By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
The baseball and softball teams that lost 9th Region championship games last year are the top-ranked teams in the first NKy Tribune coaches polls for the 2016 season.
Baseball coaches voted Ryle No. 1 in their poll. The Raiders, who lost to Highlands in last year’s regional final, are off to a 12-3 start that includes an 8-0 record against other teams ranked among the top 10.
Ryle coach Pat Roesel has 12 seniors on the roster, including pitcher Jake Zieglemeyer, who has accepted a scholarship from Morehead State.
Highlands took the top spot in the softball coaches poll. The Bluebirds, who lost to Notre Dame in last year’s regional final, are 10-6 overall and 7-0 against Northern Kentucky opponents this season.
With senior veteran Bailey Spencer doing most of the pitching, Highlands has shut out four opponents and limited three others to just one run.
Highlands has a softball game with No. 2 Ryle scheduled for at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Ryle’s record dipped to 10-5 record after losing three consecutive games by one run.
The Ryle baseball team has games scheduled against No. 9 Dixie Heights on Friday and No. 3 Covington Catholic on Saturday.
Beechwood, the second-ranked team in the baseball coaches poll, will play in a tournament at Greenup County High School this weekend. The Tigers will then face Holy Cross on Monday and CovCath on Tuesday in district seeding games on their home field.
N. KY. HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL COACHES POLL
1. Ryle (8) 131
2. Beechwood (4 ) 121
3. Covington Catholic (2) 116
4. Campbell County 94
5. Conner 80
6. Highlands 76
7. Boone County 45
8. Simon Kenton 39
9. Dixie Heights 22
10. Cooper 19
Others receiving votes: Scott 9, Holy Cross 9, St. Henry 4, Brossart 3, NewCath 1, Walton-Verona 1.
N. KY. HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL COACHES POLL
1. Highlands (7) 87
2. Ryle (3) 79
3. Notre Dame 70
4. Boone County 61
5. Newport Catholic 47
6. St. Henry 42
7. Campbell County 38
8. Conner 36
9. Brossart 34
10. Dixie Heights 30
Others receiving votes: Walton-Verona 8, Holy Cross 7, Simon Kenton 5, Cooper 4, Calvary Christian 2.
Dixie Heights names new head coach for girls’ basketball team
Joel Steczynski, a varsity assistant coach for the Dixie Heights girls’ basketball team the last four seasons, has been named the new head coach of the Colonels.
Steczynski is replacing Tara Smith, who resigned as head coach last month after compiling a 69-86 record in five seasons. The Colonels earned a berth in the 9th Region tournament every season under Smith, but they lost in the first round each time.
Last season, Dixie Heights won nine of its last 14 games and posted a 15-16 record with three juniors and one freshman in the starting lineup.
Bishop Brossart and Newport are the other local high schools looking for new girls’ head basketball coaches. Scott and Ludlow are in process of finding new boys’ head basketball coaches.
Campbell County senior hits winning shot in all-star game
Campbell County senior Kylie Kramer made the game-winning basket in the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches East-West All-Star Game last Saturday at Transylvania University in Lexington.
In the final seconds, Kramer drove across the lane and hit a one-handed shot that gave the East girls a 101-99 win. Kramer finished with nine points and Ansley Davenport of Newport Central Catholic scored 12 for the East team. Haley Ison of Walton-Verona had 11 points for the West team.
In the boys’ all-star game, Ben Weyer and Tyler Bezold played on the West team that won a 140-112 shootout. Weyer netted 13 points and Bezold had six. Matt Wilson of Campbell County was the second leading scorer on the East team with 15 points.
Local wrestlers win medals at national tournament
Walton-Verona wrestler Mason Smith placed second in the 145-pound weight class in the sophomore division at the National High School Coaches Association Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.
After winning five matches to reach the championship final, Smith was pinned by Michael Omalley of New Jersey less than two minutes into the first period.
Ryan Moore of Walton-Verona lost in the semifinals of the 120-pound weight class in the sophomore division and Casey Cornett of Simon Kenton lost in the semifinals of the 170-pound weight class in the junior division. Both of them then won their final two matches in the consolation bracket to place third.