Western Hills High School

Baseball Notebook: All-Star Season

Cowgill, who led all Pacific Coast League All-Stars in votes, started in centerfield and hit leadoff for the PCL in the contest vs. the International League. The Lexington, Ky., native and Henry Clay High School product has hit .355 (123-for-346) through 86 games for the Reno Aces, with 20 doubles, seven triples, 12 homers and 59 RBI, stealing 26-of-29 bases and posting a 46-54 walk-strikeout ratio. During his storied four-year career at Kentucky, Cowgill helped the Wildcats win their first ever Southeastern Conference Championship as a sophomore in 2006, batting .298 (67-for-225) with 16 homers and 61 RBI. After missing 2007 due to a hand injury, Cowgill returned for an All-America campaign in 2008, joining fellow All-America selection Sawyer Carroll in the outfield. The first-team Academic All-American batted .361 in 2008 with 15 doubles, two triples and 19 home runs, adding 60 RBI and stealing 23-of-27 bases in 2008. Following the 2008 season, Cowgill earned first-team All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and second-team honors from Rivals.com and Baseball America. In his UK career, Cowgill batted .306 (171-for-558) in 165 games, totaling 166 runs, 35 doubles, 37 homers, 140 RBI and 32 stolen bags. Riddle, a native of Frankfort, Ky., and the 2010 Kentucky High School Mr. Baseball selection, has hit .260 (19-for-73) as the shortstop for the Lexington Hustlers in 22 games this summer, totaling five doubles, one triple and five RBI, including a 13-10 walk-strikeout ratio. A talented right-hander on the bump, Riddle has appeared in four games with two starts, posting a 2-1 record and a 3.27 ERA in 11 innings, striking out 10 and allowing five walks and nine hits. Riddle’s best outing on the mound came on June 16, going four innings and allowing just one base runner with five strikeouts. In the all-star game, Riddle registered three at bats as the starting shortstop, drawing a walk and scoring a run. It is not the first time Riddle has played in a MLB ballpark in the last few months, also making three starts at the 2011 Houston College Classic, hosted by the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Riddle – who made a name for himself as an eye-popping defender in rightfield as a freshman – made several staggering grabs during the HCC in the spacious Minute Maid Park outfield. As a freshman in 2011, Riddle immediately stepped into the UK lineup and excelled offensively and defensively. A 6-foot-3, 180-pound left-handed hitter, Riddle hit .288 (47-for-163) as a freshman with UK, charting nine doubles, three homers and 25 RBI, also stealing seven bases. Riddle got off to a great start, owning a .355 average entering SEC play and earning SEC Freshman of the Week accolades after powering UK to a series win over Tennessee. A shortstop in high school at Western Hills, Riddle transitioned to rightfield and second base during his freshman season, making 15 starts at second and 28 in rightfield, hitting primarily No. 4 (five times), No. 5 (14 times) and No. 6 (eight times) in the batting order. A 35th round pick in the 2010 MLB Draft out of high school, Riddle finished the year with 10 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI outings. Maile, a native of Crestview Hills, Ky., and the 2009 Kentucky High School Mr. Baseball has split his time between the Cape Cod League and the PGCBL and has played 11 games since joining the PGCBL. In those 11 games, Maile has hit .486 with five doubles, four homers and 11 RBI, drawing eight walks and striking out eight times, with a 1.550 OPS (on-base + slugging percentage). In 10 games in the Cape, Maile collected three hits and a double, adding two walks. During his blistering week, Maile hit .522 (12-for-23) with two homers and nine RBI, scoring seven runs, drawing seven walks with eight doubles. On July 4th, Maile went 4-for-5 with three RBI, two doubles and a homer, including the game-winning hit in the 10th inning. Defensively, Maile picked off two runners on second base during a game with Watertown. As a freshman reliever for UK in 2011, Gott made 23 appearances and totaled two saves, coming against Utah in the 2011 Houston College Classic and against Arkansas in Lexington. Overall, Gott totaled a 2-4 record and a 3.62 ERA, striking out 34 in 27.1 innings. Without two bad outings late in the season, Gott was dominating, posting a 2-3 record and a 1.38 ERA. Wijas, a right-hander out of Elk Grove, Ill., has totaled five saves through 10 relief outings in the NECBL, striking out 11 in nine innings, with only two walks allowed. With his five saves, Wijas ranks third in the league. In his two-year career at UK, Wijas has totaled 34 outings and one start, posting a 3-0 record and a 4.18 ERA in 60.1 innings, with 49 strikeouts. As a sophomore, Wijas appeared in a career-high 20 games in relief, striking out 30 in 35.1 frames. Albers, a native of North Battleford, Saskatchewan, has posted dominating numbers in high class A through 22 games and two starts. A 6-foot-1, 195-pounder, Albers has saved four games in 52.1 innings, allowing only 48 hits and seven walks, striking out 46. In his 20 relief outings alone – without the two starts – Albers has a 4-0 record and a 0.83 ERA, striking out 41 in 43.1 frames. As one of the top pitchers in program history, Albers helped transform the UK pitching staff into a championship caliber unit as a tremendous leader. Albers totaled 20 career wins at UK as a reliever and closer, making 81 appearances with 31 starts. He recorded 12 saves in his career, ranking third-best in UK baseball history. The lefty tossed 239.1 career innings with 185 strikeouts. As a senior in 2008, Albers was a workhorse out of the bullpen for a team that set the school-record with 44 wins, making 31 appearances and one start, saving five games and fanning 64 in 56.1 innings. Three of those former SEC standouts recently faced off with Kentucky during their career, with UK having the most success against Price. In three starts vs. UK from 2005-07, Price allowed 16 runs in 14.1 innings, allowing 15 hits and seven walks with 19 strikeouts. Robertson made one appearance vs. the Wildcats in 2005, tossing 2.2 innings and allowing only one run and one hit, fanning seven of the 11 outs he recorded. While playing shortstop in 2005, former UK star John Shelby recorded the only hit Robertson allowed vs. the Wildcats, a solo homer. Avila served as the backstop for the Crimson Tide in 2008, when UK was racking up 44 wins. The Wildcats swept Avila’s Tide in 2008 in Lexington, before facing Alabama twice in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. UK posted four wins in the five meetings, with Avila batting .318 (7-for-22) in the five games with two doubles, one homer and five RBI, striking out eight times without a walk. A native of Louisville, Ky., Green has made his first seven appearances of 2011 in MiLB since tossing only four innings during the 2010 season. Green has appeared in seven games in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League, totaling one save in 5.1 innings. Before suffering the injury, Green excelled in class A in the Florida State League, posting a 3-4 record and a 3.25 ERA in 32 relief outings, totaling 11 saves and striking out 35 in 36 innings. During his career at Kentucky, Nidiffer had a penchant for delivering clutch hits and walk-off homers. As a senior, during UK’s back-against-the-wall series against defending NCAA Champion LSU, Nidiffer launched a go-ahead grand slam to erase a three-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth inning off LSU All-America closer Matty Ott, lifting UK to a sweep. In 2008, Nidiffer launched a walk-off home run during UK’s series sweep over Purdue, connecting on a pitch from flame-throwing Boilermaker closer Josh Lindblom, currently a reliever with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cooper has made two starts in his professional debut and is coming off a three-inning start that saw him allow only one earned run with three punchouts. Johnson has appeared in 17 games as a second baseman and shortstop, batting .220 (11-for-50) with three doubles and five RBI. Known for his disciplined approach at the plate and as one of the top base thieves in the SEC, Johnson has drawn 13 walks to just nine strikeouts, stealing 4-of-5 bases. A 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, Kapteyn was drafted as a first baseman but has since transitioned back to the mound, In three relief outings, Kapteyn has tossed two shutout appearances, fanning four in his last two hitless innings of work. Wright has continued his hot hitting from his three-year career in Lexington, batting .286 (22-for-77) through his first 21 professional games, totaling two doubles and three RBI. Wright owns a 10-7 walk-strikeout ratio, stealing 4-of-6 bases.

Western Hills football program enjoying success off the field ...

Western Hills senior right tackle Aliou Diouf said last year’s successful season for the Mustangs was a building block for this upcoming August.

With a 7-3 record in 2010, it was definitely a significant step in the right direction for Western Hills, which is expected to be among the top teams in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference again this season after struggling in recent years.

But, this summer has been much more than preparation for the season opener at Lakota East Aug. 26. In many ways, this June and July have provided important building blocks for life for a number of Western Hills players.

At least 10 players are employed at West Side businesses this summer, including McDonald’s, Rally’s, Wendy’s and Kroger, thanks in part to the efforts of third-year head coach Paul Jenne, who helps connect the players to those restaurant managers.

The jobs help the players earn income to buy football cleats and purchase bus fare. Jenne estimates about 85-90 percent of his players can’t afford bus fare during the summer.

Diouf, who lives in the Westwood area, is 6 feet 7 and 300 pounds and is one of the top players returning this season at Western Hills. He has received interest from the University of Cincinnati football program.

Jenne helped Diouf and others prepare for the interview process at area  businesses. Diouf said he is thankful for the experience of going through the formal process and answering questions from management when he applied at McDonald’s on Glenway Avenue.

“It was a unique opportunity that we need to take a hold of,” said Diouf.

Jenne, who has had experience with worker education programs, credits Western Hills graduate and former Mustangs starting center and captain Jarius Cobb for leading the way for the current group of high school students. Cobb, who is going to UC for pharmacy and nursing, started to work at McDonald’s in January.

After receiving an evaluation a few months into his job, Cobb said the restaurant manager told him they would definitely want to work with additional football players.

“‘You have to do a great job because you are paving the way for the next kid,’” Jenne said he tells his players.

Jenne said this is the first time he has implemented such an initiative. He said some of the players were more nervous for their job interview than for a football game.

Western Hills High School, a visiting committee report

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