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HIGH SCHOOL-KENTUCKY

Bats boom for CovCath in 11-1 mercy-rule win

Marc Hardin
prepsports@enquirer.com
Covington Catholic's Will Heppler knocks a single off Newport Central Catholic pitcher Tommy Donnelly during the fifth inning.

It's a short week for area Catholic high school baseball teams after a new rule was put in place that forbids the playing of games from 4 p.m. Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday. With no classes Thursday, regional rivals Covington Catholic and Newport Central Catholic squared off in a rare weekday contest before noon at Morsher Park.

The Colonels, scoring runs in bunches of late both in the afternoon and at night, made it a morning thing against the Thoroughbreds with a six-run third on the way to an 11-1 mercy-rule win in five innings. They added four runs in the fourth.

The Thoroughbreds met in right field after the game to discuss what went wrong as game two opponent Bishop Brossart piled into the visiting dugout for the doubleheader finale. The Colonels, ranked No. 3 in the Enquirer Northern Kentucky coaches' poll, made room for the Mustangs after celebrating with handshakes and back slaps their 10th win in a row. Then they began a three-day layoff.

"We're done till Monday," Colonels coach Bill Krumpelbeck said. "We can't even practice."

Not that it looked like they needed it Thursday.

CovCath (12-2) executed in all phases against the Thoroughbreds (7-9), who've dropped four of six. The Colonels scored in double digits for the fourth straight game and eighth time in 10 games while playing error-free in the field. CovCath, in double figures 10 times this season, ignited the offense with its small-ball attack, then poured it on with some big hits. That made a winner of senior starting pitcher Ben Heppler, who combined with sophomore brother Will Heppler for a 4-for-6 day at the plate.

Nate Enslen, NewCath's No. 2 hitter, was the only batter able to handle the elder Heppler's array of pitches. He went 3-for-3.

Carrying the big sticks for CovCath were college recruits Grant Schreiver and Nick Pope. Schreiver, heading to Louisville, went 2-for-4 with a mammoth home run and three RBI. Pope, going to Indiana Southeast, was 3-for-3 with two doubles. Adam Atkinson added a pair of hits, including a double and three runs scored for the Colonels, averaging 9.3 runs per game, second only to Beechwood in the Ninth Region.

The Colonels and Tigers meet Tuesday in a district seeding game at CovCath. Heppler is set up in the rotation to start, but CovCath coach Bill Krumpelbeck is reserving final judgment until next week. What he saw against NewCath was encouraging.

Heppler, in his first start, scattered five hits in four innings before giving way to Jacob Tomlin, who finished. Heppler, a winner in relief his first appearance, walked two and struck out one while hitting his spots and letting the 'Breds put the ball in play for the defense.

The Colonels set up the swatting by first doing the little things. They took a 2-1 lead in the third with the help of good bunting. Atkinson made it 3-1 with an RBI single. Ben Heppler's sacrifice bunt was played for two errors, making it 4-1. Will Heppler's ground-ball out to first made it 5-1.

QUOTABLE: "We're playing hot right now," Pope said. "We've been scoring a lot of runs and getting good pitching."

Said Heppler of his mound performance, which included fastballs and off-speed pitches: "I was going low and away and then coming inside, then going low away. Just trying to give them different looks and change their eye level."

VIEW FROM THE SIDELINE: "Ben's pretty sharp, so he knows how to pitch to them," coach Krumpelbeck said. "Coming out of basketball, we're trying to develop his arm strength right now, and this was a step."

Said NewCath coach Jeff Schulkens: "They put down some good bunts, and we didn't make plays. CovCath puts pressure on you, and your defense has to be ready."

PLAY OF THE GAME: Schreiver's blast in the fourth, his second homer of the season, was a right-field shot that carried over Route 8 and landed in a ditch.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Pope, who called the pitches, Schreiver, Atkinson and the Hepplers combined for 11 of CovCath's 15 hits.

CovCath 006 41 -- 11 - 15 - 0

NewCath 010 00 -- 1 - 7 - 2

WP: B. Heppler (2-0). LP: Yeager (4-2). Leaders: C-Schreiver 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Pope 3-3, 2 2B; Atkinson 2-3, 2B; B. Heppler 2-3; W. Heppler 2-3. N-Ensler 3-3. Records: C 12-2, N 7-9.