The Cooper Lady Jaguars softball team (23-7) had two games scheduled in the George Rogers Clark Cardinal Round Robin. But the weather allowed them to play just one game.
Cooper run-ruled a Woodford County team (15-13) that had players at prom. But the Lady Jaguars broke the two-game losing streak, 13-3. The loss at Pendleton County marked the first time Cooper had lost consecutive games all season.
Cooper batted .500 (14 for 28) overall recording seven extra-base hits. Junior third baseman Emily Schmeltz went 3 for 3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored. Junior right fielder Claire Poage went 3 for 3 with one RBI and one run scored. Senior shortstop Dylan Scott went 2 for 3 with a double, triple, two RBI and two runs scored. Senior catcher Gweny Wessling went 2 for 3 with a double, three RBI and one run scored.
“It’s a day where we could get some subs in, get some people some swings,” said Rusty Scott, Cooper Head Coach. “We have to kind of balance getting some rest, but having some intense workouts as well (in the last week of the regular season). We had kind of a long season. Down the stretch, we played a lot of games late. Rest right now is just as important as getting reps in.”
Cooper had production from all nine spots in the order. Sophomore second baseman Ava Scott and eighth grade left fielder Ainsley Scroggie both doubled and scored twice.
“It felt good. The last two games were tough games,” Ava Scott said. “It’s nice to face good pitching. It helps the team out. You just have to learn from it.”
Junior Kendall Blau started the game pitching three innings striking out two and allowing three hits. Senior Hanna Hollis pitched the last three innings striking out two, walking one and allowing one hit and two earned runs.
Cooper travels to Henry Clay (12-18) on Monday at 6 p.m.
Softball:
Boone County 14, Beechwood 1 (5 innings):
The Lady Rebels (11-16) run-ruled the Tigers (13-15) for the second time in four days.
Senior KB Irwin (7-11) pitched a complete game for Boone County. She struck out three, walked none and allowed just three hits. Irwin went 3 for 3 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored.
Both teams had three errors. Boone County scored six unearned runs and Beechwood scored one.
Boone County batted .615 (16 for 26) overall with six extra-base hits. Senior center fielder Maya Nixson went 3 for 3 scoring three runs. Nixon is not afraid to law down drag bunts to reach base bringing up the top of the order.
“That makes (the Lady Rebel offense) extremely dynamic even if it’s not a solid hit,” Nixson said. “If it’s in the air, I can tag up and make it. We (seniors) are trying to make it like a family being positive whether we win or not.”
Boone County junior shortstop Harper Kinman went 2 for 3 with a double, triple, three RBI and two runs scored. Junior Kailey Richardson went 2 for 3 with two doubles and two RBI. Sophomore third baseman Josie Hollingsworth went 2 for 3 with two RBI and scored one run.
“The biggest thing is we were putting the focus on hitting the ball low and hard, keeping the ball out of the air,” said Andy Petridis, Boone County Head Coach. “They did a good job with that.”
Freshman Savannah Steele and freshman left fielder Dani Wright added doubles for the Lady Rebels. Wright batted in two.
Boone County travels to Bishop Brossart (11-14) on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Beechwood plays host to Holy Cross (12-7) on Monday at 5 p.m.
Highlands Loses Twice at Harrison County:
The Bluebirds (18-13) could not pick up any wins in the Harrison County Triangle.
Highlands lost 7-2 to Rowan County in the first game falling behind 6-0 after two innings. The Bluebirds had two errors leading to two three Viking runs. Highlands scored two unearned runs off three Rowan County errors.
Highlands batted .148 (4 for 27) overall. Junior Kennedy Baioni pitched the first two innings striking out two, walking three and allowing three hits and three earned runs. Junior Carly Cramer pitched the last two innings striking out two, walking none and allowing three hits and one earned run.
The Bluebirds then lost 4-1 to the host Fillies (24-9). Both teams had two errors leading to two unearned runs for Harrison County and none for Highlands.
Eighth grader Kaitlyn Dixon pitched the first four innings striking out two, walking two and allowing six hits and two earned runs. Baioni pitched two scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth striking out one.
Highlands batted .148 (4 for 27) off Harrison County eighth grade pitcher Isabella Persinger. She struck out one and walked two.
Highlands plays host to Simon Kenton (13-11) on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
Conner Drops Two at Grant County:
Conner (12-9) could not come back from Dry Ridge with a victory.
Tates Creek beat Conner in the first game, 9-0. Conner had just one hit and committed two errors leading to six Lady Commodore runs. Sophomore Mollie Sharp (9-6) threw a complete game striking out 10.
Conner then lost 9-3 to the host Lady Braves. Freshman Ellie Ortiz (4-4) pitched a complete game striking out three.
Conner batted .310 (9 for 29) overall. Senior Haley Kersker went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI to lead the way. Sharp went 2 for 4 with an RBI and junior center fielder Keira Holeman went 2 for 4 scoring twice.
The Lady Cougars play host to Dixie Heights (17-4) on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
Campbell County Drops Two in Harrison County:
The Camels (13-9) saw their six-game winning streak stopped with two losses. They did not score a run in either game.
Campbell County lost 11-0 to Harrison County in four innings. The Camels batted .286 (6 for 21) overall. Junior first baseman Paige Stewart led the way going 2 for 3. Junior catcher Izzy Whisman, junior first baseman Emily Nadeau and seventh grade left fielder Josie Feebeck had doubles.
The Camels then lost 6-0 to Rowan County in four innings. Campbell County batted .250 (3 for 12) overall and Stewart (9-4) took the loss striking out one.
Campbell County plays host to Bourbon County (10-16) on Monday at 6 p.m.
Baseball:
Conner 7, Campbell County 3:
The Cougars (27-6) won the rematch against the Camels (18-10) in a game played at Great American Ballpark.
Conner batted .231 (6 for 26) overall. Senior first baseman Kaden Early broke open the game with a three-run blast in the top of the third to left field. This is just the second home run hit in the Cincinnati Reds High School Showcase.
“It was awesome. It’s something you can only ever get one chance to do (in high school),” Early said. “I’m glad I took advantage of it. It’s a really cool experience to play there and all my buddies and I were talking about hitting a home run there.”
Junior designated hitter Brayden Stidham had a double for Conner. Senior shortstop Gage Testerman stole two bases.
Junior Jeffery Vest started for Conner pitching three innings striking out four and walking two. Junior Oliver Kerns pitched the next two innings striking out five and walking one before junior Brody Mangold pitched the sixth and seventh striking out five and walking one.
“What a gool experience before district play to not only step out onto the field, but take some swings, catch some balls,” said Brad Arlinghaus, Conner Head Coach. “It’s every kids dream to be a Major Leaguer and they felt like it for a day.”
Campbell County batted .182 (4 for 22) overall. The Camels threw out six different pitchers.
Both teams start tournament play this week. Campbell County plays host to Calvary Christian (20-11-1) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Conner plays host to Boone County on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Beechwood 15, Nicholas County 0 (3 innings):
The Tigers (24-5) were only able to play one game in their David Iery Invitational.
They took care of the Blue Jackets (21-9) quickly. This marked the second win for Beechwood over Nicholas County this year.
Junior Sam Stacy (5-2) pitched a complete game striking out three, walking one and allowing just two hits. Beechwood had no errors and scored three off the lone Nicholas County error.
Beechwood batted .600 (12 for 20) overall. Junior catcher Brice Estep went 2 for 2 with a home run, double, three RBI and one run scored. Junior first baseman Cameron Boyd went 2 for 2 with three RBI and two runs scored. Senior third baseman Jackson Roseburrough went 2 for 3 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.
Five players had multi-hit games for the Tigers. Senior left fielder Brett Holladay went 2 for 3 with three RBI and two runs scored and junior shortstop Ben Meier went 2 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Beechwood plays in the 35th District semifinals on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The opponent will be either Holmes or Covington Latin.
Cooper 6, Covington Catholic 2:
The Jaguars (11-20) knocked off the Colonels (16-14) in the third meeting of the season. The teams split the previous two meetings.
“We talk about what it takes to win in the postseason. We’re doing a lot of talk about getting consistent repetition,” said Scott Buckler, Cooper Head Coach. “It’s not about overloading. It’s about mental repetition. It’s about rest, trying to recover, believing in yourself, believing in your team, believing in others. A lot of things go into a run happening. I believe we’re on the front end of it.”
Cooper batted .296 (8 for 27) overall seeing two players record multi-hit games. Senior first baseman Corbin Fletcher went 2 for 3 with a double and run scored. Sophomore shortstop Mark Nowak went 2 for 4 with a double and run scored. Senior infielder Emmit Sipple added a double.
Junior Trevor Ollier pitched the first three innings for Cooper striking out one and walking two. Senior Justin Delph (2-4) pitched the next two to earn the win striking out two before junior Logan Dean finished the game striking out two in the sixth and seventh innings.
“I just did what I could,” Dean said. “I knew I had a really good defense behind me. My job is to let them take care of some work. I just them to make plays.”
Senior Colin Gastright (4-3) pitched five innings for the Colonels striking out five, walking one and allowing two earned runs. Senior Will Burke pitched the sixth and junior Chris Young pitched the seventh.
CovCath batted .250 (7 for 28) overall. Senior left fielder Evan Myers went 2 for 4 with freshman third baseman Marcus Suwinski going 2 for 3. Sophomore center fielder Charlie Dieruf and senior right fielder Nick Darpel had doubles.
Covington Catholic had three errors to two for Cooper. The Jaguars scored three unearned runs to one for the Colonels.
Both teams had into district play Thursday. Cooper faces Ryle (16-13) at 5 p.m. at Conner and CovCath plays host to Holy Cross (9-23) at 5 p.m.
Newport Central Catholic 6, Great Crossing 5:
The Thoroughbreds (16-11) ventured back to Georgetown and downed the host Warhawks (15-11).
NewCath batted .324 (11 for 34) overall. Senior second baseman Brennan Seiter went 2 for 4 with three RBI with freshman right fielder Ian Mann going 2 for 4 with an RBI and run scored. Senior designated hitter Dominic Drury went 2 for 2 with one run scored.
Senior Luke Wiles (4-1) pitched a complete game to earn the win. He struck out 11, walked two and allowed five hits and five earned runs.
NewCath plays at Lloyd Memorial (10-17) on Monday. Game time is 5 p.m.
Dixie Heights 15, Holy Cross 0 (4 innings):
The Colonels (22-7) won their 10th in a row with a run-ruling of the Indians (9-23).
Dixie Heights batted .353 (6 for 17) overall, drew nine walks and scored four unearned runs off two Indian errors. The Colonels had no errors in the game.
Senior Brandon Brooks (4-1) pitched a complete game for the Colonels. He struck out two, walked none and allowed just two hits.
Dixie Heights used a lot of substitutions in the game. Braden Shinkle led the way going 2 for 2 with three RBI and two runs scored. Senior shortstop Jay Flynn had three RBI with senior Jason Kreinbrink and sophomore Michael Rogers hitting in two each. Senior Evan Dickerson, junior Zach Schepers and senior Brennan Staton scored two runs each.
Dixie Heights plays at Highlands on Monday. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Boone County Splits Two in Fayette County Invitational:
The Rebels (10-17) started the day with a 16-15 win over Louisville Eastern.
Boone County batted .405 (15 for 37) overall with five players recording multi-hit games. Senior center fielder Justin Huff went 3 for 4 with an RBI, double and two runs scored. Senior Issac Vest went 3 for 5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Senior Jayden Wilson went 2 for 5 with two runs scored. Senior Jason Williams went 2 for 3 with two RBI and one run scored with sophomore Jack Moore going 2 for 4 with two RBI and one run scored. Senior catcher Tommy Switzer batted in two with senior third baseman Tyler Krohman and sophomore designated hitter Chris Henson scoring two runs each.
Boone County saw three players pitch in the game. Williams started throwing four innings striking out three and walking three. Senior Tevin Stacks pitched the fifth inning striking out one and walking three before Vest pitched the final two striking out two and walking one.
The Rebels lost the second game to Lexington Dunbar, 9-5. Senior Jake Barth started throwing five innings striking out two and walking two. Senior Luke Hacker pitched the sixth inning striking out two and walking two.
Boone County batted .250 (7 for 28) overall. Hacker went 2 for 3 scoring once and Vest went 2 for 4. Henson added a double.
Boone County faces Conner (27-6) in the 33rd District semifinals on Wednesday. Game time is 5 p.m.
Highlands Goes Winless Against Tough Competition:
The Bluebirds (16-15) had two tough games in Louisville and came away empty.
Highlands first lost to the 1st Region power McCracken County Mustangs (29-6). McCracken County outhit Highlands, 9-2 committing no errors. The Mustangs had two unearned runs off the lone Bluebird error.
Senior Abe Hils started for Highlands and pitched four innings striking out three, walking two and allowing just two earned runs. Sophomore Zach DeSylva finished the game striking out two, walking one and allowing just three earned runs.
The Bluebirds then lost 5-0 to the defending state champion Shamrocks (31-4). Highlands has lost five straight.
Highlands plays host to Dixie Heights (22-7) on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
Other May 14 NKY Softball Scores:
Villa Madonna 12, Bellevue 9
Calvary Christian 17, St. Henry 3 (4 innings)
Villa Madonna 14, Augusta 2
Augusta 24, Ludlow 0 (4 innings)
Bracken County 15, Holmes 0 (4 innings)
Other May 14 NKY Baseball Scores:
Ludlow 8, Lloyd Memorial 5
Calvary Christian 1, Estill County 0 (forfeit)
Lewis County 9, Bellevue 0 (5 innings)
Scott 1, Lloyd Memorial 0 (forfeit)
Bishop Brossart 4, Bryan Station 2