By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Walton-Verona and Beechwood earned berths in the Kentucky All “A” Classic state baseball tournament by winning sectional playoff games this week.
The state tournament is scheduled for April 26-27 at Daviess County High School in Owensboro. This is the fifth consecutive year that Walton-Verona has made it to the Elite Eight in the small school playoff bracket.
The Bearcats (11-6) kept that streak alive with a 12-2 win over Kentucky Country Day in a sectional game on Thursday in Louisville. Junior infielder Kainan Held had four hits and junior pitcher Bronson Corpus went the distance in the victory.
In a sectional game on Wednesday, Beechwood defeated Brossart, 1-0, with senior Chase Flaherty pitching a no-hitter that included 10 strikeouts and one walk. The Tigers (11-5) got their lone run off Brossart pitcher senior Alex Noe when a batter walked, stole second and scored on an error.
The local teams will play in the final two first-round games at the state tournament on Saturday, April 26. Beechwood will take on the Lexington Sayre-Danville winner at 3 p.m. and Walton-Verona will face the Lyon County-Paducah St. Mary winner at 5:30 p.m.
Last year was the first time since 2017 that a Northern Kentucky team did not play in the All “A’ Classic state final. Beechwood was state champion in 2018 and 2019 and state runner-up in 2022. Walton-Verona lost in the 2021 and 2023 state finals. There was no state tournament in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Basketball players named Kentucky All Stars
Two basketball players that set team records in career scoring last season are among the seniors chosen for the Kentucky All Stars boys and girls teams that will each play a two-game series against the Indiana All Stars in June.
Newport Central Catholic guard Caroline Eaglin and Walton-Verona forward Aaron Gutman will close out their record-setting high school careers in the all-star games along with Cooper guard Andy Johnson.
This season, Eaglin became NewCath’s all-time leading scorer with 2,546 points. The Northern Kentucky University recruit had the highest scoring average in Northern Kentucky girls basketball for the third consecutive season.
Gutman led Northern Kentucky boys basketball in scoring with a 23.3 average and set a Walton-Verona career scoring record with 2,050 points. The previous record of 1,971 points was set in 1958.
Johnson averaged 22.1 points for the Cooper boys team that won the 9th Region championship for the first time since 2017 and made it to the quarterfinals of the “Sweet 16” state tournament.
The Kentucky-Indiana All Stars series will begin Friday, June 6 with girls and boys games at Lexington Catholic High School. Tickets will be available May. 1
Former players among transfer portal recruits
Two former Northern Kentucky high school basketball players will continue their college careers with different teams after being recruited through the NCAA Division I transfer portal.
Holy Cross graduate Jacob Meyer, the all-time leading scorer in 9th Region boys basketball, is going to Alabama-Birmingham. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 8.9 points and 2.6 rebounds for DePaul last season after playing for Coastal Carolina as a freshman.
Simon Kenton graduate Gabe Dynes, one of the leading shot blockers in Division I basketball last season at Youngstown State, will be joining the Southern California team. The 7-foot-3 center averaged 6.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks last season.