Thursday’s inaugural Strike Out Cancer game was equal parts softball and celebration.
Highlands knocked off Notre Dame, 7-6, at Winkler Field in a game called one out into the top of the sixth inning because of threatening weather.
Thursday’s pregame ceremony was equally important, and not just because Highlands wore pink socks and belts and both teams wore pink ribbons in their hair.
Interact for Health, a Cincinnati agency that works to advance health justice “in order to ensure that people in our region are healthy and thriving, regardless of who they are or where they live,” awarded a $400 grant to Highlands junior shortstop Morgan Pompilio.
Pompilio spent six weeks writing the grant proposal; she used the money to buy the pink socks and belts the Bluebirds wore and the pink ribbons both teams sported.
All the while, Pompilio, who’s considering becoming a radiology therapist after high school, thought of her grandma, Mary Jo Long, a 13-year breast cancer survivor.
“It was very rewarding,” Pompilio said of the grant. “… There was one point where I didn’t think I could do it.”
Beth Brubaker was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. By her side was her 5-year-old daughter Harper, who threw the ceremonial first pitch.
“It’s a wonderful showing of support,” Brubaker the mom said. “I think it puts an incredibly important issue into the community. Cancer impacts everyone, and with one in eight women being diagnosed with breast cancer, it really is a strong showing of support.”
Several agencies – Kentucky Cancer Project (KCP), St. Elizabeth Healthcare, I Have Wings, and the Kentucky Thorough-Breasts Dragon Boat Team – offered information about breast cancer. Mary Schneider of KCP said a mobile mammogram machine was at Highlands High School for two hours Thursday afternoon.
“We do this to draw attention to softball, but also, this is a cause,” Highlands coach Milt Horner said. “My wife’s mother (Hilda Evans) died when she was 5 years old, and my mom (Claudia Tagge) died two years ago. Everybody’s been affected by cancer in some way, shape or form.”
Highlands (21-5) won its 15th consecutive game, a streak that includes seven shutouts. Horner credited defense and Kaitlyn Dixon’s pitching during the streak. (She’s 15-1 with 193 strikeouts, a 1.25 earned run average and a save in 117 1/3 innings pitched).
“Our defense has been very solid,” Horner said. “Our outfield is as good as any outfield in all the years I’ve been here. We’ve made more diving catches this year than I think I’ve ever seen us make.”
Another reason might be moving third baseman Alli Meyers from sixth in the batting order to leadoff ahead of power hitters Payton Brown, Dixon and Layla Zepf. It was a sound strategy Thursday – her two-run double helped Highlands score five second-inning runs.
“I feel my job is to get on … but it doesn’t really matter if I get on or not because I know, even if I don’t, they’re going to be proud of me and know I still tried for them”
While neither team threw their top pitching option (Highlands’ Dixon and Notre Dame’s Abby Turnpaugh), Notre Dame (11-4) coach Chris Schreiber said the Pandas have not given up many big-run frames.
“And again, there’s just some of these mistakes that we’re making mentally,” Schreiber said. “We’ve got to learn from those and, obviously, decrease those.”
Meyers’ two-run double was the big hit – Bailee and Kate Class scored. Pompilio’s single sent Meyers plateward, Julia Luhn’s grounder to first scored Kate Class, and Dixon’s single scored Meyers.
Notre Dame rebounded, scoring three times in the fourth inning. An Addi Zinser single scored Morgan Russell, and Ava Auberger’s single plated Lucy Dillon and Zinser.
In the sixth, an Abby Turnpaugh single scored Zinser and Auberger.
“One thing you saw … they didn’t quit,” Schreiber said. “They continued to fight back, and that’s the one thing I’m most proud of these kids with is their continued resilience to grind things out and try to come back and through.”
Harper Brubaker perhaps summarized the evening in three words.
“It was awesome,” she said.
PHOTOS: Highlands-Notre Dame Strike Out Cancer game (provided by Charles Bolton)
BLUEBIRDS 7, PANDAS 6
NOTRE DAME 010 302 – 6 8 1
HIGHLANDS 051 10x – 7 5 1
Dillon and Zinser; Dickman, Luhn (4) and Brown. WP-Dickman (1-0). LP-Dillon (0-1). Save-Luhn (1). 2B-Meyers (H), Turnpaugh (ND).
Records: Notre Dame 11-4, Highlands 21-5.