By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Conner gameplan was simple: Start senior ace JJ Bagby, get him to go as long as his arm will let him, then bring on top reliever Everett Hall.
But baseball in the Ninth Region Tournament isn’t always all that simple. Bagby told teammates he heard something “pop” in his right elbow in the second inning and had to leave the game. And Hall would be coming on much sooner than the late-inning closer he often is, having averaged just over two innings in his 12 appearances but now was out early against Newport Central Catholic.
“It was a tough situation,” Hall said, “not getting to warm up.” Well, no more than 10 or so quick pitches. “Just throw strikes,” the junior told himself . . . the second inning’s a lot different.”
But Hall, whose 1.36 ERA is the best on the Cougars’ staff, did just that, retiring the first seven batters he faced, giving Conner (19-15-0) the room to build up a 7-1 lead and hold on from there to move on to a Wednesday semifinal game against a Beechwood team that hasn’t forgotten Conner ousting the Tigers last year here.
“I love the matchup,” said Conner coach Mike Hart. “I respect the heck out of Kevin (Gray). They’re going to be ready to put it to us after last year. I know Kevin. It’s all good. This is what makes it fun.”
Having Hall share the mound chores with two other relievers kept his pitch count down so he should be ready to go again when Conner needs him, Hart said. As might Bagby, he said, of the Cougars’ third hitter with a team-high .380 batting average as well as a team-high 38 RBI.
But Hart was talking Hall after this one. “He stepped up big time, that was huge,” Hart said. “The reality was that we were just trying to get through this game.” No looking down the road or saving pitchers. Just get this one and build on last week’s district championship win over Ryle.
Hart also liked how his “guys were patient early” against NewCath’s breaking ball pitchers. But maybe not so much as the game moved on. “When you see that 65-mile-per-hour breaking ball, your eyes get real big,” Hart admitted.
But six bases-on-balls with a pair of hit batsmen and a couple of wild pitches allowed the Cougars to score nine runs on seven hits with leadoff hitter Brady Bushman and cleanup guy Logan Webster leading the way.
As for NewCath, which fell to 16-16-0 on the year, starting pitcher Henry Brooks led the way with two hits and two RBI.
One thing Hart was especially pleased with is how his Cougars seemed to adjust to a rare game under the lights, something that hadn’t worked out so well earlier in the season. “I was a little nervous about it,” he said of the way the ball can get above the lights for the outfielders.
But now it can be an advantage for the Cougars, who played in their black Cincinnati Reds alternate jerseys and logo “C”, since they’ll get to do it again in the late game against Beechwood starting at 8.
SCORING SUMMARY
NEWCATH 100 020 2—5 5 0
CONNER 300 402 X—9 7 3
WP: Hall (3-1) LP: Brooks (3-2)
Hitters: NewCath: Brooks 2-3, RBI; Fausz, double, 2 RBI; Conner: Bushman 2-4, double, RBI; Webster, triple, 2 runs scored; Kunkel, double, RBI; Wagner, double.