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St. Henry baseball team claims first region title with 11-4 win over Beechwood in All “A” Classic final


By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

St. Henry won its first-ever region championship trophy in baseball Monday night when the Crusaders defeated Beechwood, 11-4, in the 9th Region All “A” Classic title game at UC Health Stadium in Florence.

Beechwood had won five of the last six 9th Region titles in the statewide small-school baseball playoffs, but St. Henry is the team that will advance to the sectional round this year to meet the 10th Region champion.

St. Henry outfielder Eli Meiman slides across home plate as the ball skips over the shoulder of Beechwood catcher Bryce Estep. (Photo by Dale Dawn)

The Crusaders scored six runs on five hits in the second inning of Monday’s game to take a 7-1 lead. Corey Shea led off the big inning with a triple and Matthew Reynolds drove in a pair of runs with a triple.

St. Henry got its final three runs in the fifth inning on a two-run double by Owen Eilerman and RBI single by Reynolds.

Eilerman was the winning pitcher. In five innings, he gave up three runs on six hits with six strike outs. Ryan Butler pitched the last two innings for the Crusaders and maintained the lead with the help of some good defensive plays.

In the sixth inning, Shea made a diving catch in the outfield and caught a runner off base for an inning-ending double play. The Crusaders turned another double play on a fly out in the seventh inning.

St. Henry pitcher Owen Eilerman went five innings to pick up the win over Beechwood. (Photo by Dale Dawn)

St. Henry finished with 13 hits on the night and Beechwood had eight. There were five triples in the game. In addition to Shea and Reynolds, Carter Scheben got one for the Crusaders. The other two were by Beechwood teammates Ben Meier and Landon Johnson.

Gabe Ryan and Reid Ravenscraft drove in two runs each for the Crusaders. Both of them, Shea and Butler also played on the St. Henry basketball team that won All “A” Classic region and state championships the last two years.

St. Henry snapped a four-game losing streak against Beechwood that included a 6-1 loss to the Tigers on April 5. Beechwood won all three games between the two teams during the 2019 season. Last year’s baseball season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The final two rounds of the 10th Region All “A” Classic baseball playoffs are scheduled for Saturday. The semifinal pairings are Brossart vs. Bracken County and Nicholas County vs. Augusta. The winners of those games will then face off in the championship final.

The winners of eight sectional games will advance to the All “A” Classic state tournament April 24 and 25  in Owensboro. Beechwood won All “A” Classic state championships in 2018 and 2019.

BEECHWOOD   012  001  0 –  4   8  2
ST. HENRY        161  030  x – 11 13  2

WP – Eilerman (6 Ks). LP – Holladay.
Hitting leaders: SH – Ryan 2-4, 2 RBI; Eilerman 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Ravenscraft 2-4, 2 RBI; Reynolds 2-4, 3B, 3 RBI, Resing 2-4, Shea 2-2, 3B; Scheben 3B.  B – Jackson 2-4, 2B; Estep 2-3; Johnson 3B, Meier 3B. Records: St. Henry 7-1, Beechwood 7-2.


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One Comment

  1. Kay Eilerman says:

    Re St. Henry victory over Beechwood last evening, Owen Eilerman made the diving catch in the sixth inning, not Cory Shea. Owen replaced Shea in left field after pitching 5 innings.

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