9th Region softball tournament quarterfinal roundup: Conner the lone road team to advance to semis

The 9th Region softball tournament got underway on Sunday with district champions hosting the runner-up they were drawn with.

Weather delays put a halt on the action for a while, but all four were able to be played on Sunday to set up Monday’s semifinals at Thomas More University.

Monday’s semifinals will be at 2 p.m. with Conner and Notre Dame leading off, Highlands and Cooper to follow at 5 p.m.

The championship game at Thomas More is scheduled for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Here’s how the quarterfinal round went down:

CONNER 2, DIXIE HEIGHTS 1

Mollie Sharp pounded the strike zone, struck out 12 Dixie Heights batters and the offense did just enough as the Cougars picked up their first region tournament win since 2019.

Sharp finished with 96 pitches, 68 of them going for strikes as she didn’t walk a batter, and gave up three hits with an unearned run.

Averie Lightner and Jalyn Cain had two hits apiece for the Cougars (18-11), for four of their five hits in the contest, Lightner with an RBI single in the first.

“The approach was talking to my teammates and figuring out what she was throwing. If it was there, hit the ball and put it in play and get on base and that’s what I did,” Lightner said.

Addison Santiago’s fielder’s choice RBI in the fourth inning proved to be the game-winner, breaking a 1-1 tie.

Sharp battled through three errors by the Cougars in the field, two of them coming in a pivotal fourth inning where she got a fly out to end the inning with runners left stranded on second and third.

“I didn’t really have a plan, just came in confident and knew I had my team behind me,” Sharp said. “When there is an error, I use it as motivation to get the next batter out and not let it affect my mindset at all.”

Sharp contained the Colonels top of the lineup to 0-for-9 on the day with eight strikeouts.

“Mollie executed the gameplan we had against a couple of their bigger hitters,” Cougars coach Shawn Sproles said.

Dixie’s last gasp in the bottom of the seventh came from Taylor Dawalt’s bat, her two-out double hitting the bottom of the left field fence. Sharp regrouped and struck out Carly Waters to end the game.

“She’s done this all year for us,” Sproles said. “She had a bit of arm fatigue down the stretch last year, so they didn’t get to see the real Mollie and what she’s been able to do for us has been really impressive. We’re feeling good, loss to Cooper (in the district championship) was a bit disappointing, but the energy is there and the belief is there and it’s pretty neat to see.”

Dixie’s three hits came from Dawalt, who also drove in the lone Colonels run on a sac fly RBI in the second, Riley Hopkins and Haley Waters with singles. The loss puts an end to their season at 13-20 and denies them a chance at making a third straight 9th Region championship game.

Conner moves on to face Notre Dame on Monday at 2 p.m. at Thomas More University. They’ll have a chance to reach their first region championship game since 2013.

NOTRE DAME 11, DAYTON 0 (5 innings)

The Pandas took advantage of seven Dayton errors to earn the run-rule victory and advance to Monday’s semifinals to face Conner.

Ava Auberger drove in three runs with two hits, Lucy Dillon collecting two RBI while six different Pandas recorded a hit in the contest.

Abby Turnpaugh held Dayton to one hit while striking out eight with no walks for the complete-game shutout.

Notre Dame (18-7) scored six in the first to leave no doubt, adding three runs in the third and two in the fourth before ending the game with a 1-2-3 fifth inning. It’s their first trip to the region semifinals since 2021. They’ll face a Cougars team they defeated 1-0 on April 18. Turnpaugh struck out nine and allowed three hits with two walks in the complete-game shutout victory.

Sydney Sheely added two hits for the Pandas while Ava McKinley, Addison Zinser and Morgan Russell scored two runs each.

Dayton was making their first region tournament appearance since 2021, finishing their season on Sunday with a 14-7 record, their most wins in a season since 2015. Emily Hall had the lone hit for the Lady Devils.

HIGHLANDS 6, HOLY CROSS 0

Kaitlyn Dixon pitched a complete-game two-hitter and struck out 12 as the Bluebirds began their quest for a three-peat in the region.

Payton Brown and Michelle Barth drove in two runs each for Highlands, who advances to Monday’s semifinals to face Cooper.

Highlands (25-12) was patient at the plate, drawing five walks to go with their six hits on the day. Morgan Pompilio and Brown had the extra-base hits for the Bluebirds as they each doubled.

The Indians lone two hits in the contest came from the bat of Madison Urlage. Evie Thomas helped keep Holy Cross in it with six innings pitched, allowing six hits, five earned runs, walking five and striking out five.

Holy Cross closes out their season at 18-10, having won the 9th Region All “A” championship and collecting their most wins in a season since 2019.

Highlands defeated Cooper 6-3 back on April 29. This is the third straight year the two have met in the semis, Highlands taking both of the prior battles.

COOPER 17, LLOYD MEMORIAL 5 (5 INNINGS)

Cooper pounded out 17 hits on their way to a run-rule victory over the Juggernauts and advance to Monday’s semifinals.

The Jaguars (20-10) faced Lloyd three times this season and scored a combined 51 runs in those contests, all ending with run-rule victories.

Kailey Milburn led the way with three hits and four RBI, one of those hits a home run. Maddie Childress also collected three hits and scored two runs. Ava Scott had two hits and also knocked a home run in the contest, adding three runs scored. Grace Cline, Sadie James, Kaitlyn Furnish and Ainsley Scroggie all collected two hits apiece, James driving in three runs, Scroggie and Kaylee Stone with two RBI apiece.

Lily Spraker, Desiree Mack and Trista Thorn combined for the victory in the circle for the Jaguars. Spraker went three innings for the win, allowing three hits, two earned runs, walking two and striking out two.

The Juggernauts (13-18) were making their first ever appearance in the fastpitch region tournament. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but surrendered seven runs over the next two innings to fall in a 7-2 hole. After adding two more runs in the third, Cooper responded with a six-spot in the third and four more in the fourth to get the game to a run-rule.

Lloyd was paced at the plate by Itzel Hernandez with two hits and an RBI. Madysen Godsey, Railynn Brown and Lorelei Tomlinson also added an RBI.

Cooper has had their program since 2009 and after making their first trip to the region tournament in 2021, are making a fourth straight trip to the 9th Region semifinals.