The opportunity stood before the Cooper Lady Jaguars softball team at the home field off Longbranch Road in Union and the Lady Jaguars made it happen.
The undefeated and ninth-ranked Oldham County Lady Colonels in the latest Kentucky Softball Coaches Association poll came to the area for the first of three games in two days. Cooper (6-3 overall) scored the game’s first two runs and never trailed on its way to an 8-5 victory over the Lady Colonels (17-1).
Oldham County had run-ruled 9th Region opponents Dixie Heights and Conner at home during the winning streak. The Lady Colonels beat Dixie Heights, 15-0 in three innings on Tuesday.
“That’s a really good team. I went on the (Kentucky High School Athletic Association) web site and saw that only three teams had gone the distance (full seven innings) with them,” said Rusty Scott, Cooper Head Coach. “I just wanted us to come out, fight, fight, fight and in the end, give ourselves a chance to win and we did.”
Both teams pounded out 10 hits. But Oldham County committed six errors and the Lady Jaguars scored seven unearned runs off them while the Lady Colonels did not score an unearned run off the one Cooper error.
It helped that Cooper Head Coach Rusty Scott knows Oldham County senior Mak Grimes (10-1) from travel ball. Grimes struck out three and walked two.
“We were fortunate we played a very good pitcher (Thursday in Grant County freshman Brianna Knochelman in a 7-5 loss) that prepared us for this game,” Scott said. “(Grimes) has some good stuff. I told the girls we have to stay on top of her rise ball. We have to cut that in half because that is a tough pitch to hit.”
Cooper senior pitcher Amber Chaney (4-0) earned the win pitching into the seventh inning. She walked two and allowed five earned runs and 10 hits. Senior Hanna Hollis came on in the seventh inning to record the game’s final out.
Oldham County scored twice to make the final score and had a runner on first in the top of the seventh. Hollis worked the count on Oldham County junior first baseman Zoe Waddell full. But Hollis placed a strong pitch at the bottom of the zone earning the called third strike to end the game.
“What’s funny about me is I like being nervous. I like to take my nerves and use them to my advantage to work as hard as I can and focus on the strike zone trying to get them to swing at anything,” Hollis said. “I was so relieved (after the final strike). Three-two counts are always the worst. It’s definitely nerve-racking, especially in a situation like that where you’re trying to shut them down one last time. This is something I’ve been working for my entire life basically.”
Cooper had a number of players come up with big hits in the win including four extra-base hits. Junior left fielder/first baseman Emily Schmeltz finished 2 for 2 with a home run, double, two runs batted in and two runs scored. Her home run to center in the bottom of the second gave Cooper a 2-0 lead.
“We always focus on hitting whether it’s in the cage, indoor or outdoor,” Schmeltz said. “We bare down on the fundamentals so when we see high-velocity, we drive those pitches that we’re looking for. We definitely focus on (bat) speed in practice and try to translate into the game.”
The top of the Cooper line-up did its part per usual. Senior catcher Gweny Wessling went 2 for 3. Sophomore second baseman Ava Scott and senior shortstop Dylan Scott both went 2 for 4 with one run and one RBI. Ava Scott had a double. Junior center fielder Claire Poage added a double.
Oldham County also saw four players record two hits each. Senior shortstop Madison Davis led the way going 2 for 3 with two doubles and three runs scored. Grimes, senior catcher Kayley Batts and senior second baseman Kaleigh Boyd all went 2 for 4 with one RBI. Grimes doubled and Waddell hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth.
“They have about 10 hitters that are hitting about .400 so they have no holes in their line-up,” Coach Scott said. “Everyone is a challenge. What Amber did and Hanna coming in and closing the door is just amazing. Amber didn’t let up at all or these guys would strike and take advantage.”
Cooper scored once in the bottom of the first to go up 1-0. Dylan Scott scored on an error.
Oldham County scored in the top of the fourth when Waddell drew a bases-loaded walk to score Davis. But Cooper earned it back in the bottom of the fourth when sophomore Maddie Childress singled scoring sophomore courtesy runner Kailey Milburn to make it 3-1 Lady Jaguars.
Cooper scored twice in the bottom of the fifth after another Oldham County run to go up 5-2. Schmeltz scored on an error and Dylan Scott singled in Ava Scott.
After Waddell’s home run in the sixth made it 5-3, Cooper scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Poage scored on an Oldham County error and Schmeltz hit a sacrifice fly to score Childress to put Cooper up 7-3. Ava Scott then doubled to center to score Chaney.
Cooper stole three bases. Ava Scott, Childress and Milburn recorded them.
On the other side, junior third baseman Kendall Gaddie tried to steal twice. Wessling nailed her trying to steal third in the top of the third on a nice throw to third baseman Ashley Chaney.
“We have a strong line-up, but defense is what wins us games,” Wessling said. “Everyone plays a part. There are no weak links.”
Cooper plays twice on Saturday in the Lady Titan Classic. Cooper faces host Mercer County (4-5) at 10 a.m. then North Laurel (9-9) at Noon.
Softball:
Walton-Verona 12, Owen County 2 (5 innings):
The host Bearcats (7-7) run-ruled the Lady Rebels (4-4) to capture the All A 8th Region crown.
The All A state tournament round-robin games take place Saturday, April 30 in Owensboro. Walton-Verona takes on Lynn Camp, Owensboro Catholic and Russellville in pool play. The top two placers in pool play advance to the single-elimination tournament Sunday, May 1.
Walton-Verona also won at Trimble County (7-1) on Thursday in the semifinals after beating Eminence (13-3 in six innings) on Tuesday. Trimble County beat Walton-Verona, 14-4 in six innings to open the season March 21.
“When we first started out with the tournament, we were looking ahead at who we could play and who our potential match-ups would be,” said Natalie Meadows, Walton-Verona Head Coach. “The girls were excited to redeem themselves against Trimble County then stayed on it in the championship game. Their bats came alive. We kept the pedal to the metal.”
Walton-Verona batted .523 (11 for 21) in the win and drew eight walks. Senior pitcher Audrey Pollard went 4 for 4 to lead the way with a home run, two doubles, three RBI and three runs scored.
Sophomore shortstop Danielle Oldfield and eighth grade right fielder Jaylen Clark went 2 for 2 for the Bearcats with one RBI and one run scored each. Sophomore first baseman Addison Svec doubled, batted in two and scored once. Senior catcher Lacey Alford and senior third baseman Machenzie Farmer each scored twice and drew two walks. Junior second baseman Jennifer Alexander drove in two.
Pollard also picked up the pitching win throwing a complete game. She struck out five, walked none and scattered 10 hits to go with two earned runs. Neither team committed any errors.
“I relied on my fielders to get the job done and they did,” Pollard said. “(My teammates) were also on base for me to score them. We are really young this year and (Meadows) is really helping them get a good start. We have two eighth graders starting in center (Emery Spillman) and right (Clark). They’re stepping up and making big plays for us.”
Walton-Verona scored eight runs in the bottom of the third to go up 10-2. Pollard then hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to end the game.
“I still don’t think that we’re playing our best softball yet,” Meadows said. “We’ve definitely made major, major improvements with our hitting and our fielding from the beginning of the season. There were a couple games in the beginning where we were getting run-ruled. If we went back and played those games again, it wouldn’t be the same situation and outcome. I think we have a lot of room to continue to grow. But it’s good momentum going into the back half of our season and into the All A State Tournament.”
Walton-Verona travels to Newport Central Catholic on Thursday. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Ryle 16, Gallatin County 1 (3 innings):
The host Lady Raiders (7-6) took down the Lady Wildcats (2-5) in their first game in eight days. Ryle Head Coach Jarret Goddard said he likes to give the team some time off for Spring Break.
“It was good to get the girls back on the field,” Goddard said. “We had a practice (Thursday). The first inning started off a little slow. The second inning opened up a little and got things rolling.”
Ryle batted .696 (16 for 23) overall with six players recording multi-hit games. Sophomore pitcher Maddie Goddard led the way going 3 for 3 with three RBI. Senior center fielder Grace Morgan and junior second baseman Aaliyah Kaseke both went 2 for 2. Morgan doubled twice scoring three times and batting in one. Kaseke scored twice and drove in one.
Junior shortstop Avery Parsons went 2 for 3 doubling twice driving in three and scoring twice for Ryle. Junior third baseman/catcher Payton Godfrey and junior right fielder Emily Zmurk both went 2 for 3. Zmurk drove in three and scored twice with Godfrey scoring twice and driving in one. Freshman catcher Laney Schuster added a double.
Maddie Goddard (6-3) pitched the first two innings striking out five. Junior Lerin Moreland pitched the third inning striking out three and allowing two hits and an unearned run.
“Spots are really important,” Maddie Goddard said. “I like the catcher setting up where I’m supposed to be throwing and just try to focus on that.”
Ryle plays twice in the Madison Central Triangle on Saturday. The Lady Raiders take on South Oldham (8-5) at 11 a.m. and Madison Central (9-1) at 5 p.m.
Highlands 15, Lloyd Memorial 0:
The Bluebirds (6-9) took down the Juggernauts (1-5-1) in three innings in a make-up 9th Region game.
This marked the first game against a 9th Region opponent on the field. Highlands had a forfeit win against Newport entering the game.
“We had five consecutive games called because of weather until (Thursday night in a 2-0 loss at Henry County),” said Milt Horner, Highlands Head Coach. “We tried to simulate. But we hadn’t seen live pitching for 10 days. It’s hard. Carly thew strikes. That’s what we’ve been emphasizing. All of our pitches have been having trouble with walks. We did what we had to do.”
Junior Carly Cramer (1-2) retired all nine batters she faced for the perfect game. Cramer struck out seven of them.
Highlands hit .625 (10 for 16) as a team and drew nine walks. Senior shortstop Anna Greenwell led the way going 2 for 3 with two triples, three RBI and three runs scored. Eighth grader Cam Markus scored twice and drove in three. Senior first baseman Eleanor Todd drove in three and eighth grade second baseman Morgan Pompilio scored twice.
“Hopefully it’s a confidence-builder,” Greenwell said. “We all hit the ball pretty well, played pretty good defense. We didn’t have much defense to play. But the balls that were hit, we didn’t make any errors.”
Highlands plays host to Bishop Brossart (6-7) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Lloyd Memorial plays host to Dayton (2-5) on Monday at 5 p.m.
Boone County 15, Carroll County 2 (4 innings):
The Lady Rebels (5-5) scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first on their way to the run-ruling of the visiting Lady Panthers (1-5).
Boone County senior pitcher Kaitlyn Irwin (4-4) pitched a complete game striking out two, walking one and allowing four hits and one earned run. Irwin also had a double at the plate, two RBI and scored twice.
The Lady Rebels batted .609 (14 for 23) at the plate with five players recording multi-hit games and drew six walks. Junior shortstop Harper Kinman and senior center fielder Mia Nixson both went 3 for 4 scoring two runs each. Kinman had two RBI. Sophomore third baseman Amariana Sweet went 2 for 2 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Boone County saw two players go 2 for 3 in junior catcher Kailey Richardson and freshman second baseman Dani Wright. Wright had two RBI and scored twice with Richardson batting in three.
The Lady Rebels play two home games Saturday. They take on Oldham County (17-1) at 11 a.m. then Harrison (Ohio) at 3 p.m.
Baseball:
Walton-Verona 9, Carroll County 3:
The Bearcats (12-3) downed the host Panthers (6-6) to capture another All A 8th Region crown. The Bearcats finished runner-up in the All A state tournament last year.
Walton-Verona will play host to the 7th Region All A champion Highlands Latin Highlanders (5-3), a third-year school out of Louisville in the All A Sectional game. Walton-Verona Head Coach Clint Coleman said the game will take place Wednesday or Thursday.
Walton-Verona beat Carroll County, 12-5 in Walton on April 2. But Coleman said the Panthers did not throw their best pitcher in that game.
Sophomore Mason Howard (2-1) threw a complete game to pick up the win for the Bearcats. He struck out two, walked two and allowed six hits and one earned run.
“If you looked at the bracket, that’s who it looked like we were going to face in the finals of the All A (regional tournament),” Coleman said. “We have three guys who fall into two, three or four roles. It kind of depends on how they’re pitching at the time. Mason Howard as a freshman had some big innings for us last year. We obviously had a ton of faith in him to come and pitch that championship game knowing we were going to see Carroll County’s best (junior Landon Issacs).”
Both teams committed two errors. Carroll County had two unearned runs to one for Walton-Verona.
Walton-Verona batted .484 (15 for 31) overall with five players recording multi-hit games. Junior designated hitter Jimmy Shields went 3 for 3 with three RBI and junior second baseman Evan Kerns went 3 for 4 with one double, two RBI and three runs scored. Junior center fielder Ethan Mills went 2 for 4 with a double.
“We had a lot of respect for Owen County and Carroll County knowing that we were going to get good games,” Coleman said. “Our guys did a good job of staying focused and getting the hits when we needed them, good pitching and good defense. It doesn’t matter if we started one, five or seven (leading off innings), I have confidence that we’re going to get guys on. We don’t really play a lot of small ball because we have a lot of sticks in the line-up.”
Junior catcher Ethan Hager went 2 for 3 with one RBI and one run scored for Walton-Verona. Senior shortstop Nick Allen went 2 for 4 at the lead-off spot scoring twice.
“Our hitting really helped us and our fielding helped the pitchers on the mound,” Allen said. “It’s (about) fielding the ball cleanly and just getting the ball out of the glove. Before the pitch is even thrown, I say in my head what I’m going to do if the ball is hit to me or every situation that could happen. If the ball is hit to me, I do that.”
The Bearcats play host to Williamstown (4-8) on Monday. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Campbell County 4, Mason County 1:
The Camels (8-4) stayed undefeated in 10th Region play at 5-0 with a road win against the Royals (5-10).
But Campbell County did not pull away until the last two innings. Mason County freshman pitcher Roscoe Fite (0-2) pitched six innings striking out seven, walked four and allowed just five hits and two earned runs. Fite also had a double and scored Mason County’s lone run.
“(Fite) was really good,” said Scott Schweitzer, Campbell County Head Coach. “He threw strikes with his off-speed pitches. We swung over top of a lot of pitches and stranded quite a few base runners. We had 10 strikeouts, which is not like us. We had some poor at bats. But you have to give credit where credit is due. But at the end, we grinded it out.”
Campbell County senior center fielder Greg Vineyard led off the game with his second home run of the season. He finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored.
“I use my tools. I’m a speed guy so I run pretty well,” Vineyard said. “My goal is just to put a ball in play, set a tone and get on base however I can. Sometimes, I hit it hard and other times, I hit a little dinker. We’re pretty dangerous when we get guys on base. Our energy and our environment plays a big part in getting in other teams’ heads. We have lot of guys who get good jumps. When we have momentum, we’re in my opinion one of the best teams in the state. I think our base running plays a huge role in that.”
The Camels batted .286 (8 for 28) overall. Junior shortstop Aydan Hamilton went 2 for 3 with a double, two walks and one run scored. Senior first baseman Jake Napier went 2 for 3 and senior Zack Riley added a double.
Campbell County stole eight bases in the win. Hamilton stole four bases with Vineyard swiping two.
The Camels went ahead for good at 2-1 in the top of the sixth. Junior second baseman Jake Gross walked to lead off the inning, stole second and moved to third when junior right fielder Brayden Wells flew out to center before scoring on a wild pitch.
Campbell County added two insurance runs in the top of the fourth. Vineyard singled with one out, stole second and third before scoring on a Mason County error. Hamilton and Riley had consecutive doubles to make the final score.
Senior Trent Sorgenfrei (2-0) threw a complete game to pick up the win for the Camels. He struck out three, walked two and allowed five hits and one earned run. The Camels had three errors to one for the Royals.
The Camels hit the road for two games on Saturday. They take on Mercer County (8-6) at 2:30 p.m. then host George Rogers Clark (8-8) at 5 p.m.
Simon Kenton 11, Grant County 1 (5 innings):
The Pioneers (9-5) won a second straight game run-ruling the Braves (4-7) in Dry Ridge.
Senior Hunter Parks (1-1) pitched the first four innings picking up the win before junior Dakota Brown pitched the fifth. Parks struck out one, walked two and allowed just four hits. Brown walked one and allowed one hit and one unearned run.
Simon Kenton batted .320 (8 for 25) in the win and drew eight walks. Senior first baseman Peyton Fernbach led the way going 2 for 4 with a home run, double, four RBI and two runs scored. Parks went 2 for 4 with one RBI and one run scored.
Junior third baseman Gavin Riley and sophomore shortstop Daniel Uhl also homered for the Pioneers. Riley drove in three and scored once. Uhl had a solo shot. Junior Ben Stephens scored twice for Simon Kenton.
Simon Kenton travels to Louisville Southern (5-9) on Saturday. Game time is 2:30 p.m.
Harrison County 5, Dixie Heights 3:
The Colonels (6-4) lost their fist game of the Harrison Memorial Hospital Invitational against the Thorobreds (12-1).
Dixie Heights fell behind 4-0 after one inning and could not recover. The Colonels committed five errors leading to two unearned runs.
Junior Brayden Runion (2-1) pitched a complete game for Dixie Heights. He struck out three, walked one and allowed nine hits and three earned runs.
Dixie Heights batted .296 (8 for 27) overall. Senior shortstop Jay Flynn went 2 for 3 scoring once for the Colonels and senior third baseman Logan Wilson went 2 for 4 hitting a two-run home run.
Dixie Heights returns to Cynthiana playing two more games in the invitational. The Colonels play Lexington Christian (6-7) at 10 a.m. then Greenup County (10-4) at 12:30 p.m.
Russell 11, Cooper 2:
The Jaguars (3-8) fell behind early in the first game of the Frank Bloom Tournament at Russell and could not recover against the Red Devils (9-4).
Russell outhit Cooper, 13-5 and scored five unearned runs off three Jaguar errors. The Jaguars did not score any unearned runs off the two Red Devil errors.
Sophomore shortstop Mark Nowak had a good game for Cooper. Nowak went 2 for 4 with an RBI and stolen base.
Cooper plays Russell again Saturday at 3 p.m. The Jaguars also play Bardstown (6-7) at 1 p.m.
Hilliard (Ohio) Darby 16, Highlands 1 (3 innings):
The Bluebirds (9-4) could not get in sync against the visitors from the Columbus (Ohio) suburb.
Darby outhit Highlands, 16-3. Senior Drew Hack hit his fourth home run for the Bluebirds.
Highlands faces Beechwood (10-1) back at Highland Park on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Other NKY April 15 Softball Score:
Beechwood 27, Holmes 1 (4 innings)
Other NKY April 15 Baseball Scores:
Bracken County 11, Holmes 1 (6 innings)
Lloyd Memorial 14, Trimble County 13 (5 innings)
Calvary Christian 11, Newport 3