Wednesday, April 14, 1999
N.KY. HIGH SCHOOL REPORT
Buckler buckles down in Ryle victory
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Few high school coaches have the luxury of an effective relief pitcher.
The one exception is Ryle baseball coach Pat Roesel, who has junior Scott Buckler, who is 3-0 with one save following Tuesday's 8-4 victory over Lloyd.
Buckler faced only six batters in the sixth and seventh innings to pick up the save. He took over with the Raiders holding a slim 5-4 lead.
Through Tuesday's game, Buckler has allowed only one earned run in 15 innings. He started one game and went the distance for the victory.
“Scott played a lot last year but didn't pitch much,” Roesel said. “The 15 innings he's pitched this season is more than anyone on the team.”
Offensively, Buckler is also one of Ryle's leading hitters. He has amassed a .433 batting average with nine RBI, four home runs and 13 runs scored.
“If it isn't broken, why fix it?” Roesel said. “We plan to keep Scott as a relief pitcher except on certain occasions when he'll start.”
Ryle is off to an 8-3 start, the second best in the history of the school.
• Walton-Verona 5, Pendleton County 4 — Until Tuesday, Trent Dunhoft batted second in the lineup. But the sophomore was moved to the No.6 spot by coach Kevin McIntyre.
“We wanted to give Trent more RBI chances,” McIntyre said. “We've been hitting the ball well but leaving too many men on base.”
Dunhoft came through under pressure. He smacked a two-out, bases-loaded single in the seventh inning, giving the Bearcats the come-from-behind victory.
• Holmes 5, Dayton 0 — Senior Jeff Brinkman pitched his career-first no-hitter.
“Jeff kept the ball down, which made him hard to hit,” Holmes coach Dave Hartman said.
Sophomore Antwan Curry's solo home run in the third ignited a three-run Bulldog spurt.
• Newport 4, Ludlow 2 — A sacrifice fly off the bat of Jacob Stephenson drove in the winning run in the fourth inning.
Bryan Atwood went the distance and is now 2-0.
Softball
• Simon Kenton 4, Dixie Heights 2 — For 6ö innings, Jessica Dougherty had a no-hitter, but the Colonels broke it up before falling to the Pioneers.
Daugherty struck out 10 and is now 8-1 on the season.
• Walton-Verona 8, Bishop Brossart 3 — The addition of a drop, along with an improved fast ball, has made sophomore Bobbi Pittman a more effective pitcher.
With fellow sophomore Jessica Schmidt providing the offense, Pittman limited the Mustangs to four hits, improving her record to 3-4.
• Notre Dame 11, Beechwood 0 — Pitcher Jessica Birkenhauer came through again for the Pandas, allowing only one hit while improving to 6-0.
“Jessica was 14-13 last season but has added a rising ball and curve,” coach Mary Kay Parker said. She hasn't given up an earned run in 37 innings and struck out 64.
Sophomore Julie Wulfeck triggered the offense, driving in four runs.
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