By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
With six seniors leading the way, Beechwood won the Kentucky All “A” Classic state baseball tournament for the second time in the last three years on Sunday at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington.
Beechwood defeated Hazard, 4-0, in the title game with senior pitcher Ryan Bankemper giving up one hit in five innings to pick up the win. After the game, the other five seniors in the Tigers’ starting lineup were named to the all-tournament team. The list included Ethan Stringer, Brett Slusher, Kyle Fieger, Braydon Combs and Kyle Rowe, who received the most valuable player award.
In the championship game, Rowe drove in three of the four runs for the Tigers with a solo home run. double and single. That capped off an exception weekend for the senior shortstop, who batted .636 (7 of 11) in three state tournament games with two homers, three doubles and eight runs batted in.
Stringer earned his spot on the all-tournament team with a .750 on-base percentage in three games. He batted .666 (6 of 9) and drew four walks as the Tigers’ lead-off hitter.
“The top of our lineup was really playing well,” said Beechwood coach Bob Mullins. “I think it has a lot to do with the competition we’ve been playing. When (our players) step on the field, they think they can beat anybody. But if you don’t play defense and you don’t get good pitching in these type of games, you’re going to get beat.”
The coach said Fieger made the biggest defensive play of the tournament in the second inning of the championship game. Hazard had bases loaded with two outs when a batter belted a long fly ball to center field. Fieger made a running over-the-shoulder catch to end the inning and preserve the shutout.
Beechwood opened the small-school state tournament with a 10-1 win over West Carter on Saturday morning. Combs went the distance in that game and had 14 strikeouts.
In the semifinals on Sunday morning, Beechwood edged Owensboro Catholic, 7-6, in eight innings. The Tigers scored the winning run on a wild pitch and Slusher got the win in relief of Fieger.
With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Beechwood has a 23-6 record and has not lost to a team in Northern Kentucky. The Tigers are ranked No. 2 in the local baseball coaches poll. They have a game scheduled at top-ranked Ryle (22-4) on May 17.