Ryle’s Raiders were the No. 1 high school baseball team in Northern Kentucky Thursday.
Then Conner’s Cougars took over the top spot Friday.
So who will it be Saturday?
How about keeping Conner there. All Brad Arlinghaus’ 14-2 Cougars do is keep winning.
Although Arlinghaus himself makes a good argument about the value of an early won-loss mark in high school baseball.
“Records don’t mean anything,” he said, not right now anyway, after gutting out a second one-run win this season against a 7-7 Highlands Bluebird team that hasn’t had the good fortune — and ability — Conner has had to win games like this.
“Much of our offense is gone,” Arlinghaus says of his Conner team that was so disappointed after losing in the first game of the Ninth Region a year ago. Included in the lost column is senior basketball guy Ayden Lohr, a .385 hitter sidelined with a back injury. “But most of our arms are back.”
Arms are good, it’s clear, when it comes to baseball. Just this week, in the first two games of the Doc Morris Invitational, Conner beat Simon Kenton, 2-0 Thursday, and then followed with Friday’s 4-3 win on Jackson Bucks’ base hit in the bottom of the sixth breaking a 3-3 game.
“That’s the difference in a game like this,” Highlands Coach Jeremy Baioni said. “we couldn’t get the big hit.”
Conner could. “That’s how we have to do it, especially since our offense hasn’t been potent,” Arlinghaus said. “That’s a gutty win, a regional tournament type win.
“And that’s the story of our season,” Arlinghaus said. “Our guys know we have to make the most of it. Pitching and defense, that’s what wins games.”
Having senior Oliver Kerns back on the mound after missing his junior year with ACL surgery helps. The strong-armed right-hander with a big breaking ball gave the Cougs five strong innings before two more seniors finished out. Carson Wood came on with bases loaded and no outs in the sixth and stopped Highlands with just a run and Cody Henson threw a scoreless seventh.
“Pitching and defense,” as the Cougs also pulled off a couple of double plays to help things out as the threatening skies made it clear rain was on its way, although arriving only right after the game, played at Simon Kenton, ended.
Highlands out-hit Conner 6-4 and wasn’t bad in the pitching and defense department. “Logan (Weber) didn’t have his best stuff but he competed out there,” Baioni said of his starter “and Brody (Benke) threw great,” he said of his 6-foot-4, 230-pound football, basketball and baseball guy who came on in the third.
“That’s a great program and Jeremy’s a great coach, Arlinghaus said. Forget the records.
Baioni was doing his best coaching after the game in talking about the difference between the team that won these two head-to-head one-run games and the team that didn’t.
“Our approach at the plate has to be better,” he said, pointing out how for one thing, “we took too many third strikes.”
One Cougar had the right approach, Baioni said, and that’s why the W goes to the guys from Hebron.
“I knew he was coming with a fast ball,” Bucks said with the count 2-0 and the winning run on second. So he sat on it.
“I was looking for a fast ball and took a big swing,” Bucks said. “It felt great. We get our hits when we need them.”
And they got the starting effort Kerns was hoping to give, as he battled through some wildness and difficulties in getting his release point consistent.
“It’s been a long recovery,” he said of the knee surgery that caused him to miss out on his junior year. “My family has been a big help.”
Kerns will be heading off to play Division I next season at South Carolina Upstate as one of Northern Kentucky’s few D-1 players. “I’m working on opening my hips,” he said of his tightness there that should help his consistency.
“For me, it’s all about timing, when I’m on time . . .”
When Oliver is on time, giving the Cougars another arm, they’re going to be all right.
And for another day, they’re No. 1 in Northern Kentucky although the schedule gets much tougher from here on out with back-to-back games against 33rd District rival Ryle, Covington Catholic and Highlands again over the next eight days. And then come Cincinnati Moeller and Walton-Verona.
“Pitching and defense, that’s our story,” Arlinghaus says. So far it’s a pretty good plot line.
Leading Highlands was senior Jack Hendrix, who had two singles, a sacrifice fly and an RBI. Benke doubled. Aaron Wichmann doubled with an RBI for Conner.
BOX SCORE
HIGHLANDS 0 0 1 0 1 1 0—3 6 0
CONNER 1 1 1 0 0 1 x—4 4 2
WP: Wood LP: Benke