After a 24-hour delay, the 9th Region softball Tournament finally got underway Monday in two different locations.
Two games were held at Holmes’ Mitchell Wolfe Field in Covington, two others at Thomas More University.
Highlands defeated Conner in a tightly contested battle, while Ryle outlasted Newport Central Catholic in a game that ended early via run rule in Covington. At Thomas More, Notre Dame shutout Villa Madonna while Dixie Heights outlasted Holy Cross.
Here’s a look at the four games:
Highlands 3, Conner 1
As two of the top teams in the 9th Region all season long, Conner and Highlands knew a first-round meeting would be anything but easy.
Instead of a potential championship matchup later in the week, one of the region’s strongest contenders was sent home early, as Highlands did just enough to outlast Conner 3-1 in a 9th Region Tournament quarterfinal and advance.
Conner entered region play after a heartbreaking walk-off loss to Ryle in the 37th District championship, while Highlands came in as the 33rd District champion. All season long, both teams were among the most successful in the region, Highlands finishing 12-0 against 9th Region opponents and Conner going 12-3 against region competition.
Two teams capable of playing deep into the bracket instead met in the opening round, with only one moving on.
“It was about those girls staying engaged after the district tournament final loss,” Conner head coach Shawn Sproles said. “This late in the year we can make some adjustments, we could do some stuff, but it’s really up to them if they’re going to come out fighting.”
Despite the early collision of heavyweights, neither team played frightened.
“We were so excited to get them in the draw because we knew it was going to be a good game,” Highlands ace Kaitlyn Dixon said. “We knew it was going to be tough and we were going to have to do our absolute best and not make any mistakes.”
As expected, mistakes were few and far between. The two teams combined for just one error.
To win, both sides needed a breakthrough.
Dixon once again delivered a dominant outing in the circle, going seven innings and allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out 15.
On the other side, Conner countered with youth, turning to eighth grader Bayli Bell for a complete-game effort. Bell allowed six hits, two earned runs and one walk while keeping Highlands off balance for much of the night with a composed performance well beyond her years.
“I give them a lot of credit, Conner played their hearts out,” Highlands head coach Milt Horner said. “I don’t even know how many defensive plays they made — sliding, diving — they did a good job of keeping us off balance at the plate. She pitched great as an eighth grader, absolutely fantastic.”
With both pitchers dealing, runs were hard to come by.
Highlands finally broke through in the third inning behind sophomore Bailee Class, the Bluebirds’ No. 9 hitter and also a standout goalkeeper for the program’s state runner-up soccer team. Class delivered the game’s first big swing, launching a home run to center field to put Highlands on the board.
“I just go up there with a clear head and see what I can do, just bat to ball,” Class said. “After the fact, I was really excited because that’s only my second one ever and both this year. I was excited to get a run on the board for our team because I knew it would change our momentum.”
That momentum carried forward two at-bats later when Highlands extended the lead. On a sacrifice bunt attempt, a Conner error allowed Layla Zepf to score, pushing the Bluebirds ahead 2-0.
Highlands added insurance in the sixth when Kate Class doubled and Katherine Heilman drove her in with a sacrifice fly.
Conner refused to go quietly in the seventh.
Leadoff hitter Bre Meredith gave the Cougars life with a home run to cut into the deficit, but Dixon answered immediately with back-to-back strikeouts. Ryanne Carter later reached scoring position and the tying run came to the plate, but Dixon ended the threat by striking out the final batter to seal the win.
The Lady Cougars’ season closed at 19-12, capping off a strong year while also saying goodbye to a talented senior class whose impact will be felt throughout the program for years to come.
“Ended up with 19 wins, the most since I’ve been here in seven years, first time we went to three straight region tournaments since 2015,” Sproles said. “All great leaders, there’s not many better.”
The Cougars’ senior group included five players, highlighted by one of the region’s top standouts, Averie Lightner, who doubled in her final game.
Highlands will face Notre Dame in the semifinals Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Thomas More University.
Ryle 15, Newport Central Catholic 0 (4 INN)
By the end of Ryle’s game Monday night, the number of home runs hit this season at Holmes’ Mitchell-Wolfe Field had tripled.
Coming into the 9th Region Tournament quarterfinals, there had only been two. The Lady Raiders accounted for four more in a 15-0, four-inning run-rule victory over Newport Central Catholic.
Kiley Patterson’s solo blast got Ryle’s bats flowing followed by a Leah Broussard two-run homer. Emily Gehring later launched a two-run shot of her own and Rayne Patsel followed in the next at-bat with a solo homer.
“We’ve got a lineup, one through nine, of good hitters,” Ryle head coach David Meier said. “We’ve got five or six girls that have multiple home runs this year, and that’s the third time we’ve hit back-to-back home runs this season. We’re in the low-to-mid 20s as a team in homers, so we can hit for average too, but we do have some power in our lineup.”
The home runs were far from the only offensive production for the Lady Raiders.
Kam Patterson added two doubles, while Karysa Lowery also recorded an extra-base hit with a double of her own.
Altogether, Ryle finished with seven hits, with six different players driving in runs. Emily Gehring led the way with three hits, while Kam Patterson, Kiley Patterson, Rayne Patsel and Leah Broussard each collected multiple RBIs.
Broussard finished with four RBIs, while Gehring and Patsel added three apiece.
Ryle’s pitching staff made sure the offensive outburst was more than enough support.
The Lady Raiders allowed just one hit in the shutout victory. Patsel started in the circle and pitched three innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out two. Addison Farmer closed out the game, surrendering no hits or walks and striking out one.
Emma Kevill recorded the lone hit for the Thoroughbreds.
Newport Central Catholic ends its year at 10-10 and is set to return all but one player next season.
Ryle will face Dixie Heights in the semifinals Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Thomas More University.
Dixie Heights 13, Holy Cross 7
Staff Report
In a rematch of last year’s 9th Region softball tournament quarterfinals, Dixie Heights got its revenge as the Holy Cross magic ran out.
The Colonels (16-15) scored a run in every inning they hit, collecting eight hits, drawing 12 walks and taking advantage of four Holy Cross errors. They jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a two-run single from Ava Niemer in the first inning, an RBI double from Sydney Schumacher, and an RBI single from Emma Buford in the second.
Holy Cross responded with all seven of their runs in the top of the third. It started with two Dixie errors and was followed by run-scoring singles from Zoey Baker and Jayden Cox, a bases loaded walk from Jadyn Jones and run-scoring singles from Maya Balsley, Zara Velasquez, Charlie Ankenbauer, plus an RBI groundout from Kayla Fledderman to make it 7-4.
After Dixie added two runs in the third inning, they regained the lead with four runs in the fourth. They added two more in the fifth inning and another in the sixth.
Seven different Dixie batters collected a hit, Sam Skees led the way with two and drove in three runs. Sydney Schumacher also drove in three runs, while Taylor Dewalt and Niemer drove in two.
The win advances Dixie to Tuesday’s semifinal against Ryle.
Holy Cross was led by Baker and Cox, who each had two hits, as they outhit Dixie, 9-8. Their season ended at 7-20.
Notre Dame 5, Villa Madonna 0
Staff Report
Lucy Dillon was in complete control for the Pandas, tossing a complete-game two-hitter and striking out 15.
Sophia Gerkin knocked two hits and drove in two runs while Addison Zinser and Dillon each contributed an RBI.
The Pandas plated three runs in the third inning and two in the fourth, letting Dillon do the rest. The win advances them to Tuesday’s semifinals to face Highlands.
Cam Kratzer helped keep Villa in the game, not allowing an earned run, but four Villa errors proved costly. Kratzer struck out eight and walked one.
