The Highlands Bluebirds (21-6-1) and Ryle Raiders (14-8) softball teams met at Winkler Field in Fort Thomas trying to stay undefeated in 9th Region action.
Highlands run-ruled Ryle, 11-0 in five innings to move to 10-0 in region play and drop Ryle to 10-1. But both teams know things could be different if they face each other in the region tournament in a few weeks because neither team pitched their ace in Highlands senior Kennedy Baioni and Ryle junior Maddie Goddard.
Senior Carly Cramer (4-1) started for Highlands striking out two and walking one in four innings pitched. Junior Bailey Markus pitched a scoreless fifth inning to end the game striking out one and walking two. The two held Ryle to two hits.
“It’s been great. We’ve had pretty good leadership,” said Milt Horner, Highlands head coach. “We’ve done it for years – basically a skills program over the winter. This year with the new trainer Highlands has, we had a bunch of girls show up in the weight room twice a week. I think at this point in the season, it’s really starting to show who’s put in the work. When the older girls do it, the younger girls see that and they feel like if they want to be part of it, they do it.”
Junior Zoe Coop (0-1) started for Ryle and pitched into the third inning striking out two and walking none. Sophomore Laci DeLauder finished the game striking out two and walking three.
Highlands pounded out 11 hits in the win. Payton Brown led the way going 3-for-3 with a double, one run batted in and scored once. Freshman right fielder Cam Markus went 2-for-3 with a triple and RBI. Junior Michelle Barth drove in three with one double and Baioni doubled and drove in two. Seventh grade second baseman Layla Zepf, two pinch runners in sophomore Julia Luhn and freshman Morgan Pompilio scoring two runs each.
Ryle did manage one extra-base hit. It came in the top of the fifth when freshman left fielder Rayne Patsel doubled to lead off the inning. She moved to third on a Highlands error, but Ryle could not bring her in.
“Highlands is an excellent softball team. They go 12, 13, 14 girls deep,” said Jarret Goddard, Ryle head coach. “They’re well-coached (and have) a ton of talent. I mixed some things up to give some girls an opportunity to play some high-level ball and do a couple different things to see a couple different things. I poked and prodded the bear a little bit to see what could and could not work against them as we move forward. I hope that we get another crack at them.”
The Bluebirds scored four runs including three unearned off a Ryle error in the bottom of the first to go up 4-0. It started when Brown singled in Bailey Markus. Then Zepf scored on a wild pitch before Barth laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Brown. The fourth run came when freshman left fielder Kaitlyn Dixon reached on a passed ball on the third strike and Luhn scored on the throw to first.
The Bluebirds added five runs with two out in the bottom of the second. Brown singled and Barth doubled her in. Cramer drew a walk and Luhn ran for her. Baioni doubled to center scoring Barth and Luhn to make it 7-0 Bluebirds. Dixon singled in Baioni before Cam Markus singled her in to put Highlands up 9-0.
“We jumped on it early. Once we started hitting, we just took off,” Cramer said. “(A key) is getting our foot down in time. Going from a fast pitcher in the first game to a slower one, we had to really adjust our first step. We always pick each other up. That’s something with Highlands softball that we’ve always had.”
Highlands put itself in run-rule position with two more runs in the bottom of the third. Zepf singled and Brown doubled her to third. Barth hit a sacrifice fly to center scoring Zepf before pinch runner Pompilio scored on a Ryle error.
The Bluebirds travel to Notre Dame (10-6) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Ryle travels to Oldham County (16-13) on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Highlands, Ryle split with Harrison County
Highlands started the day with a huge 6-0 win over the Harrison County Fillies (24-7) earning a season split after losing 5-3 in Cynthiana on March 21. Harrison County won the 10th Region last year and lost 8-7 to eventual state runner-up Lexington Catholic in the state quarterfinals.
Dixon pitched a complete game for the Bluebirds striking out seven, walking none and allowing just four hits. She also went 2-for-3 at the plate with one RBI.
“We’ve played some tough games with them over the past couple years,” Horner said. “We gave up a couple unearned runs to lose that first game early in the season down there. We had confidence we could play with them. We’ve been hitting the ball well lately. But we really hit the ball well (Saturday). We hit three balls off the fence. We weren’t just blooping the ball. That was a really big win for this team. We’re starting to get some girls back who had been hurt for the past couple weeks.”
Baioni and Barth also went 2-for-3 with doubles as Highlands batted .393 (11 for 28) off Harrison County freshman standout pitcher Bella Persinger. Cramer doubled and had two RBI with Cam Markus adding a double. Bailey Markus batted in two and Pompilio scored twice.
“We played some slower pitching earlier this week so we came out on Friday and had hitting practice up here at the field,” Barth said. “We always come early to games to hit before so I think just getting that many reps is really helpful to the whole team. (Persinger) has great spin. But I think our team adjusted.”
Ryle then lost 5-4 to Harrison County. The Fillies scored four times in the bottom of the sixth to go up 5-3 after the Raiders led most of the game.
Maddie Goddard (11-5) pitched a complete game with no walks or strikeouts allowing 10 hits and two earned runs. Ryle made two critical errors in the bottom of the sixth.
Sophomore catcher Lainey Schuster belted her team-high fifth home run of the season with senior Emily Zmurk at first to put the Raiders up 2-0 in the top of the second inning. DeLauder then scored on a wild pitch to put Ryle up 3-1 in the top of the fifth.
The Raiders had a chance to tie the game in the top of the fifth. DeLauder and senior Grace Tranbargar singled to lead off the inning and freshman Brooklyn Roland bunted them up one base. Senior shortstop Avery Parsons grounded out to score DeLauder. But Persinger got senior center fielder Aaliyah Kaseke to pop out to end the game.
“It’s about taking it to the next level,” Jarret Goddard said. “I told our girls it’s about progression. At the beginning of the season, we had a couple tough losses trying to figure out where some girls fit in the lineup as well as out in the field. I think we’re kind of right where we need to be so I think we’ve progressed from that team that had a ton of talent trying to figure some things out. We started beating up on some teams well then the last couple weeks, we’ve started to turn the corner having some comeback victories. So now not only can be play from in front, we can play from behind. There have been some small errors in innings that have cost us. That is the next step we have to take as a team because to beat teams like Harrison County, Highlands and these high-caliber softball teams, I’m not saying you have to play error-free. But you have to play innings where errors don’t pile up on each other to give them free runs and opportunities.”
Ryle batted .296 (8 for 27) overall. DeLauder went 2 for 3 with a triple and scored twice. Senior third baseman Payton Godfrey added a double.
Other Softball Scores
Paris 13, Calvary Christian 6 (5 innings)
Scott 11, Lloyd Memorial 1 (6 innings)
Holy Cross 9, Gallatin County 1
Henry Clay 12, Boone County 1 (5 innings)
Collins 10, Simon Kenton 3
Tates Creek 18, Cooper 13
Notre Dame 17, Newport Central Catholic 1 (5 innings)
Ludlow 24, Robertson County 8 (3 innings)
Villa Madonna 15, St. Henry 1 (3 innings)
Baseball Scores
Henry Clay 6, Campbell County 0
Campbell County 5, Apollo 4
East Carter 10, Dixie Heights 5
Bishop Brossart 8, Lexington Christian 6
Bishop Brossart 5, Bryan Station 1
Ryle 13, West Jessamine 0 (5 innings)
Tates Creek 11, Ryle 3
Conner 9, Lexington Catholic 7
Conner 7, Frederick Douglass 3
Beechwood 10, Hazard 5
Bellevue 10, Holmes 3
Boone County 9, Calvary Christian 8
Calvary Christian 12, Lloyd Memorial 7
Lloyd Memorial 17, Boone County 14
Bourbon County 8, Holy Cross 0
Collins 5, Walton-Verona 4 (9 innings)
Oldham County 11, Cooper 1 (5 innings)
Oldham County 12, Cooper 0 (4 innings)
Simon Kenton 5, Great Crossing 4 (9 innings)
Whitley County 7, Simon Kenton 0
Hazard 6, Covington Catholic 5
Newport Central Catholic 4, Villa Madonna 0
Cincinnati (Ohio) Country Day 16, Scott 8
Madison Central 4, Highlands 1