Thursday, June 07, 2001
Kentucky baseball highlights
Lineup changes pay off for Dixie
By Ray Schaefer
Enquirer contributor
The lineup changes Dixie Heights baseball coach Chris Maxwell made in April and May are paying off in June.
The Ninth Region champion Colonels, playing in their first sectional since 1993, will play 11th Region champion Franklin County in the Section 3 semifinals at 7:30 p.m. today at Pulaski County High School in Somerset.
Dixie (22-16-1) was not floundering at any point in the season, even though it had seven new starters, but Maxwell thought something was missing.
“We had an extra infielder, and we didn't have an outfield,” Maxwell said. “A couple kids left.”
Maxwell moved the extra infielder, junior Steven Roderick, from third base to left field. Roderick missed the 2000 season because of a knee injury but is hitting .379 this season.
“He flirted with .400 at the beginning of the year,” Maxwell said.
Then, three more shifts: senior John Brockman from second base to third; junior Kory Lonergan from shortstop to second; and senior Jay Johnson from third to shortstop.
Lonergan started the year in the outfield, and he wondered why.
“I wanted to be in the infield,” Lonergan said. “I figured it would work out.”
And everything has.
Maxwell said Brockman handles sharply hit grounders at third better than he did at second, and he called Lonergan “one of our best infielders.”
Johnson is hitting .511 after moving from third in the batting order to leadoff, and 28 of his 67 hits were for extra bases.
“His biggest asset was he hit 20 doubles and eight triples,” Maxwell said.
The players who stayed at their positions are doing well, too.
Senior first baseman Troy Kenning — whose double in the eighth inning gave Dixie a 1-0 win over Covington Catholic in the regional title game Sunday — has a .325 average.
Johnson is likely to be the starting pitcher tonight. He is 6-5 this season but has a 1.74 ERA and 98 strikeouts.
Dixie also has junior left-hander Graham Taylor and his 8-3 record, 1.42 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched.
Maxwell doesn't know a lot about Franklin County (29-11) — except the Flyers must have something to still be playing.
“They beat Lexington Catholic, so you know they're good,” Maxwell said.
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