SPORTS NCC falls in extra innings
A8 • FORT CCF RECORDER • JUNE 14,JUNE 2012 THOMAS RECORDER 14, 2012
COMMUNITY
RECORDER
Editor: Melanie Laughman, mlaughman@communitypress.com, 513-248-7573
HIGH SCHOOL | YOUTH | RECREATIONAL
By James Weber jweber@nky.com
LEXINGTON — Josh Cain got his team to the ninth inning June 7. His Newport Central Catholic baseball teammates made sure to remind him that after the Thoroughbreds’ season ended with a 1-0 loss to Henderson County in the state quarterfinals at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. Cain, NCC’s junior ace pitcher, had just allowed the winning run to score in the bottom of the ninth on a throwing error that was officially ruled to be a balk. It was about the only mistake he made during a masterful pitching performance against the Colonels. After the game, teammates, coaches and fans hugged him and patted him on the back. “I think everybody was in shock,” NCC head coach Jeff Schulkens said. “Josh is a competitor. He has another year. This will make him more determined to be a leader next year and get his team back down here.” The extra-inning loss ended NewCath’s season at 25-17 with one tie. NCC reached the elite
eight for the second straight year. Cain pitched the entire game, breezing through the first eight innings on 83 pitches. In the ninth, he gave up a one-out double to leadoff batter Kaleb Duckworth, just the second Colonel hit. Avery Pitt reached on an error with Duckworth going to third, giving No. 3 batter Justin Cessna, a .491 hitter, a chance to win the game. During the at-bat, Pitt took second base without a throw. Then, not realizing Pitt was no longer at first base, Cain spun and threw a pickoff throw to that base. The ball went into right field and Duckworth scored easily to end the game. The play was scored a balk because a pitcher cannot throw to an unoccupied base, so Duckworth would have been awarded home plate no matter what. Regardless of the semantics, Cain vowed to make up for the error. “It’s the worst feeling ever. It’s terrible. I don’t know what I was doing that last inning,” Cain said. “I was just worried about the batter. I wasn’t thinking.” Said Schulkens: “I had every
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confidence in the world Josh would get out of that in the last inning. He has nothing to be ashamed of. He threw a great ball game.” Cain didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning, and got out of a major jam in the sixth inning, after a pair of NewCath errors put runners on second and third with nobody out. Cain induced a groundout, then struck out the leadoff hitter Duckworth before getting the No. 2 batter Pitt to fly out to right. NewCath’s best chance came in the seventh, with a runner on third and one out, but the runner was caught off third base after a groundout to the pitcher. NCC left a runner at second in two previous innings. “Both teams had their opportunities,” Schulkens said. “They had an opportunity and we got out of that with a couple of good plays, and we had an opportunity with a guy on third and we just missed putting a squeeze down and we had a baserunning blunder. I felt we just needed to get one run. We kept trying. Their kid threw a heck of a game, too.” NewCath seniors are Matt
NCC senior Brady Hightchew hits an infield single in the state baseball quarterfinals June 7at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington. JAMES WEBER/COMMUNITY RECORDER
Beck, Matt Broering, Brady Hightchew, Andy Miller and Nick Woltermann. They took turns after the game standing by themselves and getting one last look at the field as Meade County and Ashland Blazer warmed up for the night’s second contest. NCC upset Pleasure Ridge
Bluebirds send seniors off on high note By Adam Turer presspreps@gmail.com
The Highlands baseball program wanted to send out it seniors class on a high note. Coming off of a six-win season in 2011, the team had nowhere to go but up. The Bluebirds exceeded their own expectations and advanced to the Ninth Region final. First baseman Mitch Meyer is the team’s lone senior starter. His teammates rallied behind him, along with fellow seniors Grant Duesing and Chris Bausch. Starting on Senior Night against Cooper May 7, the Bluebirds won nine of their next 10 games. “We all came together on Senior Night and we kept it going from there,” said junior pitcher Gabe Schultz. It was a dream-like season for Meyer, the team’s only everyday senior. Despite the disappointing 2011 campaign, Meyer entered 2012 with expectations of qualifying for the regional. A district championship and two regional wins were icing on the cake. “Once we won the district, I was extremely happy,” Meyer said. “Everything else was just a bonus.” His teammates were happy for their motivating leader, too. “Mitch works hard every day,” said junior Quentin Murray. “He came in with a positive attitude, and everybody fed off of him.” Added Schultz: “Mitch is a lovable guy. It was great to send him off with a season he could be proud of.” As the winning streak grew and the Bluebirds advanced deeper in the postseason, the team gained confidence and felt more relaxed. They started playing music over the PA system at practices. The players bonded over team breakfasts and lunches. They relished their role as underdogs and the support they received from their rowdy student cheering section. “We just kept having fun and stayed loose,” said Schultz. The bar has been set very high for next season. While the Bluebirds will miss Meyer’s contributions, every other starter returns. Freshman pitcher Mitchell Jones will be expected to take a big leap after pitching like a veteran down the stretch this sea-
Park 3-2 in the first round. Woltermann had two hits and two RBI. Junior Connor Bartels pitched a complete game, giving up three hits and one earned run while striking out eight. Follow James on Twitter @RecorderWeber
PRESS PREPS HIGHLIGHTS By James Weber jweber@nky.com
This Week’s MVP
» NCC junior Josh Cain for his outstanding pitching performance in the state baseball tournament and for graciously facing the media after his game-ending balk.
Freedom Trail
» Florence is home June 11-16. Florence is 11-10 entering play June 11, three games out of first place in the East Division of the Frontier League.
Softball
» The 9th Region All-Tournament Team: MVP-Katelyn Stephens, Ali Crupper, Kelsey Hammes, Kate Rouse (Ryle); Katelynn Halcomb, Elizabeth Sims, Paige Volz (Conner); Meredith Hartfiel, Bailey Spencer (Dixie Heights); Rachel Hardesty, Casey Kohls (Newport Central Catholic); Katlyn Hoeh (Newport); Abby Jones (Notre Dame Academy); Mamee Salzer (St. Henry); Sierra Whitfield (Beechwood).
Soccer
Highlands sophomore Joey Cochran celebrates with sophomore Evan Allen after Allen's catch at second base left the bases loaded. Highlands beat Dixie 6-4 in the Ninth Region semifinals May 30, 2012 at Florence Freedom Field. JAMES WEBER/THE COMMUNITY RECORDER
son. The Bluebirds will have a strong class of seniors next year, each intent on claiming the Ninth Region title. “I’m pretty excited about what we have coming back next year,” Murray said. “It’s a good feeling going into next season with a lot of positivity.” For Meyer, looking ahead to next year is bittersweet. He is proud of what the team accomplished in his senior season and he looks forward to seeing how far the Bluebirds will go next year. “I think they can win the region
next year,” he said. “It’s pretty cool seeing where this program is going. I’m excited to see what this team will do next year and it’s nice to feel like I helped lay the foundation.” The feeling coming off of an 18-win season is much different than it was a year ago after a six-win season. The Bluebirds are hungry and eager to build on the late-season success of this year. “If baseball season started tomorrow, I’d be ready to go,” said Murray.
» The West team beat the East 9-4 in the Senior Cup boys soccer all-star game June 5 at Dixie Heights. Cooper’s Alex Molen was MVP of the match with three goals. Other West goal scorers were Walton-Verona’s Matt Hargett, Dixie’s J.D. Schmidt, Dixie’s Trey Crone and Ryle’s Cole Willoughby. East scorers were Bishop Brossart’s Austin Kramer, Highlands’ Tucker Beerman and Sam Lewis, and Covington Catholic’s Evan Talkers.
College golf
» Northern Kentucky University men’s golfers Corey Richmond and Steve Rickels were named to the PING All-Midwest Region team. The men led the Norse to six tournament victories this season, including the program’s sixth Great Lakes Valley Conference championship. Richmond, a sophomore from West Chester, Ohio, highlighted his season by taking the medal at the GLVC Championships with a three-round total of eight-over-par (77-7473 for 224). Over 31 rounds of play, Richmond averaged 74.61 strokes per round and was ranked the No. 15 player in the region according to Golfstat. He claimed three top-10 performances apart from the GLVCs, including top-five finishes at the Wasioto Winds Fall Kickoff and The Shootout in Arizona. Rickels, a junior from Independence, Ky., was another consistent top performer for the Norse, landing four top-10 finishes himself, including a medal performance at the UW-Parkside Invitational last fall. Golfstat tabbed Rickels as the region's No. 9 player after the junior posted a scoring average of 74.23 to lead the Norse. Rickels was also chosen as an All-GLVC performer by a vote of the league1s coaches. NKU finished the season with a seventh-place result in the Midwest/ South Central Super Regional. NKU has reclassified to NCAA Division I and will compete as a full member of the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2012-13.