Beechwood and Covington Catholic have made the 35th District final feel more like a tradition than a tournament, and once again, the Tigers turned a rivalry into a celebration.
Facing each other for the 12th consecutive season in the 35th District baseball championship game, Beechwood defended its home field in Fort Mitchell with an 8-4 win over the Colonels. The victory marked the Tigers’ first set of back-to-back district titles since 2019 and 2021, with no tournament held in 2020 due to COVID.
“When it comes down to us and CovCath, anybody can win,” Tigers head coach Kevin Gray said. “We respect them a lot. We respect Coach Krumpelbeck and his program. It’s always a war. I love the rivalry.”
The teams had already met earlier this month on May 1, when Beechwood earned a 3-1 win. That night, however, CovCath was without standout shortstop and University of Cincinnati commit Jackson Reardon and starting left fielder Anthony Epplen.
This time, both lineups were closer to full strength—and the Tigers still came out on top.
“I’m not kidding, Reardon might be the best player I’ve ever coached against,” Gray said. “When we played them the first time, I told him I hoped to see him on the field. It’s a shame he didn’t play this year because he would have put up astronomical numbers. He’s tough.”
Tournament MVP Chase Flaherty helped lead the way Tuesday, with a deeper connection to the rivalry than most. His father, Steve, played for longtime CovCath coach Bill Krumpelbeck.
“My grandma was the secretary, and all my uncles and my dad went to CovCath,” Flaherty said. “I mean, it’s Beechwood–CovCath already, but that just adds to it.”
Flaherty pitched six strong innings before Brant Stiles closed out the game in the seventh. He allowed five hits and two earned runs, walked one, and struck out four.
Facing a Division I bat like Reardon added to the challenge.
“We used to play summer ball, so we know each other a little bit,” Flaherty said. “It was nice to pitch against him. He’s a really good player and hard to get out.”
Reardon delivered for CovCath with a home run, two hits, an RBI, and a run scored.
Beechwood’s star sophomore Tyler Fryman responded with a big game of his own. The University of Louisville commit finished with two hits, including a double, three RBI, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and an intentional walk.
“He goes, we go,” Gray said. “He doesn’t have bad games a lot, but if he does, it’s hard for us to get going. It’s hard to put that on a sophomore, but he loves it. He loves the pressure.”
He went—and so did the rest of the lineup.
Joining Fryman and Flaherty on the all-tournament team was Caleb Arrasmith, who had a run and an RBI. Flaherty and Keagan Hutton also had a hit and an RBI. Hudson Edwards added a hit, a stolen base, and scored twice.
CovCath struggled to get going offensively, scoring just one run through the first five innings as Beechwood pushed their lead to 8-1 after a five-run fifth. The bottom of fifth looked harmless with two quick outs, but then the Tigers sent eight batters to the plate with two outs, thanks to three Colonel walks and two errors to put the game out of reach.
The Colonels used four pitchers and committed five errors in the field in the game, along with two hit batters.
“We threw our entire pitching staff. We tried them all, it just didn’t work out,” Krumpelbeck said. “In tournament games, if you score four runs, you’re going to win. As I told them, we usually give games away, and we’ve been doing that throughout the year.”
The Colonels’ bats came alive in the sixth with a three-run surge to make it 8-4. Epplen had a run and a hit, Ben McEvoy added a run, Marcus Suwinski knocked an RBI double, Alek Yuskewich singled, and Tyler Carnes drove in a run.
Reardon and ace pitcher Logan Wermuth, who didn’t pitch after throwing against Holy Cross in the semifinals, were named to the all-tournament team for CovCath.
Beechwood (23-10) heads to the Ninth Region Tournament that begins May 26 at Thomas More Stadium where they will face the runner-up from Highlands/Newport Central Catholic, St. Henry, or Ryle.
CovCath (21-11) will meet either the winner of Highlands/NCC, Dixie Heights, or Conner.
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Left to right: Chase Flaherty (Beechwood, MVP), Tyler Fryman (Beechwood), Caleb Arrasmith (Beechwood), Jackson Reardon (Covington Catholic), Logan Wermuth (Covington Catholic), Sam Addington (Holy Cross).
Not pictured: Braxton Graves (Holmes).
TIGERS 8, COLONELS 4
COVINGTON CATHOLIC — 001-003-0 — 4-5-5
BEECHWOOD — 110-150-x — 8-5-2
RBI — (B) Fryman 3, Arrasmith, Flaherty, Hutton (CC) Carnes, Reardon, Suwinski
2B — (B) Fryman (CC) Suwinski
HR — (CC) Reardon
WP — Flaherty. LP — W. McEvoy.
Records: Covington Catholic 21-11, Beechwood 23-10