The first two baseball rounds in the Battle of the Dixie Highway belonged to the blue Colonels in Park Hills.
It initially appeared the third round could be headed the same direction. But the host Dixie Heights red Colonels (14-7) exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on their way to a 7-5 win over the Covington Catholic blue Colonels (12-9) in the Bryan Stevenson Memorial Tournament. Dixie Heights recorded all five extra-base hits in that inning.
“It was nice to bounce back and get those two wins,” said Chris Maxwell, Dixie Heights Head Coach. “Last week, we went over to (Cincinati) Elder and we didn’t make the routine plays. Don’t try to make something happen that shouldn’t happen. What we try to emphasize is make the routine plays and be done.”
Two seniors came through clutch in that inning for the red Colonels. Senior Mark Dugan started it off with a double and senior Luke Wilson smacked a two-run home run to center field for his third of the year off Covington Catholic sophomore Charlie Dieruf (1-1) to give the Red Colonels the lead for good.
One out later, Dixie Heights sophomore Michael Rogers singled and sophomore Carter Schroer ran for him advancing to second on a wild pitch. With two out, senior left fielder Gabe Thelen belted his second home run of the year to center to put Dixie Heights up 6-2. Rogers is one of the players Maxwell and staff brought up from the junior varsity in hopes of improving the red Colonel hitting in various part of the line-up entering May.
“It’s happening,” Maxwell said of the Dixie Heights hitting. “I put it (on the web site) and maybe some of them saw it. It’s contagious. But I already made the decision and (Rogers) hit the ball well for us. We have some decisions to make.”
CovCath made a pitching change bringing in junior Chris Young. But the red Colonels were not done knowing CovCath could erase any deficit quickly. Sophomore second baseman Luke Abeling doubled to right and junior catcher Ethan Bosley doubled to center to make it 7-2 Dixie Heights.
Dixie Heights finished .464 (13 for 28) overall and scored one unearned run off the lone CovCath error. Bosley finished 3 for 3 with two RBI and Abeling went 2 for 2 with one run scored. Thelen went 2 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored and Dugan went 2 for 3 with two runs scored. Wilson finished 2 for 4 with two RBI and one run scored.
“(Maxwell’s challenge) really got us going,” Abeling said. “I think it’s going to pick up from here getting ready for (the post-season). As long as you focus, you can really do anything you want.”
Sophomore Brach Rice (4-0) earned the victory nearly pitching a complete game striking out six, walking one and allowing nine hits and five earned runs. Maxwell admitted he would have pulled Rice with CovCath junior catcher Jonathan Fitz at the plate and the bases loaded with two out. But Maxwell said he was talked into letting Rice stay in the game.
Fitz hit a three-run double to center scoring seniors Evan Myers, Nick Darpel and Luke Lenhof. Maxwell then brought in Wilson to get CovCath junior Max Lawrie to ground out to Abeling at second to earn the save.
Lenhof pitched the first four innings for CovCath. He struck out two, walked two and allowed one earned run and six hits. Sophomore Eli Wagner pitched the sixth allowing one hit.
The blue Colonels batted .310 (9 for 29) in the win. Myers led the way going 2 for 3 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored. Senior Will Burke and Dieruf added doubles. Myers singled in Burke and freshman shortstop Jackson Reardon singled in Myers to put CovCath up 2-0 in the top of the second.
But Dixie Heights tied the game with one run in the third and one in the fourth. Brooks hit a sacrifice fly to center scoring Dugan in the third inning before Bosley singled in Thelen in the bottom of the fourth.
Dixie Heights run-ruled the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds, 12-2 in five innings in the first game. The red Colonels batted .455 (10 for 22) in the win. Rogers led the way going 3 for 3 with a home run, two RBI and one run scored. Wilson went 2 for 3 with a double, three RBI and one run scored and Thelen went 2 for 3 with a double, RBI and two runs scored. Bosley batted in two.
“That’s a heck of a way to start your varsity debut,” Wilson said of Rogers. “He smashed the ball, brought us plate production. It felt good. It was a good team win.”
Senior Brennan Staton (1-1) pitched a complete game for Dixie Heights. He struck out one, walked five and allowed three hits and two earned runs. Both teams had one error leading to no unearned runs.
Senior Luke Brockman (1-2) took the loss for NewCath (12-7). He struck out one and walked one. Senior Brennan Seiter came on in relief in the fifth.
All three teams play again in the Bryan Stevenson Memorial Tournament on Saturday. Dixie Heights plays Cooper (7-14) at 10 a.m. CovCath takes on Henry Clay (12-9) at Noon and St. Henry (11-8-1) at 3 p.m. NewCath takes on Conner (21-4) at 10 a.m. then Campbell County (13-8) at 12:30 p.m.
Simon Kenton 6, Cooper 3:
The Pioneers (12-8) scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to double up the Jaguars (7-14) in the Bryan Stevenson Memorial Tournament.
Sophomore Logan Cones threw a complete game to earn the win for Simon Kenton. He struck out four, walked one and allowed six hits and one earned run.
Both teams scored two unearned runs. Cooper had five errors to one for Simon Kenton.
Simon Kenton batted .321 (9 for 28) overall. Senior center fielder Logan Grubenhoff went 3 for 3 with a double and RBI and senior first baseman Peyton Fernbach went 3 for 4 with one RBI and two runs scored. Senior catcher Tom Lind had a double.
Junior right fielder Ian Powell scored a crucial run in the bottom of the second. He drew a hit by pitch and scored when junior Ben Stephens singled.
“We made the plays behind Logan,” Powell said. “Any way you can get on base, you need to help the team out. It can be a walk or hit by pitch.”
Junior Logan Dean (1-1) took the loss for the Jaguars coming on in the fourth inning. Senior Jake Jennings pitched the first three innings striking out five. Cooper did not see anyone record a multi-hit game. But senior left fielder Cameron Kuehn had a double.
“(Jennings) didn’t throw many fastballs at us. He threw almost exclusively curveballs in addition to some change ups,” Simon Kenton Head Coach Troy Roberts said of Jennings. “Our bats got going. We just had some good timely hitting. When we had some guys in scoring position, we put the ball in play.”
Both teams play again in the Bryan Stevenson Memorial Tournament. Cooper plays Dixie Heights (14-7) and St. Henry (11-8-1) at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. respectively.
Conner 12, Scott 2 (6 innings):
The Cougars (21-4) earned the run-ruling on the road in the Bryan Stevenson Memorial Tournament with a run-ruling of the Eagles.
“Our offense put up enough runs. We caught the ball. It was a good day for Conner baseball,” said Brad Arlinghaus, Conner Head Coach. “Early on, we left some guys on base. But as the game went on, our approaches got a lot better.”
Senior Landon Schwartz (1-0) started the game striking out five, walking four and allowing one earned run in five innings. Junior Carson Wood pitched the sixth to preserve the no-hitter.
“It was one of those things where I came out there and did the best I could do,” Schwartz said. “I just tried to get back into it because I’d struggled in my first few appearances. I wanted to get back to how I normally am, build off that and go from there.”
Conner hit .433 (13 for 30) in the win. Senior third baseman Blaise Bowman went 3 for 3 with two RBI, double and run scored. Senior first baseman Ethan Hite had a double and three RBI. Senior left fielder Cody Crawford scored twice. Senior Tyler Parsons, Gage Testerman and juniors Jackson Bucks and Brody Mangold added doubles.
Sophomore Dylan Giffen (1-2) pitched the first three innings taking the loss for the Eagles. He struck out one. Scott had no errors to two for the Cougars.
“We’ve kind of sputtered this last week,” said Kevin Goins, Scott Head Coach. “We gave up leadoff walks against Conner. We found a way to get out of innings early in the game. We were still down 3-0. Then they had a six-run inning where they scored all six runs after we didn’t make a play at short. That kind of how our season is. If we don’t consistently throw strikes and play defense, we fall behind and it’s a tough hill to climb.”
Conner plays Newport Central Catholic (12-7) at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Scott 5, Frankfort 4:
The Eagles (6-17) earned the win in their second game of the day against the Panthers (7-12) from the 11th Region. Frankfort has lost seven in a row.
Junior Casey Hilbert (1-4) picked up the win on the mound pitching five innings striking out 10, walking one and allowing one hit and one earned run. Senior Hunter Blackburn pitched the last two innings striking out one, walking one and allowing just three hits and one earned run.
“If you throw strikes and let your defense help you, you’ll be fine,” Hilbert said. “That was a key point. I did that over and over again until the inning was over.”
The Panthers scored two unearned runs off two Scott errors. Scott scored none off the lone Frankfort error.
Scott batted .217 (5 for 23) overall. Junior catcher Leo Brown led Scott going 3 for 4 with one RBI. Junior Mason Hamilton scored twice.
“(Frankfort) is a whole lot better than when I was coaching in the Lexington and Frankfort area years ago,” Goins said. “We needed a game where it was tight and we needed to make plays to win. It got interesting. It was gut check time and the kids found a way.”
Scott takes on Henry Clay at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Softball:
Dixie Heights 4, Madison Central 3 (8 innings):
The Colonels (11-4) ventured to Richmond and took down the Lady Indians (15-2), ranked 14th in the latest Kentucky Softball Coaches Association poll. The 44th-ranked Colonels had gone 0-4 against teams ranked in the Top 30 in the poll prior to the win.
Madison Central had not lost in more than a month. Top-ranked Ballard (21-0) edged the Lady Indians, 6-5 on March 29 at home.
Sophomore center fielder Taylor Ingram was placed on second for Dixie Heights in the extra frame as part of a tiebreaker rule. With two out, sophomore right fielder Carly Waters singled to center to score her.
Sophomore pitcher Riley Hopkins (9-4) retired the side in the bottom of the frame for Dixie Heights. Hopkins struck out three, walked none and allowed seven hits and three earned runs.
“It’s big. I think the girls finally realized how good we can be,” said Sarah Osborne, Dixie Heights Head Coach. “Our defense was huge. Riley nailed it down. Becca Cundiff called a great game behind the plate. We got one successful bunt down. But outside of that, our girls did their jobs. It was an all-around team win.”
Dixie Heights made no errors and scored one off three Lady Indian errors. The Colonels batted .314 (11 for 35) in the victory. Senior third baseman Ava Meyer led the Colonels going 3 for 5 with two doubles and one run scored in the win. Junior shortstop Ella Steczynski went 2 for 3 with two RBI and senior second baseman Bri Patsel went 2 for 4 with one run scored.
Dixie Heights travels to Conner (8-6) on Tuesday. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Cooper 15, Boone County 0 (4 innings):
Head Coach Rusty Scott wanted the 30th-ranked Lady Jaguars (16-4) to start quicker than the 4-2 win over the Lady Rebels (8-12) on Thursday and they heeded his challenge. Cooper scored nine runs in the bottom of the second on its way to moving to 5-0 in 33rd District seed play will be the top seed in the district tournament in a few weeks unless Conner at 3-1 in seed play beats Ryle again on May 11 at home then beats Cooper on May 16 and has a better Ratings Percentage Index.
“We had a lot more energy than (Thursday),” Scott said. “The good thing about our line-up is I feel like anybody can be the hero at anytime. We pick each other up.”
Boone County is 0-5 in district seed play. The Lady Rebels can earn the third seed with a win over Ryle (12-11) on Monday and a Ryle loss against Conner on May 11 with a higher RPI.
Cooper batted .591 (13 for 22) in the win. Sophomore second baseman Ava Scott led the way going 3 for 4 with a home run, double, five RBI and three runs scored. Junior third baseman Emily Schmeltz went 2 for 2 with two runs scored and senior catcher Gweny Wessling went 2 for 2 with a double, one RBI and three runs scored. Junior Kendall Blau went 1 for 2 with a double and two RBI with senior shortstop Dylan Scott going 1 for 2 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Cooper had production throughout the line-up. Sophomore outfielder Kailey Milburn went 2 for 2 with two RBI and two runs scored and eighth grade outfielder Ainsley Scroggie went 2 for 2 with two RBI and two runs scored. Both teams made one error.
“You have to always be ready (in the outfield),” Scroggie said. “You just do anything to catch the ball (such as) a dive. You practice, practice and making sure you hit your cut is important.”
The lopsided win let Cooper play some reserves. Freshman pinch-hitter Grace Cline had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth to score Wessling. Cooper scored three runs in that inning to finish the game.
“Coming up to bat, I knew that I had base runners on and they needed to be scored,” Cline said. “It’s for sure good to go up with a good mindset and a good approach knowing your at-bat has a purpose.”
Blau (5-2) pitched the first three innings to earn the win for Cooper. She struck out three, walked three and allowed just three hits. Senior Hanna Hollis finished the game striking out one.
Freshman Dani Wright (3-4) took the loss for Boone County. Junior shortstop Harper Kinman went 2 for 2 with a double to lead the Lady Rebels.
Cooper plays twice on Saturday. The Lady Jaguars play Pleasure Ridge Park (3-7) at 2:15 p.m. and host Elizabethtown (18-4) at 4:15 p.m. Boone County plays host to Ryle (12-11) on Monday at 5 p.m.
Simon Kenton 9, Bishop Brossart 4 (8 innings):
The Lady Pioneers (11-7) had to go to extra innings to beat the Lady ‘Stangs (7-11) and end their three-game losing streak. But Simon Kenton came through scoring five times in the top of the fifth.
Simon Kenton batted an astounding .514 (19 for 37) with six players recording multi-hit games. Senior shortstop Alexis Baker went 3 for 4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore catcher Emilie Young went 3 for 3 with a double and RBI. Freshman second baseman Larkin Mitchell went 3 for 5 with an RBI and run scored and sophomore third baseman Landrey Dance went 3 for 5 with two RBI.
“We hit the ball well the really whole game,” said Chris Young, Simon Kenton Head Coach. “It just seemed like everything was right at people and (the Lady ‘Stangs) made some great plays. We didn’t hit the ball as well in the eighth inning as we did in other part of the game. But we found holes.”
Young credited junior third baseman Kaylee Korros for beating the throw home to break the 3-3 tie in the top of the eighth when freshman right fielder Courtney Beach singled. The Lady Pioneers scored six times in that inning.
All nine spots had at least one hit for Simon Kenton. Eighth grade first baseman Adreena Barton went 2 for 3 with one RBI, one double and one run scored. Senior left fielder Paige Heringer went 2 for 5 with one run scored.
“The ball will always find the gap,” Heringer said. “We knew that if we just keep pushing through, it will come eventually. It ended up clicking for us in the eighth inning.”
Sophomore Addison Johnson (4-1) pitched a complete game for Simon Kenton. She struck out six, walked two and allowed one earned run.
Bishop Brossart batted .278 (10 for 36) in the loss. Junior right fielder Molly Kramer, sophomore catcher Cecilia Phirman and junior first baseman Ava Thomas all went 2 for 4. Senior Alexis Kaeff hit a home run.
Simon Kenton plays host to Collins (16-7) on Saturday at Noon. Bishop Brossart plays host to Newport Central Catholic (8-2) on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
Scott 7, Calvary Christian 5:
The Lady Eagles (10-11) moved on to the title game of the Bulldog Bash at Holmes holding off the Lady Cougars (7-11-1).
Sophomore pitcher Emma Scribner (9-7) threw a complete game striking out 10, walking six and allowing one hit and five earned runs.
“It was hard coming back after being so high (in the 9-8 37th District win over Bishop Brossart on Thursday) trying to find that fire again,” said Lisa Brewer, Scott Head Coach. “We just struggled at the plate a bit. But they hung in there. Defensively, when we really needed plays, we got them done.”
Scott batted .344 (10 for 29) overall. Senior Morgan Chalk led the way going 3 for 4 with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored. Freshman center fielder Elise Manhardt went 2 for 3 with a double and run scored. Senior third baseman Riley Reeves scored twice.
“Making the routine plays went a long way,” Manhardt said. “I really think the energy (on a daily basis) needs to be like it was against Brossart even though it’s tough.”
Both teams play again in the Bulldog Bash on Saturday. Calvary Christian faces Gallatin County (4-11) at 1 p.m. and Scott faces an undetermined opponent at 5 p.m.
Other April 29 NKY Baseball Scores:
Calvary Christian 11, Holmes 1 (5 innings)
Bishop Brossart 16, Lloyd Memorial 0 (5 innings)
Pendleton County 7, Holy Cross 4
Grant County 10, Villa Madonna 1
Bellevue 4, Williamstown 1
Other April 29 NKY Softball Scores:
Holy Cross 10, Paris 0 (5 innings)
Beechwood 5, Paris 3
