Highlands Blasts Out Another 9th Region Win

Bluebirds Score 11 in First Inning

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands senior Brooke Dill lights into a pitch against Cooper on Tuesday. Highlands won its third in a row with a 16-7 win.

It was one of those innings that turned into a coach's dream.

The Highlands Bluebirds softball team (5-2 overall) scored 11 runs in the first inning on its way to a 16-7 9th Region win over the Cooper Lady Jaguars (2-6) on Tuesday. The Bluebirds have won three straight and improved to 4-0 in region play. Field conditions moved the game to Fort Thomas.

"We came out on fire obviously," said Rob Coffey, Highlands Head Coach. "Somedays, things just click. It clicked in that first inning. Everybody hit the ball hard. Even our outs I believe were line drives right at people. Sometimes (the ball) looks like a watermelon and some nights, it looks like a pea. It's cool when that all comes together on the same night."

Highlands saw junior Rachel Gabbard lead the way with four hits including two doubles. Eighth Grader Anna Greenwell added three hits including a double. Senior Liz Mairose, sophomore Abby Rust and eighth grader Addie Mack all had two hits each. Mack also had a double. A number of other players such as freshman Brianna Tharps added hits for Highlands.

"Every at-bat counts a lot," Tharps said. "(With) every at-bat, I'm improving myself more. I understand what mistakes I'm making and I understand how to fix them. Every time I get on base, it makes my team unified in many ways. We know we're a good hitting team and we have fast runners. We know we're going to have a good season."

Eighth-grade pitcher Gracie Schlosser threw a complete game to pick up the win for the Bluebirds. She struck out three, walked five and allowed seven hits and seven runs with six earned facing a total of 36 batters.

Highlands faces Harrison County (1-7) on Wednesday in Fort Thomas. Game time is 6 p.m.