Notre Dame, Highlands, Ryle and Holy Cross on to 9th Region softball semis

At 2-1 in top of the fifth inning with no outs, Conner had runners on first and third base.

Yet Notre Dame found a way to escape the jam without giving up a run—and then flipped the momentum entirely, responding with four runs in the bottom half of the inning en route to a 10-1 win over the Lady Cougars in the 9th Region softball tournament quarterfinals Sunday afternoon in Park Hills.

“Credit goes to Chris and their team,” Conner head coach Shawn Sproles said. “They made some big plays, and we couldn’t get anything going offensively, so that put a lot more pressure on us in that fifth inning defensively.”

As last year’s 9th Region runner-up—who also defeated Conner in the semifinals—the Pandas were built to handle moments like that. Six of the nine players in Notre Dame’s lineup started in that semifinal game a year ago.

“I just kind of stayed out of their way,” Notre Dame head coach Chris Schreiber said. “When you’ve got those seniors that have been down this path before, a catcher who’s been there, it makes a world of difference. They kept their composure and didn’t get rattled. I was very proud of how they responded.”

Even with two errors in the fifth inning, the Pandas were in a good position—thanks in large part to one of the region’s top pitchers, not just for her talent, but for her mentality.

“We were walking out of practice yesterday, and one of the other seniors said this might be our last time walking off this field,” said Notre Dame senior pitcher Abby Turnpaugh. “I said, no it’s not. I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure this won’t be—I’m not ready for it to be over. That was my mentality.”

Turnpaugh finished with a complete game, allowing just two hits, walking none, and striking out nine.

Though the Pandas had worked around trouble in the top of the fifth, they still only led 2-1—until the seniors once again stepped up, and the pressure finally caught up with Conner.

Turnpaugh helped her own cause with an RBI single. Ryan Burden added another RBI—finishing with two total and a run scored—and sophomore Lucy Dillon broke the game open with a two-run double that made it 6-1 before the inning ended.

Up to that point, eighth-grade pitcher Jocelyn Ortiz and the rest of the Lady Cougar defense had played nearly flawless softball.

Notre Dame’s first two runs came early: Ava Auberger scored on a steal of home in the first inning, and Brigid Zekl drove in a run with an RBI in the second.

After a Panda error and an RBI single into left field by Ellie Ortiz that brought home Kayla Ortiz, Conner looked like it had momentum on its side in the third.

In Bamboo Gardens—their home field, in front of fans, friends, and family—the Pandas seized control for good after the fifth, tacking on four more runs in the sixth.

“I was a lot more nervous last year as a junior. We hadn’t really gone that far in the postseason,” Turnpaugh said. “I felt a lot more calm today, because I’ve been in these moments, but also I’m at my home field with our Sisters watching. It made me more relaxed.”

Addison Zinser went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored. Auberger finished with two runs and a stolen base. Senior Morgan Russell added two RBI to cap the offensive performance.

Conner’s season closes at 10-19, but a memorable one at that. The Lady Cougars graduate five seniors: Ciarra Morgan, Ellie Ortiz, Makayla Irvin, Jaylyn Verst-Wilson, and Lauren Parks.

“It was fun to look out and see former players,” Sproles said. “We play the game because we truly love it, but these girls play because they truly love being a part of the team. The toughest part about coaching is because you miss it. You miss the smiles and everything—that’s what it’s truly about. It’s high school sports, that’s all it is.”

Up next for Notre Dame is a rematch of last season’s 9th Region championship against Highlands in the semifinals at Thomas More University, Monday at 5 p.m. The two teams last met on May 8 in Fort Thomas, a five-inning contest shortened by weather, with the Pandas falling 7-6. Turnpaugh did not pitch in that game.

More photos provided by Charles Bolton:

PANDAS 10, LADY COUGARS 1

CONNER — 001-000-0 — 1-2-2
NOTRE DAME — 110-044-x — 10-7-3

RBI — (NDA) Burden 2, Dillon 2, Russell 2, Turnpaugh, Zekl (C) E. Ortiz
WP — Turnpaugh. LP — J. Ortiz.

Records: Conner 10-19, Notre Dame 17-5

Sunday’s other 9th Region quarterfinals

Highlands 15, Lloyd Memorial 0 (4 innings)

The Bluebirds four-peat bid is off to a good start after beating Lloyd in less than an hour on Sunday at the Birdcage in Fort Thomas. 

Highlands (28-6) collected 16 hits in the run-rule shortened game. Kaitlyn Dixon did the rest, striking out all 12 Lloyd batters she faced. Dixon added four RBI at the plate while Allison Meyers and Payton Brown launched homeruns. 

Morgan Pompilio (3-for-4, two RBI) and Layla Zepf (2-for-3, RBI) also stood out at the plate with mult-hit games. The Bluebirds advance to Monday’s semifinals to face Notre Dame at 5 p.m. at Thomas More University. 

Lloyd (12-14) advanced to back-to-back region tournaments as their season comes to a close. They’ll graduate five seniors in Railynn Brown, Madysen Godsey, Itzel Hernandez, Layla Laudick and Lorelei Tomlinson. 

Ryle 10, Newport Central Catholic 0 (5 innings)

Laci DeLauder tossed a one-hitter as Ryle is on to Monday’s semifinals to face Holy Cross. 

DeLauder struck out 10 and walked one, 52 of her 66 pitches in the contest going for strikes. Leah Broussard and Emily Gehring drove in two runs apiece as Ryle smacked 10 hits in the victory. Kiley Patterson was the lone Raider with two hits. Ryle stole eight bases in the contest to help get them around. 

Kaitlyn Haigis had the lone hit for Newport Central Catholic (9-6), one of just two seniors on the team along with Katie Meyer. 

Ryle (18-8) faced Holy Cross once this season, a 9-0 victory on May 7. DeLauder pitched a complete game three-hitter in that one, striking out 11. She added two hits and two RBI at the plate. 

Monday’s semifinal with the Indians is at 2 p.m. at Thomas More University. 

Holy Cross 7, Dixie Heights 3

The Indians are on to the region tournament semifinals for the first time since 2010.

Holy Cross (16-12) jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings. Jordyn Reiselman ripped a two-run single in the first, Evie Thomas with a two-run double in the second.

Dixie Heights (5-18) got to within 5-3 in the sixth on a Callie Lewis homerun. They were unable to really threaten from there. On top of Thomas’ standout performance at the plate with three hits and two RBI, she pitched a complete game in the circle. Thomas allowed seven hits, three earned runs, walked two and struck out nine.

Paige Lachmann (3-for-4), Madison Urlage (2-for-4, RBI), and Reiselman (2-for-4, three RBI) also had multi-hit games for Holy Cross, who advances to Monday’s semifinals to face Ryle.

The Colonels were led by Salin Haskins two hits. Lewis, Sydney Schumacher and Sam Skees drove in the runs. Lewis is the lone senior for Dixie, expected to return everyone else.