By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
The Highlands fast-pitch softball team that has not lost to a Northern Kentucky opponent this season will face two of the other top contenders for the 9th Region title in back-to-back games this weekend.
The Bluebirds have a 12-0 record against local teams and 15-9 record overall going into their game at Notre Dame at 5 p.m. Friday. This will be the first time the two teams have faced each other since Notre Dame edged Highlands, 5-4, in last year’s 9th Region championship game.
On Saturday morning, the Bluebirds will be facing another tough challenge in a home game against Ryle at 11 a.m. In the last Northern Kentucky coaches poll, Highlands was No. 1 and Ryle was No. 2.
Highlands got off to a 5-6 start this season with eight of those games against teams from outside the area. The Bluebirds then won 10 straight games before going 0-3 against downstate teams in a tournament at East Jessamine last weekend.
“We have played one of the toughest schedules in the state and, by far, the toughest of any Northern Kentucky team,” said Highlands coach Rob Coffey.
With five games remaining on the regular season schedule, the Bluebirds need a strong finish to build momentum for the district playoffs that begin on May 23. Coffey is counting on the four seniors in his starting lineup to generate that momentum.
Senior pitcher Bailey Spencer has a 13-7 record with 95 strike outs in 120 innings and a 2.91 earned run average. She’s the main reason the Bluebirds have shut out nine of the 12 Northern Kentucky teams they’ve played so far.
Senior shortstop Haley Coffey anchors the defense. She also leads the team in walks, stolen bases and runs scored. The Bluebirds’ leading hitter is senior Brennah Dutcher with a .542 average and 15 extra base hits. Senior catcher Shelby Graybill is next in line with a .455 average and seven home runs.
All four of those seniors have already made commitments with college teams. Graybill was recruited by Louisville and Dutcher is headed to Denison University. Coffey will continue her career at Taylor University and Spencer will join the Thomas More College pitching staff.
Niece selected for basketball exhibition game against Ky. All Stars
Simon Kenton sophomore guard Ally Niece has accepted an invitation to play in a girls’ basketball exhibition game against the Kentucky All Stars at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 9th at Elizabethtown High School.
The Kentucky All Stars scheduled the exhibition game against some of the top underclassmen from around the state to prepare for its annual two-game summer series against the Indiana All Stars.
Niece was asked to play in the exhibition because she was named 8th Region Player of the Year and Northern Kentucky Division I Player of the Year last season. She averaged 20.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and shot 48 percent from the field for Simon Kenton.
The Kentucky-Indiana All Star Series will be played June 11 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and June 12 at Bellarmine University in Louisville.
Dejah McClendon of Holy Cross is on the Kentucky All Stars girls’ roster. Ben Weyer of Newport Central Catholic and Matt Wilson of Campbell County will play for the Kentucky All Stars boys’ team.
Conner basketball player will continue career at Ohio Dominican
Michael Scott, the leading scorer on the Conner boys’ basketball team that made it to the 9th Region semifinals last season, plans to join the Ohio Dominican University men’s basketball program as a preferred walk-on.
Scott averaged 17.3 points per game and shot 50.7 percent from the field in his senior season at Conner. He was among the top five vote-getters on the Division I all-conference team selected by Northern Kentucky coaches.
Scott will be joining an Ohio Dominican team that competes on the NCAA Division II level as a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Last season, the Panthers finished 11-17 overall and 8-14 in the conference with two seniors in the starting lineup.
CovCath baseball surpasses 20 wins for 30th consecutive season
The Covington Catholic baseball team continued its streak of 20-win seasons under coach Bill Krumpelbeck with victories in two of its last three games that raised the Colonels’ current record to 21-6.
This the 30th consecutive season that the Colonels have reached the 20-win mark since Krumpelbeck took charge of the program. He now has a 943-400-1 record in 40 years and ranks fifth on the career victories list for Kentucky high school baseball coaches.
CovCath was the last Northern Kentucky high school baseball team to win a state championship in 2002. The Colonels have also won nine regional titles under Krumpelbeck, who is a member of the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.