Offense stalls as Beechwood baseball is shut out in Kentucky state tournament

A historical season for Beechwood came to a historical end, just for the wrong reason. The Tigers were shut out for the first time all season in a 3-0 loss to Apollo in the first round of the state tournament.

Just like their three regional tournament games, Beechwood outhit their opponent, but unlike the regional tournament, it was their opponent who came up with the timely hit.

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The Tigers had trouble getting their offense going early, despite putting two runners on base in the first inning. Similar to how Beechwood chased Ryle ace Dylan McIntyre in the regional tournament, they drove up Apollo ace Noah Cook's pitch count in hopes of knocking him out of the game.

"He kept us off balance and, you know, when you're out on your front foot, that's what happens. The ball goes up in the air," Beechwood head coach Kevin Gray said.

Beechwood had its chances but was only able to advance four baserunners into scoring position. They left a total of nine men on base, including two each in the first, fifth and seventh innings.

Senior Matthew Kappes matched Cook blow-for-blow until the sixth inning. He hadn't allowed a hit until Garrett Lanham reached on an infield single. Lanham stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. The true turning point was when Lanham got caught between third and home but was able to get back to third safely despite a swipe tag from Michael Detzel.

"It is what it is," Gray said. "When you have a goose egg up on the board, you can't really complain about a call here, a call there."

After the Tigers elected to walk Will Strode to load the bases, Josh Mayes grounded into a fielder's choice at home. Beechwood appeared to be out of the jam after Easton Blandford lined out to left but Sam Holder roped the second pitch he saw into the gap for a bases-clearing triple.

Similar to Highlands softball's defeat to Johnson Central, it was one mistake that triggered the Tigers' downfall.

Apollo head coach Brandon Dennis left Cook in for the sixth inning and he responded with a three-up, three-down inning.

Beechwood posed one final threat in the bottom of the seventh. Carson Welch was hit by a pitch before Nazario Pangallo walked with one out. Senior Cameron Boyd, who leads the state in home runs and is the favorite for Kentucky Mr. Baseball, walked to the plate with two runners on and two outs. However, he struck out on four pitches to end the Tigers' season.

"He was pretty upset after that at-bat and I just said, 'Put your head up. You can't let this one at-bat ruin your whole career.'" Gray said.

The Tigers finish with a record of 27-9 after winning their fourth straight Ninth Region championship.

Standout players

Michael Detzel, Beechwood: He was the only Tiger to reach base three times, getting on via a single, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Sam Holder, Apollo: His three-run triple was the Eagles' second and last hit of the game but it proved to be the difference.

Senior salute

Winning region championships and playing in the state tournament is all Beechwood's senior class has ever known Mitchell Berger, Boyd, Evan Brauch, Landon Johnson, Kappes, Ben Meier, Torin O'Shea, Pangallo, Mason Preston, Josh Schmidt and Sam Stacy won three consecutive titles and compiled a record of 87-23 in those three years.

"They put their mark on Beechwood baseball," Gray said.