Pitching and defense controlled both 9th Region softball tournament semifinal games on Monday.
Highlands (25-14) and Dixie Heights (23-6) managed to advance by finding ways to put runners on base. The Bluebirds and Colonels will face off at 5 p.m. at Notre Dame Academy in the regional final Tuesday.
The title game marks the return of Highlands to the regional final for the first time since 2018. Dixie is back for the first time since winning the region in 2019.
Highlands 3, Cooper 1:
The Bluebirds scored their three runs in the first two innings. All three were unearned as Highlands took advantage of four Cooper errors while committing just one.
“That absolutely makes a huge difference,” said Milt Horner, Highlands head coach. “Most of the time in tough games between two competitive teams, if you capitalize on mistakes, that sets the tone. In one inning, we had three lined shots that they caught. I know they made some errors. But that’s a really, really good team.”
Things started in the bottom of the first when Highlands sophomore center fielder Bailey Markus made it all the way to second on a Cooper error. She then moved to third when senior shortstop Anna Greenwell reached on another Cooper error.
Greenwell then stole second. Then with two out, Highlands junior third baseman Carly Cramer singled to center scoring Markus and Greenwell to put the Bluebirds up 2-0.
“I saw the opportunity and knew I had to get it somewhere on the ground to get those two runs in,” Cramer said. “I saw the perfect pitch and (did that). We had the energy. We brought it from (Sunday) as well.”
The other Highlands run came in the bottom of the second. Eighth grade left fielder Payton Brown singled off Cooper junior pitcher Kendall Blau before eighth grade first baseman Kaitlyn Dixon laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached on a Cooper error. Brown moved to second on the play.
Eighth grade right fielder Cam Markus then singled to left scoring Brown to put Highlands up 3-0. Cooper got out the jam with a double play.
The Markus sisters plus Brown made up the Highlands outfield.
“I would say we played out of our heads,” Brown said. “We just did well making the routine plays. I feel like we play for each other.”
Cooper tried to gain some momentum in the top of the first. Senior center fielder Amber Chaney walked before sophomore second baseman Ava Scott reached on a fielder’s choice. Ava Scott tried to steal second. But Highlands sophomore catcher Michelle Barth threw to Greenwell for the critical second out of the inning. Senior shortstop Dylan Scott ended up singling before junior first baseman Emily Schmeltz grounded out to end the inning.
“They’re a great base running team and I knew if I was going to throw down, it was going to be that play,” Barth said. “I knew it would bring our momentum up. It was a great feeling. This team has come around since the beginning of the year. The way we’ve relied on each other is insane. It brought us here.”
Blau (12-5) and Highlands junior pitcher Kennedy Baioni (11-8) pitched complete games. Baioni struck out three, walked just one and allowed just one earned run. Blau struck out two and walked none. Baioni retired the side in the third and fourth innings and Blau retired the side in the third, fourth and sixth innings.
“She pitched extremely well,” Cooper Head Coach Rusty Scott said of Baioni. “I told her after the game she was dealing. She was missing barrels (of the bats). We only squared up a couple. We were making contact. It wasn’t hard contact. It was good for our girls to see good pitching.”
Cooper recorded more hits going 9 for 28 at the plate for a .321 batting average and Highlands went 3 for 22 for a .136 clip. Cooper recorded two or more hits in the second, fifth and seventh innings.
But the Lady Jaguars did not score until the top of the seventh inning. Senior catcher Gweny Wessling singled and sophomore Kailey Milburn ran for her. Sophomore designated hitter Maddie Childress then singled to center moving Milburn to third. When Highlands threw to third, Childress tried to take second. But Highlands threw to second tagging her out. Junior left fielder Claire Poage then grounded out scoring Milburn to make the final score.
With two out, Chaney kept Cooper’s hopes alive with an infield single. But Ava Scott lined out to Greenwell to end the game. Chaney and Poage made some diving catches in the outfield to record outs.
“Fortunately, Anna (Greenwell) played a really good game (at shortstop),” Horner said. “I don’t know how many assists she had. She’s played great her entire career. But she has stepped it up the last two weeks. That is certainly one of the top games Kennedy’s ever pitched.”
Cooper graduates four seniors in Chaney, pitcher Hanna Hollis, Wessling and Dylan Scott. Dylan Scott is taking her talents to Oxford (Ohio) to play for the defending Mid-American Conference champion Miami University RedHawks. Wessling will play at Davis and Elkins College, an NCAA Division II program in Elkins (West Virginia). Hollis is committed to play at NCAA Division III Sewanee: University of the South in Tennessee.
“They blazed a trail. The program is in a better spot with them leaving than it was when they got here in the seventh grade,” Coach Scott said. “They’ve set a standard. It’s an expectation now. The underclassmen got to see how hard they worked in the past couple years.”
But the seniors helped Cooper to the first two 9th Region Tournament appearances in school history. The Lady Jaguars drove to the region title game last year before losing 3-2 to Boone County. Cooper finished 18-18 in 2019 when they were freshmen before their sophomore season in 2020 was wiped out because of the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic.
Dixie Heights 2, Ryle 0:
The sophomore pitchers in Riley Hopkins (18-6) from Dixie Heights and Ryle’s Maddie Goddard (14-9) gave their teams a chance all the way to the end pitching complete games.
Hopkins struck out five and walked just one retiring the side in the second and fifth innings. Goddard struck out three and walked one retiring the side in the second inning.
Dixie Heights batted .348 (8 for 23) overall. Senior second baseman Bri Patsel led the way going 3 for 3 with a double. Sophomore center fielder Taylor Ingram added a crucial double.
The Raiders batted .222 (6 for 27) overall. Junior shortstop Avery Parsons continued her hot hitting going 2 for 3 with a double. Junior first baseman Grace Tranbargar added a double.
Dixie Heights scored the game’s only runs in the bottom of the sixth. Dixie Heights earned both runs. But it did not help the cause for the Lady Raiders when they committed two of their three errors in that inning.
Junior shortstop Ella Steczynski led off with a single and took second when Ryle tried to pick her off at first after a pitch and threw the ball away. Sophomore first baseman Skylar Mitchell then reached on an infield single moving Steczynski to third. Ryle tried to make a play at first and threw the ball away allowing Steczynski to score the only run Dixie Heights ended up needing.
“I picked myself up and so did the rest of the team,” Steczynski said. “I felt like we made solid contact. (The balls) started dropping later in the game. We just have to take advantage of (opponents’) mistakes. We know that they’ll do the same thing when we’re in the field.”
Hopkins then landed a sacrifice bunt moving Mitchell to second. Ingram then doubled to right scoring Mitchell making the final score. Ryle got out of the inning with a double play. Dixie Heights junior catcher Becca Cundiff lined out to Parsons and Parsons threw to junior Aaliyah Kaseke at second to double up Ingram.
“It felt really good. I was kind of down on myself with the two at-bats before,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t get a hit. But I brought myself back up with that last at-bat.”
Dixie Heights Head Coach Sarah Osborne tweeted on the Dixie Heights twitter page that coaches do not have control of certain things in the postseason. She noted the hope for coaches is they’ve prepared, tested, pushed and made them see and believe in their capabilities. But she did dance and joke with them some in pre-game warm-ups. It seemed to help keep the players loose, especially until they scored the game’s only runs.
“There were many times where Ryle could have stolen the juice. The girls just didn’t let it happen,” Osborne said. “That’s what I told them. Championship teams keep trotting. They keep doing their thing. They keep the pressure on and that’s what they did. They knew if they had each other, they’d get the job done.”
Both teams put two runners on in the first inning. With two out, Parsons doubled and Dixie Heights intentionally walked Goddard. But Hopkins got Ryle freshman catcher Laney Schuster to ground to Dixie Heights third baseman Ava Meyer. Meyer stepped on third forcing Parsons to end the inning.
Patsel and Meyer led off the bottom of the first with singles. Steczynski hit a line drive. But Parsons caught it. Mitchell then grounded out moving Patsel to third and Meyer to second. But Hopkins grounded out to Ryle third baseman Payton Godfrey to end the inning.
Dixie Heights worked around its lone error in the top of the third. With one out, Ryle senior center fielder Grace Morgan reached when Steczynski did not field the ball cleanly. But Hopkins struck out Kaseke and Parsons lined out to Patsel to end the inning.
“I’m a Ted Lasso (television comedy show) fan. The big thing I keep telling them is be a goldfish,” Osborne said. “It doesn’t matter if you make an error. It doesn’t matter if you strike out or you don’t get the job done. You have on to the next (play). The other thing is this is a team sport. Not one person is going to win the game. It is going to take all nine of you out there. It is going to take the girls in the dugout. It takes everybody.”
The Colonels put two runners on in the bottom of the frame. Patsel doubled with one out and Steczynski walked one out later. But Goddard got Mitchell to ground out to keep the game scoreless.
Ryle mounted a two-out threat in the top of the fourth. Tranbarger doubled and junior left fielder Emily Zmurk singled her to third. But Godfrey grounded out to Steczynski.
Hopkins singled to start the bottom of the fourth and moved to second on a Ryle error. Eighth grader Kalee Stewart ran for Hopkins and stole third. But Ryle made a crucial double play when Ingram lined out to Parsons and Parsons threw to Godfrey at third to double up Stewart. Cundiff then grounded out to Parsons end the inning.
But Stewart and her teammates have learned from mistakes all season. Osborne took her to the side after the inning to talk and Stewart nodded at the Osborne’s coaching.
Dixie Heights has a good combination of upperclassmen and younger players. Eighth grader Taylor Dawalt starts in left field. Aside from Ingram in center, the other starting outfielder in right field is sophomore Carly Waters.
“We just hustle after every ball and if we don’t get to it, the team picks us up,” Dawalt said. “It was a surprise (starting varsity) at first. The girls have helped me because I was kind of scared to start as an eighth grader. That made me feel well and now I feel like I’m just growing with the team.”
Ryle did put two runners on in the top of the sixth. Parsons singled and following a fielder’s choice, Schuster singled moving Goddard to second. But Hopkins retired the next two Lady Raiders to end the threat.
Morgan singled with two out in the top of the seventh. But Hopkins struck out Kaseke for the second time in the game to end it.
Ryle graduates two seniors in Morgan and Anna Prince. They helped Ryle back to the 9th Region semifinals since winning the region crown in 2018.
“I’m really proud of my girls,” said Jarret Goddard, Ryle Head Coach. “No one expected us to be here. We just couldn’t put hits together at crucial times. That is the best defense I’ve ever coached against.”
Ryle also won its first 33rd District Tournament title since 2018. The Lady Raiders have a sold core returning with players like Parsons, Godfrey, Maddie Goddard and Schuster. Schuster led Ryle with eight home runs and Parsons had a team-high five triples.
