Waynesville moves on to the regional semifinals to face Chaminade Julienne at Mason High School on Thursday at 5 p.m.
The Spartans loaded the bases quickly in the first inning with back-to-back hits and a walk. A wild pitch from Kenton Ridge’s Noah Schlenitz brought home the first of five runs in the inning. The back breaker was a two-out, two run bloop single to left off the bat of Micah Spille.
Kenton Ridge got one run back in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-out single from Cameron Kettler that chased Calvin Diebert all the way around from first to score.
The Spartans scored three more runs in the second. Tommy Isaacs had the big blow with an RBI double to right field.
The deficit was 10-1 when Kenton Ridge started the rally in the sixth. The Cougars strung together four straight two-out hits and scored five times to make it a 10-6 game.
The home team added two more in the seventh and had the tying run at the plate, but Luke Holt’s sinking line drive was picked off on a diving catch by Spille in right field to end it.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games but we’ve never been down that much,” Cougars coach Aaron Shaffer said after the game. “We just ran out of some outs. I think if that game keeps playing I like our chances, but you’ve got to give them credit.”
Kenton Ridge finished the season 22-7.
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