Highlands baseball plays best to prepare for postseason

FT. THOMAS – As if the competition in Northern Kentucky was not already stiff enough, Highlands High School’s baseball team has made a point this year of facing some of the best teams from both sides of the river.

The Bluebirds have played three games against top-10 Cincinnati teams, with at least one more on the schedule this month. This regular-season schedule was built to prepare the Bluebirds for a deep postseason run.

In the postseason, Highlands will not have to face Ninth Region rival Covington Catholic and back-to-back defending Ohio state champion Moeller in the same day. On May 3, they were not so lucky. The Bluebirds lost both games, but gained some valuable experience that will help them as they build toward the tournament.

“Our guys saw a lot of good pitching this weekend. The goal is to see ace’s as many times as possible because that’s what you see once the district tournament begins,” said head coach Jeremy Baioni. “The goal is to get better every day. We learned some things Saturday and intend on fixing those over the next two weeks of games.”

In addition to facing some of the top pitching in the Tristate, the Bluebirds have had to pitch to some potent lineups. Getting roughed up during the regular season could mess with a pitcher’s psyche, but fortunately the Bluebirds pitchers have remained confident.

“Pitching is holding up. Our pitchers’ win/loss record doesn’t always reflect how well some of our guys are throwing,” Baioni said. “We’re playing a lot of really good competition throughout the states of Kentucky and Ohio. Those guys are working real hard at keeping us in games and doing a great job of it. We have a staff that feels they can win a game every time they take the mound.”

Mitchell Jones, Joey Cochran, and Lou Bunning lead a deep pitching staff that has been able to come up big in big spots. The Bluebirds held Cincinnati Elder and McNicholas to one combined run in consecutive April victories, and held CovCath to seven runs in defeat. Aggressive pitching and fielding will be a key to postseason success.

“We must challenge hitters on the mound. We must get outs when good hitting teams are giving us outs,” Baioni said. “Most importantly, we must remain mentally tough through all of this.”

A 13-6 win over Newport Central Catholic on April 23 put Highlands in a position of strength heading into another 36th district showdown with Bellevue on May 8. Those games, like the home game against CovCath carry an air of importance that other regular season games lack. Against regional and district opponents, the Bluebirds really learn what they need work on between now and the beginning of the postseason in late May.

“The goal is always to make daily improvements. Like most teams we could use a little improvement in all facets,” said Baioni. “We’re really looking to put more of a consistent lineup out there to prepare for the postseason. We must continue to strive for quality at-bats. We need to understand it’s a process and the goal is to get better everyday.”

The Bluebirds play at 7 p.m., May 10, at Cincinnati Anderson High School.