Highlands softball, baseball teams claim district titles

Allen Ramsey Photo. Highlands sophomore Haley Coffey (center) scores on a wild pitch in the first inning of Thursday's 36th District championship game at Winkler Park while Newport Central Catholic pitcher Haley Meyers (right) tries to get in position and catcher Kristen Schreiber (left) watches. Highlands won 2-1 for its first title in three years.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It turned out to be another great day to be wearing the Blue and White.

Both the Highlands Bluebirds baseball and Ladybirds softball teams claimed 36th District championships Thursday. The Bluebirds run-ruled the Bellevue Tigers, 10-0 in five innings at Morscher Field before many of the players and coaches ventured to Winkler Park to see the Ladybirds edge the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds, 2-1.
The Ladybirds (23-11) claimed their first district title since 2011 with their 15th straight win and the Bluebirds (20-17) won their third straight. NewCath (18-10) won the previous two 36th softball crowns.

The softball title was a defensive struggle with the difference coming down to capitalizing on miscues. The two NewCath errors led to both Highlands runs while the Thoroughbreds did not score any runs after the lone Ladybird error.

The first run came in the first inning for Highlands. Haley Coffey hit the ball just to the left of home plate. She ended up at third following a NewCath throwing error before scoring on a wild pitch.

“Our backstop is huge,” Haley Coffey said. “I trust every hitter. I knew I could beat out (NewCath catcher Kristen Schrieber’s) throw as long as I dove in. For some reason, we didn’t hit the ball well. With small ball, you put it in play, (opponents) make mistakes and you get runs. That helped us a lot.”

The Ladybirds held that lead until the fourth inning. Taylor Burkart led off the inning for NewCath with a walk and Lexi Potts ran for her. Potts scored when pitcher Haley Meyers singled with two outs.

But Highlands scored the game-winner in the fifth inning. With one out, Rachel Gabbard walked and Brooke Dill ran for her. Josie Daley bunted Dill to second. Then Payton Leighty hit a ground ball to the left side and reached first on an error. Dill hustled around third and scored on the miscue.

“The one thing these girls have changed on their own is the culture of hustle and finishing plays,” said Rob Coffey, Highlands Head Coach. “It’s not just on the bases. It’s running and backing (teammates) up on the infield and outfield covering the bases and getting to the right spots. I’m proud of them for that.”

Hits came at a premium in the game as Highlands eighth grade pitcher Miranda Mason outdualed Meyers. Mason allowed five hits and Meyers allowed three. No one had more than two hits and none of them went for extra bases.

Tournament Most Valuabe Player Mason struck out two and walked two. She’s pitching in place of regular injured starter Bailey Spencer.

“It’s an awesome feeling,” said Ashley Grosser, Highlands Senior. “I couldn’t do it without my team. We boosted up (Mason’s) confidence and told her we had her back.”

Spencer had her Appendix taken out Sunday and is out for the season. This came a day after the Ladybirds beat Ryle to end the regular season.

“It’s really frustrating because I want to be out there, but I’m glad I can come out to support the team,” Spencer said. “I’m glad Miranda has stepped up in place of me. It’s great seeing them win even though I’m not able to play with them.”

Meyers also pitched a good game. She struck out five and walked one.

NewCath did have opportunities to score in the first and second innings. In the first, Loren Zimmerman singled with Schrieber on first and two out. The two advanced a base on the Highlands error before Mason got Morgan Martini to ground out to second.

The Thoroughbreds loaded the bases with two out in the second. Molly Mertle singled and Haley Meyers walked before Katherine Schreiber ran for her. But after Michaela Ware singled to load the bases, Casey Kohls grounded out to short.

“We’ve done a lot of work on defense this year,” Coach Coffey said. “We started last fall trying to solidify different positions and depth. We knew our defense was going to be solid. We felt like we would hit and outscore them in the long run. It turned out to be a different game than everyone expected.”

Whitney Quillen and Brennah Dutcher joined Mason on the all-tournament team. Burkart and Zimmerman made it for NewCath.

“I have to give Highlands credit,” said Denny Barnes, NewCath Head Coach. “(Mason) screwed us up. She did a great job. We’d have been better off facing (Spencer). We were out in front all day long. We wanted to face them at their best. I wish we’d have had some more hits. But I’m not disappointed in the kids. They fought hard.”

The 9th Region tournament takes place at Northern Kentucky University next week. Notre Dame is the defending region champion.

In the baseball title game, Highlands scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back. The Bluebirds finished the game with five runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Highlands beat both tournament opponents by a combined 23-0. The Bluebirds run-ruled Newport, 13-0 in five innings in the semifinals. Highlands came into the postseason as the only team in the district with a winning record.

“(Bellevue) plays a tough schedule so it was a good win for us,” said Jeremy Baioni, Highlands Head Coach. “Whenever you get two games with five innings total, it saves on pitching. That’s huge going into next week. We’re going to need everyone available.”

Highlands outhit Bellevue, 9-1. Luke Hennigan led the Bluebirds going 2-for-3 with a run batted in. Jake Whitford and Mitch Gesenhues had two runs batted in and Evan Allen scored twice for the Bluebirds.

“We practice like we play,” said DJ Mills, Highlands junior. “We don’t have any players on the team that don’t know their roles. They do whatever they need to do to help the team win.”

The Bluebirds once again had another big game on the bases. They recorded five stolen bases.

“We executed well offensively,” Baioni said. “We had some hit-and-runs. We also ran the bases well. That’s the biggest thing.”

Joey Cochran pitched the first four innings picking up the win for the Bluebirds. He struck out three before Joseph Martin pitched the fifth striking out one. Neither allowed a walk.

The baseball 9th Region tournament takes place at University of Cincinnati Medical Center Stadium starting Monday. The Bluebirds finished runner-up in the tournament two years ago.