Lexington Catholic among state’s best baseball teams and proves it with weekend split

Despite having its best player shelved due to a bruised knee, the Lexington Catholic baseball team proved it could battle with the best after splitting a pair of games against top-10 teams over the weekend.

The Knights (12-6, 1-0 in the 43rd District) are ranked No. 5 in the state by PrepBaseballReport.com. They rallied to beat No. 8 Manual 4-3 at home on Friday and then nearly did the same against visiting No. 2 Boyd County on Saturday before falling 6-3 in eight innings.

“You win games. You lose games. But if you learn something from losing games then we’re moving in the right direction,” Lexington Catholic coach Scott Downs said after Friday’s win. “Sometimes it takes a loss to open up your eyes. We have guys that have dog mentalities, we’re just waiting for them to come out.”

It was sophomore Brady Wasik’s turn on Friday. The sophomore catcher, starting in place of junior Louisville commit Owen Jenkins, delivered a bases-clearing three-run triple off the third baseman’s glove to break a 1-1 tie with Manual in the bottom of the sixth. Zach Grigalis, Burkley Bounds and Bennie Lawrence, who all reached on walks, scored. Pinch-runner Max Daugherty later came in on a passed ball for a 4-1 lead.

“(Wasik) was due for it. He’s just been piecing the ball, so he’s been due for a break,” said LexCath starter Pierre Kauffmann, a right-handed junior Columbia University commit who got the win for six innings’ work.

Kauffmann allowed a home run to Manual’s Bennett Holdener in the top of the first and faced some nervy frames throughout with three walks and seven strikeouts. The worst of those came just before LexCath’s rally.

Tied 1-1 in the top of the sixth, Manual loaded the bases with no outs on a single, a walk and a fielder’s choice. Kauffman buckled down and got a pair of weak grounders that allowed force outs at home. He then struck out the final batter to end the threat.

“You’ve got to just be a dog,” Kauffmann said. “You can’t think negative or (something bad) is going to happen. You’ve just got to be a dog and think positive.”

Connor Busson walked a pair and gave up two runs in the seventh but still hung on for the save. With runners at first and third with one out, the Knights turned a grounder to short into a double play to end the game.

“We had some guys that had a mental approach to the game today that they hadn’t had all year,” Downs said Friday. “And that’s what we’re working towards, that’s what we’re trying to build — that mental approach, the positive approach, not getting down on yourself, not getting down on the team — just doing the little things.”

Jenkins, a .488 hitter who is among the Knights’ best run-producers, badly bruised his knee on a slide during LexCath’s spring break tournament in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. His presence in the lineup is missed, but his leadership in the dugout remains valuable, Downs said. And his absence offers an opportunity for the rest of the team.

“When you have the best hitter in the state out, it shows,” Downs said. “But you know what? Somebody’s got to step up. Who wants to step up?”

Saturday, the Knights trailed Boyd County 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning and looked done with two out and only one on thanks to an error. But Zach Rayyan’s double to right-center brought a run in. A walk to Jack White chased Boyd starter Ryan Brown.

Then Cody Decker hit the second pitch he saw from reliever JK McKnight and tied the game 3-3 with a two-run double. Although LexCath allowed three runs in the eighth in the 6-3 loss, the Knights didn’t go down without a fight.

As Kauffman said Friday: “We can win. We can beat anybody. We’re one of the best teams in the state, for sure.”

This week

This week’s games between 43rd District teams

Tuesday: Paul Laurence Dunbar (8-4) at Lexington Catholic (12-6), 6 p.m.; Lexington Christian (4-7) at Tates Creek (4-9), 6 p.m.

Wednesday: Lexington Catholic at Paul Laurence Dunbar, 6 p.m.; Tates Creek at Lexington Christian, 6 p.m.