The Ryle Lady Raiders (12-11 overall) and Simon Kenton Lady Pioneers (10-7) met hoping to earn a win after tough district losses on their home fields on Tuesday.
Simon Kenton dropped a close 3-2 decision to Grant County in 32nd District play and Ryle lost 12-0 in five innings to 33rd District rival Cooper. Ryle jumped out to a 3-0 advantage before Simon Kenton tied it before going ahead again and holding on for the 6-4 non-region victory.
Both teams yielded two unearned runs. Simon Kenton had three errors and Ryle had two.
It came down to the team that hit the opposing sophomore starting pitcher better. The Lady Raiders did that batting .433 (13 for 30) overall particularly at the top of the line-up. Junior shortstop Avery Parsons went 3 for 3 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored. Senior center fielder Grace Morgan went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and junior second baseman Aaliyah Kaseke went 3 for 4 with one run scored. Junior Lerin Moreland went 2 for 3 with one run scored.
Sophomore Maddie Goddard (9-6) threw a complete game striking out 12, walking three and allowing two earned runs. She also had a hit and RBI at the plate.
“We’re struggling pulling the ball at the plate right now,” said Chris Young, Simon Kenton Head Coach. “Maddie Goddard kept pitching us away and away. We just couldn’t make the adjustments.”
Simon Kenton freshman second baseman Larkin Mitchell went 4 for 4 with a run scored. But the rest of the Lady Pioneer line-up batted just .120 (3 for 25). Senior left fielder Paige Heringer had a double.
Landrey Dance (6-5) started for Simon Kenton and pitched four innings. She struck out two, walked one and allowed 10 hits and four earned runs. Sophomore Addison Johnson pitched the last two innings striking out two and allowing three hits.
“We definitely worked in practice (on Wednesday) on Landrey. I’ve known Landrey for a while,” Coach Goddard said. “I was pretty familiar with where she was going to pitch us. Getting the girls to shorten their swings and go with the pitch was big for us. (That led) to a lot of line drives to right field for us, which is exactly what I asked the team to do. They executed very well.”
Ryle built a 3-0 advantage scoring one run in each of the first three innings. Morgan, Kaseke and Parsons singled to load the bases to open the first inning. With one out, Ryle junior third baseman Payton Godfrey grounded out scoring Morgan. Morgan and Anna Price are the two Ryle seniors.
“Usually we’re pretty loud,” Prince said. “Sometimes we have to remind everybody to get louder because we’re in rough patches during the game. But we usually dig out of them.”
Moreland scored on a Simon Kenton error in the second inning to put Ryle up 2-0. Then in the third inning, Parsons singled to lead off and moved to second when Godfrey walked. Goddard lined a single to right to score Parsons.
But Simon Kenton scored three times in the top of the fourth to tie the game 3-3. Heringer walked and moved to second when eighth grade first baseman Adreena Barton walked. Freshman right fielder Courtney Beach singled to score Heringer before junior center fielder Jada Johnson laid down a sacrifice bunt moving Beach and Barton to second and third respectively. The two then scored on a Ryle error.
“I was glad we got the outs and got out of that inning,” said Grace Tranbargar, Ryle junior first baseman. “You do everything you can (at first) to get in front of the ball and not let it get past you.”
But Ryle responded with three in the bottom of the fourth. Morgan and Kaseke singled and Parsons lined a double to right scoring Morgan. Kaseke scored on a passed ball before freshman catcher Laney Schuster singled and Parsons scored on a Lady Pioneer error.
“They tried to play some small ball,” Coach Goddard said. “We kept the girls focused trying to get the next outs. We were able to shut them down. The girls came back in and hit well. I’m glad with the way they fought.”
Simon Kenton did score once in the top of the seventh not going quietly. Mitchell singled, moved to second on a ground out and scored with two out when Heringer doubled. But Maddie Goddard struck out Simon Kenton senior Hannah Schwier to end the game.
Simon Kenton travels to Bishop Brossart (7-10) on Friday for a 5:30 p.m. game. Ryle does not play again until going to Boone County (8-11) on Monday in a critical 33rd District game at 5 p.m.
Softball:
Cooper 4, Boone County 2:
The Lady Jaguars (15-4) moved to 4-0 in 33rd District seed play with the road win over the Lady Rebels (8-11). Boone County is 0-4 in district seed play.
Boone County senior KB Irwin (5-8) started the game so Cooper knew her tough change-up was coming. But Cooper junior Kendall Blau, senior Hanna Hollis and junior Emily Schmeltz socked solo home runs in the bottom of the second to lift Cooper to the win.
“We popped up a couple in the first inning. In the second inning, we were able to square it up,” said Rusty Scott, Cooper Head Coach. “We always talk about being able to make in-bat adjustments or in-game adjustments. We struggled over the course of the day hitting the ball in the air. A lot of credit goes to their pitchers. It was a grind offensively.”
Cooper batted .222 (6 for 27) in the win. Schmeltz led the way going 2 for 3 with a home run, double, one RBI and one run scored. Sophomore Ava Scott added a triple.
“We just kept practicing (Wednesday),” Blau said of facing Irwin. “After that, we had to stay back and wait on our pitch. We had to keep going with it and we had to stay together as a team.”
Senior Amber Chaney (9-1) pitched the first five innings striking out two, walking five and allowing five hits and two earned runs. Blau pitched the last two striking out two and walking one to earn her fourth save of the season.
Irwin pitched three innings allowing four earned runs and four hits. Freshman Dani Wright finished the game striking out two, walking three and allowing just two hits. Sophomore Amariana Sweet led Boone County going 2 for 3.
The two teams meet again in Union on Friday. Game time is 5 p.m.
Scott 9, Bishop Brossart 8:
The Lady Eagles (9-11) downed the Lady ‘Stangs (7-10) in the bottom of the seventh scoring twice. Junior Kayla Overman singled in freshman Emerson Morman with the bases loaded and one out to win the game for Scott.
“This was a huge win for our girls because the hung in there the entire time,” said Lisa Brewer, Scott Head Coach. “They didn’t hang their heads when things didn’t go our way. They just stepped up and made the next play. We had some nice hits and some nice defensive plays.”
Both teams had 12 hits and one error. Morman went 3 for 4 with a home run, double, two RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore Ivy Cochran went 2 for 4 a double and two run scored. Senior Michelle Chalk went 2 for 4 with a double and sophomore pitcher Emma Scribner went 2 for 4 with two RBI. Junior Audrey Griffin scored twice.
“I think the hitting went amazing. I think our energy was up and we just knew we had to play because sometimes we have off games and we’re in our heads with distractions,” Morman said. “We just went in and the fire was in our stomachs. We played really well.”
Bishop Brossart saw four players record multi-hit games. Eighth grader Rachel Shewmaker went 3 for 3 with a double, three RBI and one run scored for the Lady ‘Stangs. Junior Brooke Shewmaker went 3 for 5 with two runs scored and one RBI. Junior Savannah Seiter went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI. Sophomore Maddie Kremer went 2 for 3 with a double and three runs scored.
Scott plays Calvary Christian (7-10-1) in the Bulldog Bash at Holmes on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Bishop Brossart plays host to Simon Kenton (10-7) on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Notre Dame 3, Conner 2 (9 innings):
The Pandas (6-6) beat the Lady Cougars (8-6) in the bottom of the ninth when senior Morgan Huston scored on a passed ball. Huston led off the inning with a double.
Both teams had four hits and two errors. Huston went 3 for 4 to lead Notre Dame and senior Addison Mack stole three bases. Freshman Abby Turnpaugh pitched six innings to earn the win striking out two.
Conner sophomore Mollie Sharp (6-4) pitched a complete game striking out 11 and walking four. All three Notre Dame runs were unearned.
Conner plays host to Scott (9-11) at 6 p.m. on Monday. Notre Dame plays host to Beechwood (8-10) on Tuesday.
Baseball (9 innings):
Walton-Verona 6, St. Henry 2:
The Bearcats (16-6) earned a third straight win knocking off the Crusaders (11-8-1) on the road. St. Henry has lost five in a row.
St. Henry junior pitcher Nick Browning retired the side in the first three innings as the Crusaders held a 1-0 lead. But things changed in the top of the fourth. Senior Nick Allen walked then beat the throw to second on a fielder’s choice on a junior Evan Kerns grounder. That’s when junior Jimmy Shields stepped to the plate and laid down a sacrifice bunt moving them up.
“(Shields) sacrifice bunted (Allen and Kerns) on his own,” said Clint Coleman, Walton-Verona Head Coach. “Things like that get overlooked sometimes. A lot of times (big innings) happen right off the bat. But that second time through the line-up, it just seems to always spark us. I told our coaches even before we went out this is our inning right here.”
Junior Lance Coleman then hit a sacrifice fly to center scoring Allen to tie the game. The Bearcats scored four runs in the top of the fourth and never looked back.
Allen pitched the first two innings for Walton-Verona striking out one. Junior Carter Krohman (3-1) pitched the next three earning the win striking out one, walking one and allowing just two hits before sophomore Bryce Corpus finished it pitching the sixth and seventh.
The Bearcats batted .250 (7 for 28) overall. Junior Ethan Hager led the way going 2 for 4 with a home run, double and two RBI. Allen scored twice with Lance Coleman and sophomore Julian Dixon recording doubles.
“After the (9-8) Highlands win (Tuesday), everyone felt pretty good,” Shields said. “It gave everyone a big confidence boost. We go deep in our line-up. Let’s say our top guys aren’t hitting. We’ll have some guy in the bottom of the line-up spark something.”
Walton-Verona had two errors to one for St. Henry. Both teams scored one unearned run.
St. Henry batted .320 (8 for 25) in the loss. Junior Matthew Resing led the way going 3 for 3 with a double and run scored. Junior Luke Keipert went 2 for 3 with a double and run scored.
Both teams play Saturday. Walton-Verona faces Beechwood (18-2) in the All State Quarterfinals at Eastern Kentucky University at 3 p.m. St. Henry takes on Cooper (7-13) at 12:30 p.m. then Covington Catholic (12-8) at 3 p.m. in the Bryan Stevenson Memorial Tournament.
Campbell County 8, Bourbon County 5:
The Camels (13-8) forced the game into extra innings then pulled off the 10th Region win in extra innings.
Playing without their leading hitter in junior shortstop Aydan Hamilton (.490 batting average), Campbell County put together a .342 (13 for 38) day at the plate. Senior first baseman Jake Napier went 3 for 4 to lead the way. Senior Zack Riley went 3 for 5 with a double and two RBI and junior center fielder Evan Clark went 2 for 4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.
But senior second baseman Tyler Fowler provided the clutch hit in the top of the ninth to give the Camels the lead against the host Colonels (11-9). Fowler singled with the bases loaded and one out scoring freshman Zach Franzen and Clark to give Campbell County a 7-5 lead. Riley then singled in senior Anthony Florimonte to make the final score.
“I felt amazing,” Fowler said. “I really needed that one because I had been kind of hitting the ball off the handle. I made some good contact on that one so I’m very happy.”
Campbell County junior pitcher Max Lause (2-3) pitched six innings to earn the win. He struck out nine, walked two and allowed no runs and two hits. But the Camels had to overcome a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh with no one out.
Lause struck out Colonel senior LeShawn Summers before coaxing freshman Kaden Hilander into grounding into a fielder’s choice in junior shortstop Jake Gross, who threw to Campbell County senior catcher Austin Little forcing Bourbon County senior Matthew Turley at the plate before senior Thomas Greenlee grounded out to Fowler at second.
“We were extremely lucky,” said Scott Schweitzer, Camel Head Coach. “We had a great backhand at shortstop to throw the runner out at the plate and a diving play at second.”
Campbell County trailed 5-3 entering the sixth inning. But Clark doubled to left scoring Wells and senior Caeleb James to tie the game.
Bourbon County only scored one unearned run off the seven Campbell County errors. The Camels scored two off the two Colonel errors.
The Camels play twice Saturday in the Bryan Stevenson Memorial Tournament. Campbell County takes on Newport Central Catholic (12-6) at 12:30 p.m. and Simon Kenton (11-8) at 3 p.m.
Other April 28 NKY Softball Scores:
Calvary Christian 4, Holmes 2
Holy Cross 11, Lloyd Memorial 1 (5 innings)
Newport Central Catholic 8, Dayton 6
Other April 28 NKY Baseball Scores:
Harrison County 8, Lloyd Memorial 0
Calvary Christian 10, Pendleton County 9
Villa Madonna 13, Dayton 3