Camden Fedders batting in two.
St. Henry plays host to Highlands (9-7) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the Doc Morris Invitational. Villa Madonna plays host to Augusta (5-4) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Softball:
Conner 7, Boone County 3:
The Lady Cougars (5-5) earned a season sweep of the Lady Rebels (5-8) to move to 3-1 in 33rd District seed action. Boone County is 0-2 in district seed play.
Boone County led 3-1 going into the bottom of the fifth in the game moved to Boone County because the game could not be played at Conner. The Lady Cougars scored six times to make the final score.
Boone County had five errors to three for Conner. The Lady Cougars had five unearned runs to two for the Lady Rebels.
“Some of the balls that were errors were pretty well-hit balls,” said Shawn Sproles, Conner Head Coach. “Their defenders had to make some plays. But there were some balls that didn’t get made that helped us from an energy standpoint to help us keep going. A couple of those mistakes worked in our favor to keep us going. Once we got going, you could see the confidence grow offensively. We kind of went from there. I thought it was one of our better games defensively.”
Sophomore Molly Sharp (5-3) pitched another complete game striking out five to go with eight walks for Conner. Senior Kaitlyn Irwin (4-5) also threw a complete game for Boone County striking out two and walking four.
“We struggled with (Irwin’s) off-speed (pitches),” Sproles said. “We were putting the ball in play. But we really weren’t able to square too much up. Then we had a couple big hits at some crucial times that really got the momentum going.
Conner batted .296 (8 for 27) overall. Senior shortstop Alex Cobble and Sharp both went 2 for 4. Sharp scored once. Senior catcher Haley Kersker had two RBI and junior Becca Blaker had a double and RBI.
“We were very pumped for (the game),” Blaker said. “We were very happy that we’ve been proving to people that we are the old Conner team. It’s worth everything that we’ve put all our hard work into.”
Boone County batted .174 (4 for 23). Senior center fielder Mia Nixson led the way going 3 for 4 with two RBI. Junior shortstop Harper Kinman had three walks.
Boone County plays host to Scott (6-6) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Conner plays at Dayton (3-6) on Friday at 5 p.m.
Simon Kenton 14, Williamstown 0 (5 innings):
The Lady Pioneers (10-4) inched closer to the top spot in the 32nd District Tournament with a convincing road win over the Lady Demons (2-5).
Sophomore Addy Johnson (3-1) picked up the pitching win throwing a complete game for Simon Kenton. She struck out four, walked one and allowed just two hits.
“We came in with full, positive attitudes,” Johnson said. “We knew that we had to get the job done and be the ball players that we know we are.”
Simon Kenton batted .563 (18 for 32) overall with six players recording multi-hit games. Senior shortstop Alexis Baker went 3 for 3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Johnson went 3 for 3 a triple, two RBI and two runs scored. Eighth grader Adreena Barton went 3 for 4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
“Anytime you see a team struggling, you hate to go through the motions. We did that a little bit,” said Chris Young, Simon Kenton Head Coach. “You can’t hardly be made at (14-0). We did what we needed to do. With Walton-Verona beating Grant (County), we unfortunately don’t have room to mess up if we want a good match-up in the first round of districts.”
Three more had two hits each. Sophomore Landrey Dance went 2 for 3 with a triple and run scored with senior Hannah Schwier going 2 for 3 with a triple, two RBI and one run scored. Freshman second baseman Larkin Mitchell went 2 for 3 with two RBI and one run scored. Junior center fielder Jada Johnson scored two runs.
Simon Kenton plays host to Carroll County (1-6) on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Ryle 3, Grant County 0:
The Lady Raiders (8-9) snapped their three-game losing streak with an impressive road win over the Lady Braves (6-8).
Sophomore Maddie Goddard (7-5) earned the win throwing a complete game striking out 11, walking two and allowing just four hits. She also led Ryle at the plate going 2 for 3 with a double.
Maddie Goddard out-dueled Grant County freshman pitcher Brianna Knochelman (5-5). Knochelman struck out 14, walked one and allowed two earned runs.
“We’ve always struggled with Bri Knochelman,” said Jarret Goddard, Ryle Head Coach. “She’s an excellent pitcher. She’s got great speed, great movement and she does a really, really good job of hitting spots. She definitely keeps our hitters on their toes.”
Ryle batted (5 for 26) against Knochelman. Freshman catcher Laney Schuster opened the fifth inning with a home run to left to give Ryle the only run it needed to win the game.
But the Lady Raiders added two more in the top of the sixth. Junior shortstop Avery Parsons doubled and junior third baseman Payton Godfrey singled her to third. Godfrey advanced to second on the throw. Parsons then scored on a passed ball and Godfrey moved to third. Junior second baseman Aaliyah Kaseke then hit a sacrifice bunt to first scoring Godfrey to make the final score.
“Our game was to get some runners on and play some small ball,” Coach Goddard said. “We were able to execute on that. Maddie’s had two really nice starts in a row. We played nice defense.”
Ryle plays host to Boone County (5-8) on Friday at 5 p.m.
Highlands 5, Bishop Brossart 2:
The Bluebirds (7-9) jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two on the visiting Lady ‘Stangs (7-8) and held on for the non-region win.
Junior pitcher Kennedy Baioni (4-6) pitched a complete game to earn the win. She struck out six and allowed 10 hits and one earned run. Baioni also went 2 for 3 at the plate with a double and run scored.
“Kennedy pitched probably her best game,” said Milt Horner, Highlands Head Coach. “She kind of changed her delivery a bit. This is the first game where she didn’t walk anybody, which is real encouraging. She was having trouble with consistency with the delivery she changed to. That was really good to see.”
The Bluebirds batted .360 (9 for 25) in the game and committed two errors. Eighth grade left fielder Payton Brown hit her first varsity home run in the bottom of the fourth scoring Baioni ahead of her to give Highlands a 5-0 advantage.
Sophomore center fielder Bailey Markus went 2 for 3 with a double and run scored. Eighth grade second baseman Morgan Pompilio went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and senior shortstop Anna Greenwell added a double.
“That continued into this game,” Markus said. “We’ve been working on bunting, small ball and taking short swings. That’s really helped us out.”
Horner credited the Highlands defense. Greenwell turned a double play on a ball hit up the middle and junior Carly Cramer made some nice plays at third.
“Up and down the line-up, we’re still not hitting the ball consistently,” Horner said. “We’ve worked, worked and worked on it. Somehow, we haven’t found the right formula to consistently hit the ball hard. That’s something we have to do if we’re going to go anywhere in the postseason.”
Junior Morgan Kramer (6-8) pitched a complete game for Bishop Brossart. She struck out three, walked none and allowed five earned runs. She also went 2 for 3 at the plate.
The Lady ‘Stangs batted .333 (10 for 30) in the loss. Junior center fielder Brooke Shewmaker went 3 for 4 and senior Alexis Kaeff finished 2 for 3.
Highlands takes on Bellevue (4-4) in 36th District play at Winkler Field at 5 p.m. Bishop Brossart plays host to Campbell County (4-5) in a key 37th District game at the same time.
Dixie Heights 16, St. Henry 0 (3 innings):
The Colonels (6-4) run-ruled the visiting Crusaders (3-8) in the 34th District contest to move to 2-0 in district action.
Senior Bri Patsel (2-0) pitched for Dixie Heights striking out six, walking none and allowing just one hit.
Dixie Heights batted .500 (6 for 12) in the win drawing 13 walks and scoring two unearned runs off three St. Henry errors.
“Anytime we play a pitcher like that, we tell our girls to go up there with a yes, yes, no mentality,” said Sarah Osborne, Dixie Heights Head Coach. “Don’t waste. Don’t chase. But we still want that hitter mentality. We’re not looking to walk. We’re looking to hit. Obviously if she doesn’t give you something to hit, don’t be silly about it. For the most part, our girls did a good job getting good pitches. They did a good job staying off the stuff they couldn’t do anything with.”
Patsel went 2 for 2 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Senior third baseman Ava Meyer added a double to go with two runs. Junior shortstop Ella Steczynski, sophomore center fielder Taylor Ingram and eighth grade outfielder Taylor Dawalt had two walks each. Eighth grader Kalee Stewart scored three runs with Steczynski and eighth grade first baseman Sydney Schumacher adding two runs each. Schumacher had two RBI and sophomore left fielder Carly Waters had three.
Dixie Heights travels to Notre Dame (4-2) on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. game. St. Henry plays host to Williamstown (2-5) on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Bracken County 1, Scott 0:
The Lady Eagles (6-6) lost the rematch against the Lady Bears (7-4) at home. It marked the first game in 16 days for Scott.
Both teams had five hits. Scott had two errors to one for Bracken County. Bracken County scored the game’s lone run in the top of the first.
Sophomore Emma Scribner (6-4) pitched a complete game for Scott. She struck out eight and walked four. Scribner also led Scott at the plate going 2 for 3 with a double.
Scott plays at Boone County (5-8) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Other April 20 NKY Baseball Scores:
Grant County 2, Lloyd Memorial 1
Holy Cross 11, Holmes 1
Other April 20 NKY Softball Scores:
Holy Cross 18, Ludlow 7 (5 innings)
Newport Central Catholic 18, Holmes 3 (5 innings)
Notre Dame 3, Cincinnati (Ohio) McAuley 2
Beechwood 23, Dayton 17