Prep Sports Notebook: St. Henry, Beechwood will meet again in All “A” Classic region baseball final


By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

The rematch between the Beechwood and St. Henry baseball teams in the 9th Region All “A” Classic championship game has been rescheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Meinken Field in Covington.

Last year, St. Henry defeated Beechwood, 11-4, to claim its first region title in baseball and advanced to the sectional round of the small-school playoffs. Both teams made it back to this year’s region championship game that was postponed Friday due to the weather.

Beechwood pitcher Mitchell Berger (Photo by Bob Jackson)

Beechwood is off to an 8-0 start this season. The Tigers won six of those games by 10 runs or more, including an 11-1 victory at St. Henry on March 31.

The Tigers have an added incentive to continue that streak in Sunday’s region final. Kevin Gray enters the game with a 99-20 record in four seasons as Beechwood’s head coach and needs one more victory to reach 100.

Beechwood has six starters back from last year’s team that won the 9th Region post-season tournament. One of the returning veterans is junior pitcher/outfielder Mitchell Berger, who was named Division A Player of the Year by local coaches.

The Tigers have a .424 team batting average after their first eight games this season. The leading hitter is junior catcher Brice Estep with a .640 batting average (16 of 25) and a team-high 24 RBI.

After its loss to Beechwood, St. Henry scored 79 runs in its next five games and ran its record to 8-2-1. The Crusaders had a .374 team batting average after their first seven games, but their statistics have not been updated through 11 games.

The winner of the 9th Region All “A” Classic will play the 10th Region champion in the sectional playoffs. The 10th Region semifinal games at Paris High School on Sunday are Augusta vs. Nicholas County at noon and Brossart vs. Bracken County at 2:30 p.m. The winners will meet in the region final at 5 p.m.

Dixie Heights names new head coach of boys basketball team

Chad Fields is the new head coach of the Dixie Heights boys basketball team that has secured a berth in the 9th Region tournament for 22 consecutive years.

Continuing that streak will be a challenge for Fields since six of the top seven scorers on this year’s team will be graduating. Those seniors led the Colonels to the 9th Region championship game and a 22-7 final record. The one returning starter is sophomore Hudson Blank, who averaged 10.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.

Fields was promoted from assistant to head coach to replace Roddy Stainforth, who resigned after compiling an 82-69 record over the last five seasons. Dixie Heights was 9th Region runner-up in Stainforth’s first and last season as head coach.

Fields was a Dixie Heights varsity assistant the last five seasons. In a press release announcing his promotion, school officials said, “His leadership qualities, work ethic, attention to detail and knowledge of the game will be a tremendous asset to the continued success of our basketball program.”

Simon Kenton player added to Ohio-Kentucky All-Stars roster

Simon Kenton senior Sereniti Webb has been added to the girls roster for the Ohio-Kentucky All-Stars basketball game at 5 p.m. Saturday at Thomas More University’s Connor Convocation Center.

Webb, who averaged 16.5 points and 10 rebounds this season, will be on the Kentucky team that also includes Lacey Bradshaw and Macie Feldman of Notre Dame, Jenna Lillard of Ludlow and Rylee Turner of Newport Central Catholic.

The only local player on the Kentucky roster for the boys all-star game at 7 p.m. is Mitchell Ryle, the only senior on the Covington Catholic team that won the 9th Region championship and made it to the semifinals of the state tournament.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *