Ryle shuts out Dixie Heights in Ninth Region title game
The Ryle offense scored 66 runs more than any team in the
Ninth Region this season and averaged almost eight runs per game, but its
pitching staff is pretty good, too, mainly because of its depth and that depth
was on display Thursday night.
Junior Ethan Brennan, who had made only three starts all
season, but was used in the toughest relief situations, tossed a complete-game
three-hitter and Ryle executed just enough offensively to beat Dixie Heights,
4-0, in the Ninth Region championship game before a crowd of 1,200 at Florence
Freedom’s University of Cincinnati Medical Center Stadium.
It’s the first regional baseball title since 2007 for Ryle
(32-7), which advances to the state tournament where it will face 10th Region
champion Harrison County (24-7) in a first-round game at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at
Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington.
Brennan needed just 79 pitches, 59 of which were strikes,
and allowed only five base runners, just three in the first six innings.
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“That’s his strength (control),” said Ryle coach Pat Roesel.
“That’s why I picked him. He gets ahead of hitters and has very good command.
There were other guys we could have used, but I felt the way he pitched the
last two times out that he was going to be on and he was.”
Brennan said he knew while warming up in the bullpen prior
to the game that he had good stuff.
“I was thinking this could be my day so I was feeling pretty
good from the start,” said Brennan, who was selected to the all-tournament
team. “You definitely have to control your emotions, because baseball is a long
game, but I was pretty amped for it.”
Brennan used a fastball that occasionally hit 80 mph with a
good curve and was constantly ahead of Dixie’s hitters the entire game. He
threw a first-pitch strike to 20 of the 25 batters he faced and went to a
three-ball count on just two batters, including a two-out walk to Matt Wehrle
in the seventh. That walk put runners at first and second for a Dixie team that
had come from behind to win all four of its postseason games, including
Wednesday’s dramatic 6-2 semifinal win over Beechwood when it scored five runs
in the bottom of the seventh. Brennan proceeded to strike out Dixie’s Casey Cox
to end the game.
“I knew what they had done, but I just had to keep it out of
my mind and focus on finishing it,” said Brennan.
Ryle scored single runs in the second, third, fourth and
fifth innings off Dixie sophomore starter Henry Kerns thanks to getting the
leadoff batter on base each time. Junior first baseman Tom Deters led off the
second with a single and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by senior
shortstop Tyler Lonnemann, who was also selected to the all-tournament team.
Junior Mason Forbes, who was selected most valuable player of the tournament, led
off the third with a single and eventually scored on Deters’ sacrifice fly.
Junior right fielder Eric Clarkson led off the fourth with a double and scored
on Lonnemann’s single and Forbes led off the fifth with a walk and eventually
scored on Deters’ second sacrifice fly of the game and Ryle’s third.
“Kerns he was lights out and we had to scratch and claw
every inning,” said Roesel. “He wasn’t going to give us any big hits. It just
proves the resiliency of this team. We’ve won pitching and we’ve won hitting
and we had pitching and some really good small baseball today.”
Ryle allowed just two runs in the three regional tournament
games combined and Thursday’s shutout was its second straight as Josh Bellew
and Tanner Pulice combined to blank St. Henry in Wednesday’s semifinal round.
“Our starters they come in and throw strikes,” said Forbes,
who was 6 for 9 with a walk, a hit by pitch, five runs scored, two doubles and
a triple in the three tournament wins. “Ethan Brennan was lethal. He was
hitting the outside corner all day and had people looking silly out there.”
Forbes said the loss to Boone County in the 33rd District
championship game was a wakeup call for the entire team.
“Since our first game of the season our motto has been ‘RTS,
Road to State,’ and we let down in districts and came right back in region and
now we’re ready for state,” said Forbes. “We’re still hungry.”
Ryle 4, Dixie Heights 0
WP-E. Brennan (6 Ks). LP-Kerns. Hitting Leaders: DH-McGee
2B. R-Lonnemann 2 RBI; Deters 2 RBI; Clarkson 2B. Records: Dixie Heights 27-13,
Ryle 32-7.
All-Tournament Team: Ryle – Mason Forbes (MVP), Tyler
Lonnemann, Ethan Brennan, Thomas Baumann; Dixie Heights – Garrett Combs, Seth
Caple, Ethan Harrison; St. Henry – Mitchell Kuebbing, Peter Markgraf; Beechwood
– Ethan Stringer, Jason Suchanek; Highlands – Quinten Murray; Covington
Catholic – Nico Pangallo; Boone County – Trey Ganns; Newport Central Catholic –
Josh Cain.
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