The Oldham County Colonels (13-3) won the first of two meetings against their county rival, the North Oldham Mustangs (5-11), 9-1 on Monday night.
“We did a good job of executing our game plan,” Oldham County head coach Bo Akers said. “Coen [Ball] did a great job on the mound. Logan Slechter did a great job on the mound when he came in. We controlled the game from up there. We made defensive plays that we needed to make. We put a lot of consecutive at bats together that were solid at bats. The hit total was a little lower but a lot of good outs, a lot of competitive at bats. They really made Ryan [Sanders] work to get us out. He’s a really good arm, really good pitcher.”
North Oldham head coach Zach Ivester wanted to see his players be better defensively, especially with Oldham County senior Coen Ball on the mound against their offense.
“I believe we ended up walking seven, hitting one, but we walked a lot of guys,” Ivester said. “We gave up at least 12 Free bases, and Ball is an awesome pitcher. He sure was awesome [Monday], and that’s just not a recipe for success against a good arm. Until we start tightening the screws defensively and on the mound and we start attacking hitters and converting plays that we need to convert, it’s going to be hard to generate enough offense against good arms to outpace those mistakes.”
Ball started the game, throwing six innings along with six strikeouts. Junior Logan Slechter pitched one inning, throwing two strikeouts.
“It just really goes all to mechanics,” Ball said. “When you start missing low or missing high, for myself, I try to get more to my legs…It also helps when your team is putting up nine points a game. Being able to compete with anybody, not worrying about giving up a run here or there, walking somebody, because you know you’re going to go hit the ball and put up some more runs.”
North junior Ryan Sanders started the game for North Oldham, tossing five innings with six strikeouts. Freshman Gabe Kuerzi threw one inning and struck out one batter.
“I thought [Sanders] competed much better tonight than maybe he has in the past,” Ivester said. “He’s still just a junior, and I think he recognized pretty early, like ‘maybe I don’t have my A stuff.’ He was still good enough to keep us in the game.”
Colonel sophomore Daniel Stewart went 2-for-3, batting in three runs on a three-run home run. Senior Jaxon Perkins went 1-for-3 with one RBI while scoring three runs.
“It’s just hours of work in the offseason,” Stewart said. “I really try my best to rise to the occasion or situations. I like the saying, ‘you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to your training.’ I really like that.”
Kuerzi went 2-for-3 for the Mustangs, hitting a solo home run.
“The thing that I love about [Kuerzi] that I wish we could spread around a little bit is I’ve learned in coaching that you want the kids who want the ball in their hand when it matters, whether you’re a freshman or a senior,” Ivester said. “...He competed hard and being a freshman, being able to have two hits and one really, really good at bat and come in and be competitive on the mound, that’s really all you can ask for a kid like that. We just needed to find some guys that could kind of complement him today, and we just didn’t.”
Ball walked two batters to start the top of the first inning but kept the Mustangs scoreless throughout. The Colonels took advantage of their walk in the bottom of the first inning. Perkins led off with a walk followed by a Stewart single, moving Perkins to third base.
Sanders forced two outs before a wild pitch allowed Perkins to give Oldham County a 1-0 lead. Sanders ended the first inning on a fly out.
“We have [Perkins and Stewart] at the top for a reason,” Akers said. “They don’t change based on the moment. They take consistent good at bats, whether it’s to start a game off or if we’re up by 10 or if the game is on the line. That’s kind of more of the same from what we’ve seen from them, and it’s really nice.”
North bounced back in the top of the second with a lead-off solo home run by Kuerzi to tie the game, his first home run of the season. Ball forced a ground out and struck out the next batter before sophomore Logan Cox singled. Cox was stranded after a Ball strikeout.
The Colonels responded, getting two runners on base with a hit by pitch and a walk. After a Sanders strikeout, Perkins hit a high-arcing ball that barely fell in for an RBI infield single. Stewart gave Oldham County a 5-1 lead in the next at bat, crushing a three-run home run, his first home run of the season. Sanders ended the second inning with a pop up.
“I had B material [Monday],” Stewart said. “I didn’t feel my best. I was really just thinking to take it [opposite field], and let the ball do it, because [Sanders] is probably throwing 85 [MPH]. I just threw my hands at it.”
Akers loves to see these big moments play out in games for his players.
“It’s nice to see it,” Akers said. “Those are the best moments as a coach when you see all the work they do behind the scenes and when you get to see it actually play out in real life in a big moment, that’s really cool.”
Both teams went three up, three down in the third inning. The fourth inning saw one hit between the rivals, a single by Kuerzi. Sanders picked up three strikeouts while Ball threw two between the third and fourth inning.
Ball continued to dominate in the fifth inning, earning a strikeout and stranding a runner at third base. Oldham County was able to add a run in the bottom of the fifth. The Colonels loaded the bases with two walks and a single by junior Jackson Martin. Junior Clay Cartledge batted in a run on a fielder’s choice, giving them a 6-1 lead.
Ball threw another three up, three down inning in the top of the sixth. Kuerzi entered the game to pitch for the Mustangs in the bottom of the sixth. The Colonels’ first two batters walked and stole second and third base on a double steal before Perkins hit an RBI single.
A wild pitch in the next at bat scored junior Josiah McCall. Ball added to the Oldham County total with a two-out RBI single. Kuerzi ended the sixth on a ground out.
Slechter came in relief for Ball in the top of the seventh inning. He ended the game with a three up, three down inning with two strikeouts. The Colonels won 9-1.
“It feels good. I’ve said it all year, this team is really special,” Ball said. “I feel like we have chemistry that’s better than anything I’ve been a part of in my whole career and just seeing us be able to put good at bats together. Everybody on the pitching staff is able to get deep in ball games, and our bullpen is able to shut anybody down that we play. It’s just really uplifting and really cool to see it all come together here and get hot at the right moment.”
Both teams were scheduled to play again on Wednesday, April 10 at North Oldham High School, but the game was postponed due to rain. Game two between the rivals is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday morning at Eastern High School.
Ivester wants to see his team get back on track and sees it as a way to move forward and build momentum.
“This is true, whether you win or lose games, you’re generally as good as your next day’s starting pitcher, and Wyatt [Colvin] has been great for us so far,” Ivester said. “The bullpen behind him has been pretty stout. We know that he’s going to pitch well enough to keep us in it. What I’d hoped to see is that we catch it a little bit better, we throw it a little bit better and swing it a little bit better.”
Akers has liked the way his team has played to start the year, but he realizes that every game is a new game, and his team has to bring their best foot forward in every outing. WIth Ball playing six of seven innings on Monday, it opens the bullpen up for the Colonels throughout the week.
“[North is] going to be ready to play on Wednesday,” Akers said. “Zach will get them ready to go. Going 1-0 is nice, but the second game is coming, Colvin has a sub-two ERA. We have to go figure out how to hit him. You don’t get to carry this score over into the second game, you start at zeros and you’re going to have to go win a baseball game.”