LEXINGTON, Ky. – Louisville Trinity, one of the best teams in the country, used its balanced mix of strong hitting and standout pitching to end Beechwood’s season.
Trinity eliminated Beechwood, 11-0, in the quarterfinals of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state baseball tournament June 6 at Legends Field.
Trinity, 39-3, advances to next weekend’s state semifinals. They are high in the rankings in several national lists, including No. 2 in the country by MaxPreps. Beechwood finishes 33-10.
“They have a phenomenal program,” Beechwood head coach Kevin Gray said. “We were fortunate to battle them down here, only one of eight teams left. So I’m really proud.”
But not without a fight, as the Tigers battled but couldn’t keep up with the Shamrocks.
Trinity scored in five of the seven innings, notching 13 hits. The Shamrocks averaged over nine runs per game. They averaged 14 in their first three postseason games.
The Shamrocks got seven runs and eight hits off Beechwood starter Caleb Arrasmith, who also walked three and struck out eight in 4.2 innings. One of the runs was unearned. The junior finished 9-3 for the season. Branton Stiles took over in the fifth.
Beechwood had three hits off Trinity’s starting pitcher, senior Konnor Stargel (9-0, 0.85), who is a Kentucky Wesleyan commit. He struck out six and walked four, throwing 101 pitches. He tired in the seventh and left for a reliever after Beechwood loaded the bases with an error, walk and hit.
Stargel had thrown a shutout against California power St. John Bosco as one of his wins. No. 2 starter Grayson Davis wasn’t available to throw, so he got the nod.
“They’re loaded,” Gray said. “They go to their three or four guy. It’s the same guy, basically. I told the kids, sometimes you got to tip your cap and the team’s better than you. They hit the ball better tonight. They pitched better. They did everything better.”
Trinity has pitched shutouts in five of its six postseason games, including the last three.
In the first, the Shamrocks got a run off Arrasmith on a Cade Partin RBI single.
In the first, the Tigers left the bases loaded after a two-out rally. They got walks to Sawyer Carlisle and Caleb Arrasmith around a Brooks Becker single. In the second, the Tigers left a runner at second.
“They put so much pressure on you,” Gray said. “Every inning, every pitch. And if we get a couple runs (there), it’s a whole different atmosphere; it’s a whole different thought process for them and us. They did their job. Trinity made some plays that were phenomenal.”
In the third, Trinity scored three, the last two on a Harper Haywood double to left field, to take a 4-0 lead.
In the fifth, Trinity tacked on two more. Partin notched his second hit after a walk to Grayson Willoughby. After a sacrifice bunt, Harper Haywood hit a sacrifice fly for his third RBI. Carson Hailey reached on an infield single to drive in a run and make it 6-0.
Branton Stiles replaced Arrasmith on the mound after that. He allowed an RBI single to make it 7-0. Beechwood committed two errors in the inning.
Trinity made it 8-0 in the sixth on an RBI single by Willoughby, the newly crowned Kentucky Mr. Baseball and a University of Kentucky signee, who ended with three hits and two RBIs. The Shamrocks tacked on three more in the seventh, including a two-run double by Zach Swope.
Senior salute
Beechwood seniors are Brooks Becker, Sawyer Carlisle, Aiden Dicke, Hudson Edwards, Quentin Knasel, Bobby Meier, Brennan Siler, Austin Stephenson, Branton Stiles and Zach True. Five of them started tonight.
Carlisle started the game batting .437, third on the team. He ended the season 7-1 with a 2.66 ERA on the mound after leading the Tigers in the first round.
They helped Beechwood win its fifth regional title in seven seasons.
“This was one of the most fun years I’ve ever had with this group,” Gray said. “The work ethic, the off-the-field stuff we did. We got so many compliments about them and their manners. That’s the character that they have.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Beechwood baseball falls to nationally ranked Trinity in state tourney
Reporting by James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
