Hard to beat a team three times in a season?
Don’t tell Highlands that.
The Bluebirds baseball team dismantled Covington Catholic on Monday in the Ninth Region tournament quarterfinals for the third time this season, 7-2.
It marked the third time the Bluebirds took down the Colonels this season, also defeating them 11-4 on March 24 and 10-1 on April 28. Three wins nearly a month apart by a combined score of 28-7.
“Last year we lost to them in the same exact spot,” Bluebirds first baseman Iain Carner said. “All the seniors came in and were like, ‘we’re not losing again.’ I think we showed that on the field. We came out, every single one of us were up and excited and just running everywhere and we just played our game.”
Highlands’ Adam Forton was a major factor in all three decisions. He was the winning pitcher in each matchup. On Monday, he was just as effective as the first two meetings. Forton pitched a complete game, giving up five hits, two earned runs and struck out six without walking a batter. Forton did so on 101 pitches, 67 of them strikes.
From the second through fifth inning, Forton retired 12 straight Colonels.
It makes him ineligible to pitch the rest of the tournament due to the KHSAA pitch count rules, but he has the upmost faith in the rest of the pitching staff.
“Our top four guys in innings are under two ERA. We are unbelievable in that category and we got three more guys completely capable,” Forton said.
Forton also did damage with his bat, driving in three runs along with Iain Carner.
“That’s what’s kind of cool about this team,” Bluebirds coach Brian Benzinger said. “It’s always somebody different it seems. Somebody comes up and steps through for us. I don’t know that there’s any any coaching thing that we said. They played loose, played hard and were aggressive like we’ve been all year. That’s kind of the approach we had against their pitchers today.”
Forton finished 2-for-3 at the plate, Carner 3-for-3 as he also flashed the leather at first base, the Bluebirds making plays all over the field.
“It helps me know we can beat anybody,” Forton said. “If they put the ball in play, I’ve got a defense behind me that can make plays and get us out of there.”
The two accounted for Highlands’ five of eight hits. The Bluebirds also drew four walks, three of them coming in a defining second inning.
The key in taking down the Colonels three times this year? Fast starts.
Highlands loaded the bases in the bottom of the second of a 1-1 game, thanks to three walks from Colonels’ pitcher Logan Wermuth. The Bluebirds made him pay with a two-run single from Forton, Carner following with an RBI single. They added a fourth run on a double steal, Carner baiting the Colonels on a delayed steal of second, Forton sliding home safely on a steal of home.
The five runs was plenty enough for Forton, a Thomas More commit.
“Every time we played them this year, we got off to a fairly early big lead so it kind of takes away their bunt and their small ball a little bit,” Benzinger said. “I think that’s really key.”
Highlands added two runs in the fourth on a Carner two-run single.
CovCath threatened in the sixth. Jackson Reardon, a University of Cincinnati commit with four Major League scouts attending the game to watch, doubled and later scored on a Marcus Suwinski single. The Colonels had runners on first and second with one out looking to do more damage, but Forton induced a groundout and got a strikeout to eliminate the threat.
Reardon finished with two of CovCath’s five hits on the day, scoring two runs. Ben McEvoy and Suwinski drove in the runs.
Covington Catholic’s season comes to a close as they are still in search of their first region baseball title since 2005, a drought that has now spanned 20 years. They’ll graduate eight seniors.
Highlands will now take on Dixie Heights, who defeated Ryle 4-3 in a dramatic come from behind victory in Monday’s second semifinal.
HIGHLANDS 7, COVINGTON CATHOLIC 1
COVCATH — 100-001-0 — 2-5-1
HIGHLANDS — 140-200-x — 7-8-1
2B — (H) Wiggins, (CC) Reardon
3B — (H) Hendrix,
RBI — (CC) McEvoy, Suwinski (H) Forton 3, Carner 3
WP — Forton. LP — Wermuth.
Records: Covington Catholic 21-12, Highlands 25-7-1
