NewCath baseball, softball teams advance

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Newport Central Catholic senior Loren Zimmerman (right) and Head Coach Denny Barnes share a laugh during Tuesday's 36th District semifinal win over Dayton.

The Newport Central Catholic baseball and softball teams advanced to the 9th Region Tournament with 36th District semifinal wins Tuesday.

The top-seeded softball team (20-9) bested Dayton, 13-0 in five innings at Winkler Park in Fort Thomas. NewCath faces either Highlands or Newport in the district championship game on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

The second-seeded baseball team (14-18) rallied past host Bellevue, 10-4 to make it back to the region tournament for the first time in two years. The Thoroughbreds won the region in 2011 and 2012.

NewCath trailed 4-3 entering the bottom of the sixth. But the Thoroughbreds exploded for six runs to win it.

"The kids understand we played a challenging schedule to prepare us for the district tournament and the regional," said Jeff Schulkens, veteran NewCath Head Coach. "We should be mentally challenged. We were challenged in the first inning. We kept our composure and found a way to win it in the sixth."

NewCath outhit Bellevue, 13-3. Brandon Gray went 4-for-5 with two runs and two runs batted in. Winning pitcher Grant Moeves went 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Josh Schneider, Griffin McHugh and Zack Pangallo had two hits each. Pangallo and Nate Enslen had doubles.

The Thoroughbreds face either Highlands or Dayton in the district title game Thursday. Game time is 4:30 p.m.