[Stardust]

LEXINGTON, KY. — A season-long concern for the Pleasure Ridge Park High School baseball team — an inconsistent offense — finally spelled its doom.The Panthers managed just three hits and wasted a solid performance from pitcher Hunter Johnson in a 3-2 loss to Newport Central Catholic on Tuesday night in the first round of the Kentucky National Insurance/KHSAA State Tournament.
“We’re not a great offensive ballclub to begin with,” PRP coach Bill Miller said. “We hit some balls, and they made the plays.”
A crowd of 1,679 at Whitaker Bank Ballpark saw Newport Central Catholic (25-16-1) avenge a 10-4 loss to the Panthers in last year’s quarterfinals. The Thoroughbreds will face Henderson County in Thursday’s 6 p.m. quarterfinal.
PRP (29-12) failed to score more than four runs in all 12 of its losses. Johnson (7-4) allowed just three hits and struck out 12 but walked four batters, with three of them scoring.
“That’s baseball,” Miller said. “You walk people, they score. Hunter pitched great. … You have to give (the Thoroughbreds) credit. They’re a great baseball team. They beat us.”
NewCath jumped on top early. Brady Hightchew and Dom Pangallo walked to open the game, and Nick Woltermann followed with a shot over the head of center fielder Jacob Clair for a two-run triple.
“That’s a huge hit to get the momentum,” NewCath coach Jeff Schulkens said before complimenting Johnson. “That’s probably the most velocity we’ve seen all year. He was consistently 86, 87 (mph).”
Josh Cain’s RBI single made it 3-0 in the third before PRP rallied in the bottom half.
After Blake Stewart singled and Josh Beams was hit by a pitch, Alex Miller singled to score Stewart. Johnson then hit a high popup that was dropped by shortstop Woltermann, allowing Beams to score to make it 3-2. Connor Bartels (8-3) struck out Joe Hatcher to end the inning.
“Earlier in the year that would have killed us,” Schulkens said of the error. “The pitcher would have given up a base hit after that and we’d fall behind. Connor did a great job bouncing back. The kid’s a great competitor.”
Bartels retired 13 of the final 14 PRP batters, with Cody Strong’s fifth-inning walk the lone blemish. Bartels said the key was keeping the hitters off-balance.
“We just threw a lot of off-speeds to the top of the lineup,” said Bartels, who struck out eight and walked one.
It was PRP’s fifth trip to the state tournament in seven years, including a title in 2008. Miller, in his 33rd season at the school, said he was as proud of this team’s work ethic as any he’s coached.
“They played hard, and we just came up short,” he said.http://saxo.highschoolsports.net/article...er?Avis=B2