Both Ryle and Covington Catholic are among the teams with a strong chance to win the Ninth Region baseball tournament this season, but on Friday one gained momentum at the expense of the other heading into the postseason that starts next week.
Ryle senior Matt Isler pitched a three-hitter, senior third baseman Conner Hempel homered and sophomore catcher Marshall Long had two run-scoring singles as the Raiders defeated CovCath 4-0 at Ryle.
The win improved the Raiders (21-9) to 3-1 on the week - including a 1-0 win on Monday over Holy Cross, the No. 1 team in the Enquirer Northern Kentucky coaches poll - with a game to be played today against No. 6 Beechwood. Ryle is fourth and CovCath (24-10) is second in the poll.
The tough schedule, which included a 5-3 loss to a solid Lexington Bryan Station team Thursday, has provided the test Ryle coach Pat Roesel wanted heading into next week's 33rd District tournament.
"It was very good to try to get on a roll and hopefully tomorrow it will continue," Roesel said. "Our district is a bear. (CovCath) talks about their district (the 35th, which includes Holy Cross and Beechwood), but I don't think anyone's going to swap me. I wanted to play some good games, and with the two pickups (Bryan Station and Beechwood) I wanted to play something tough."
While Roesel was happy, the coach he once played for at CovCath, Bill Krumpelbeck, was not, especially with a 35th District semifinal matchup looming against Holy Cross on Wednesday.
"That was a waste of a game," Krumpelbeck said. "We came out very lethargic tonight ... We're in a funk right now."
He was asked if he thought his young team, which had eight juniors and one freshman starting Friday's game, could bounce back. "I don't know," he said. "This team is hard to predict. When you're young and not getting leadership it's sometimes tough, and everything compounds when you don't hit the ball."
A lot of that was due to the performance of Isler, whose brother, Zach, and father, Bill, pitched for Krumpelbeck at CovCath. Matt Isler allowed only a single to junior pitcher Corey Severson in the second inning, a single to junior third baseman Tommy Arnzen in the third and two-out bunt single to junior center fielder Brady Reese in the seventh. Isler struck three batters but walked just two, struck out five and had only five outs come on balls hit out of the infield.
"His curveball was working and he started working ahead later in the game," Roesel said. "He struggles when he falls behind. He's starting to find it a little bit. Hopefully this game will give him some confidence going into the district." Isler worked out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the third inning and until Reese's bunt single had retired 11 of the previous 12 batters, with the only base-runner coming on a wild pitch on a strikeout. "After the third inning I thought I was good," Isler said. "I love playing CovCath."
His performance came six days after Zach pitched a complete-game six-hitter for the University of Cincinnati in a victory over Seton Hall. "That's pretty cool for my parents," Isler said.
Ryle got the only run it needed in the bottom of the first inning when Hempel, hitting leadoff for the first time this season, doubled down the right-field line off Severson, who was making his first appearance on the mound in two weeks. A bunt single by Daniel Etschied moved Hempel to third base, and he scored on Caleb Lonkard's sacrifice fly to center field.
Long had an RBI single in the second inning and another in the fourth off CovCath junior reliever Brian Fagel, who pitched the final three innings. Hempel homered to deep right center off Fagel leading off the fifth.
"This was a big win and it helps us out a lot," Isler said. "It just shows us we can play with any team and beat any team we want."
WP-Isler. LP-Severson. Hitting Leaders: R-Hempel 2-3, 2B, HR; Lonkard 2B; O'Bryan 2B; Clarkson 2-2; Long 2-3, 2 RBI. Records: Covington Catholic 24-10, Ryle 21-9.
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