By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
And then the rains came.
And when the heavens opened up Tuesday after six innings at 7 p.m. or so, what everybody was seeing as just another low-scoring game involving Dixie Heights and Ryle, took on an entirely different character in Monday’s first round of the Ninth Region Baseball Tournament.
Forget that these two had allowed just one whole run between them in Monday’s first round games.
Bases were loaded with the slippery ball going here, there and everywhere. Walks and hit-by-pitch RBIs started happening, at least for the visiting Ryle Raiders, who took full advantage of the wet weather to turn a 2-1 game into a 5-1 finish and a spot in Thursday’s championship game against top-ranked Beechwood.
“We said it’s going to be three days in May,” Ryle coach Joe Aylor said for his second-ranked Raiders. Although on this night, it was one really rainy inning for the team from just a couple of miles down US 42.
“We’re undefeated here this year,” winning pitcher Nik Carter said forcing Aylor to do the numbers and yeah, that’s right – they’re 5-0 at Thomas More Stadium.
Although in this game, it looked like all they would have to do is get leadoff hitter Anthony Coppola leading off, which he did on all four of his at-bats. And get him moving and running and having RBI guys Mike Flowers and Xaden Hughes up with a runner Coppola in scoring position, as they say.
Coppola, a tough-minded basketball point guard who will play Division I baseball at George Washington next year, can not only run but “he’s the smartest player I’ve ever coached,” Aylor said. This smart. In all four at-bats in this game, Coppola managed to be the actual leadoff hitter whatever inning he came up.
And in two of those, he came around to score on RBI hits by Hughes and Flowers in what looked to be a 2-1 Ryle win.
“We’re very dangerous when he leads off,” Aylor said. But that’s not the only time. Likewise, “if we get guys in scoring position,” Aylor added.
Carter, who gave up just one run on three hits the first six innings, couldn’t make it through the seventh-inning rain either.
“Walk a guy, hit a guy,” he said of trying to throw in a downpour. But then on came AJ Davis to shut things down and preserve the win.
As for Carter, one of the seven bleached-blonde-postseason guys for Ryle that make the Raiders look like a team from Sweden, not Union, heading off wasn’t a problem in this game nor will it be in Thursday’s championship game.
“We have a deep pitching staff,” said Carter, improving to 6-2 on the season thanks to Davis’s quick scoreless inning. And they’ll have to against Beechwood.
RYLE (25-14): 0 0 1 0 1 0 3—5-8-2
DIXIE (20-15) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0—1-3-0
WP: Carter (6-2) LP Wilson (5-5)
Leading hitters: Ryle: Coppola 2-4, 2 runs scored; Hughes RBI, run scored; Flowers 2-4, 2 RBI. Dixie Heights: Krohmer 2B, RBI
Contact Dan Weber at dweber3440@aol.com. Follow him on X @dweber3440.