Sunday, June 04, 2000
CovCath region baseball champ
By John Schutte
Enquirer contributor
Off the field, Tony Maynard and Justin Baute are close friends. On the field Saturday afternoon the two played instrumental roles in Covington Catholic's 3-1 victory over Scott in the Ninth Region championship at St. Henry High School.
Covington Catholic advances to the sectionals for the second time in three years Wednesday at Campbell County.
“Before the game Baute and I talked about how fired up we were about this game,” Maynard said. “I could barely sleep last night.”
Baute made his presence felt in the second inning. With one out and runners on first and second, shortstop Bryan Stephenson made a throwing error, allowing Jon Kramer to score. Baute followed with a hard-hit two-run double in the gap to put the Colonels up 3-0.
“I was behind in the count with a ball and two strikes when he (Kreinest) hung a fastball,” Baute said. “I hate high pitches but with two strikes I had to protect. I put the ball in play and it fell into the gap.” Baute's hit was all senior pitcher Tony Maynard needed.
“Those runs took all the pressure off me,” Maynard said. “The team knows if they give me a couple of runs I will finish.”
Maynard was in control from the outset. He used a combination of curveball and fastball to keep Scott off balance. He struck out nine and finished with the complete-game victory.
“As a sophomore I pitched a complete game in the regional semifinals,” Maynard said. “That didn't mean near as much to me as today's game.” Scott threatened in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth the Eagles loaded the bases with two outs. Maynard got Jim Kreinest to hit a weak grounder to end the inning.
In the sixth inning, Scott scratched for a run. With one out Maynard hit Bryan Stephenson, who scored on a Brian Trenkamp single. Maynard settled down and proceeded to retire the next two batters.
Maynard retired Scott in order in the seventh inning and improved his record to 10-2.
“When Maynard got in trouble in the latter innings I knew that as long as we kept the lead I would keep him in. He's a senior and been there before,” Covington Catholic coach Bill Krumpelbeck said.
In the postgame awards ceremony, Maynard was named Ninth Region tournament MVP. Jim Kreinest of Scott was named player of the year and Scott coach Robb Smith was named coach of the year.
Scott ....... 000 001 0—1 5 1
Covington Catholic ....... 030 000 x—3 7 1
WP—Maynard (9 K's). LP—Kreinest. Hitting leaders: S—Griffith 2-4, 2B; Stephenson 1-2; Trenkamp RBI. CC—Baute 2B, 2RBI; Dietz 2-3; Kramer 2B. Records: CC 28-8, S 30-7.
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