Deja vu as Dixie wins late
The much anticipated pitching match-up between two of the top aces in Northern Kentucky didn't disappoint Monday night in the first round of the ninth region tournament at UC Health Stadium, but it was Dixie shortstop Ethan Harrison who stole the show with a walk-off two RBI single to lift his Colonels to the 2-1 win.
Harrison came up in the bottom of the seventh inning with runners on first and second and two outs, and proceeded to hit a looping flair into shallow center field that fell in between the shortstop, centerfielder and second baseman. Chris Ruedebusch, who reached on a two-out hit by pitch, and Royce McGee, who reached on an error, both came around to score as the ball bounced around in the outfield.
It was a familiar situation for Harrison, who also led Dixie to a win over NewCath in the first round of last year's regional tournament with a walk-off hit.
"We were all confident," Harrison said about the team's mindset heading into the seventh inning. "It happened like this for us last year. It's magic. I was just looking for a pitch down the middle, hoping I could get a gapper and another walk-off."
King limited the Rebels to one run on four hits with no walks and five strikeouts. Ganns was just as impressive, mixing in some nasty breaking pitches with a fastball that topped out at 91 miles per hour.
W–Nick King. L–Ganns. Leaders: D–Harrison 2-4, 2 RBI; McGee 2-3. Records: D 29-3, B 18-6.
HIGHLANDS 10, BEECHWOOD 0: Highlands scored runs in each of the first four innings, including two in the second and three in the fourth, to take a commanding 7-0 lead.
Brady Murray, Todd Ramey, Donnie Mills, Brandon Hergott and Alex Veneman each collected multiple hits, as the Bluebirds pounded out 15 and stole eight bases.
"We haven't really put together seven innings offensively like that," Highlands coach Jeremy Baioni said. "We've put together half of games or a few innings here and there, but the way we hit the ball, ran the bases and got bunts down when we needed to was huge."
On the mound, senior Joey Cochran retired 11 straight between the second and fifth innings. He also allowed five hits and surrendered no walks.
W–Cochran (4-5). L–Suchanek. Leaders: H–Murray 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Ramey 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Mills 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI; Hergott 3-4; Veneman 2-3. B-Booth 2B. Records: H 21-17, B 25-12.
COVINGTON CATHOLIC 3, ST. HENRY 0:What started out looking like a Covington Catholic rout, turned into a pitcher's duel in the first game of the day at UC Health Stadium.
The Colonels scored three runs, one earned, in the decisive first inning without hitting the ball out of the infield, and then both pitchers cruised through the game.
CovCath's Brian Haughey needed only 86 pitches to complete the shutout. The junior scattered five hits while striking out five and not allowing a walk.
Tony LaCorte also went the distance for the Crusaders, allowing only three hits.
W–Haughey (6-0). L–LaCorte. Leaders: S–Nortmann 2-2. Records: C 33-6, S 13-22.
CONNER 6, BELLEVUE 0: Junior Dillon Lockstead broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning with a three-run homer to left to make it a 4-0 game.
Lockstead led the way for the Cougars' offense as they racked up six runs, two earned, on six hits and four Bellevue errors. Conner's four-man pitching staff of Blaise Ostertag, Nick Craddock, Ryan Gosney and Blake Hart combined for the four-hit shutout.
W–Ostertag. L–Seiter. Leaders: C–Ross 3B; Lockstead 2-3, HR, 3 RBI. B–Seiter 2-2. Records: C 23-9, B 15-18.