Softball regional playoffs: Notre Dame, Dixie Heights pull off upsets to reach 9th Region title game

By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Notre Dame and Dixie Heights advanced to the championship game of the 9th Region fast-pitch softball tournament by pulling off upsets in Tuesday’s semifinal round at Veterans Memorial Park in Newport.

Notre Dame defeated Boone County, 4-3, on a walk-off single by senior shortstop Cori Ladanyi in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the bases loaded and one out, she lined a single to right-center field to drive in the two runs her team needed to come away with the victory.

Dixie Heights knocked off Conner, 5-0, behind a strong pitching performance by senior right-hander Samantha Yake. She gave up only four hits in the shutout that puts the Colonels in the regional final for the first time since 2004.

With the regional championship game set for 6 p.m. Thursday, both teams have a chance to settle down after their emotional semifinal victories and get ready to face each other in the regional title game. The winner will advance to next week’s state tournament in Owensboro.

“We’ve been working all year for this and we’re so happy that we finally made it,” Ledanyi said after her team’s semifinal win. “In the regular season, Boone County beat us and you could tell that they felt confident and that they had this game in the bag. But we knew deep in our hearts that we could win it, no matter what.”

A two-run double by senior Jayda Collins put Boone County ahead, 2-0, in the first inning and the Rebels maintained that lead until Notre Dame got an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Both teams then scored a run in the sixth inning and Boone County had a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning when Notre Dame mounted its game-winning rally.

With one out, the Pandas loaded the bases on three consecutive singles by freshmen Serena Paterno, Maddie Prospero and Olivia Meier, the last three players in the batting order. That set the stage for Ladanyi’s game-winning hit.

Before she stepped to the plate, Ledanyi had a brief meeting with Notre Dame head coach Joe Stephenson.

“I could hardly breathe my heart was racing so fast,” she said. “Then I talked to my coach and he told me he had all the confidence in the world that I could do it. That just made me feel confident in myself.”

Ladanyi said she had never had a game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh inning before and she was surprised that it came on a single to right-center field.

“It’s crazy because I rarely hit the ball to the right side,” she said. “Once a season I’ll hit it to the right side and this one was everything our team needed.”

There was nothing surprising about Yake’s pitching performance for Dixie Heights in the first semifinal game. She took private lessons during the season to peak during the playoffs and she’s throwing the ball with a lot of confidence.

Yake had only two strikeouts in the win over Conner, but most of the batters she faced lofted fly balls into the outfield or short pop-ups in the infield that were easy outs for the Colonels.

“I was throwing a lot of drop balls so they were just getting under everything,” she said. “I just perfected a lot of my pitches for this tournament so I’m kind of peaking right now.”

Dixie Heights took a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. Yake drove in the first run and then scored on Jaylin Buford’s two-run single. The Colonels got two more runs in the top the seventh on a single by eight-grader Brooke Albert and a double by sophomore Kaylee McGinn.

Those two players were just learning to walk and talk the last time Dixie Heights won a 9th Region softball title 13 years ago. Now they get a chance to win another one in Roddy Stainforth’s last season as coach of the team.

Stainforth is stepping down as softball coach because he was recently named head coach of the Dixie Heights boys’ basketball program.

“I’m very excited,” Stainforth said of making it to the regional final. “I told those girls at the beginning of the season that this was going to be my last year with them, but I love it so much I don’t want it to end. I didn’t know I was going to fall in love with this game and this team and these girls as much as I have. I want it to keep going.”

DIXIE HEIGHTS  000 300 2 — 5  8  1
CONNER             000 000 0 — 0  4  1

WP — Yake. LP — Henry. HITTING LEADERS: DH — Albert 2-3; McGinn 2-2, 2B; Buford 2 RBI. RECORDS: Dixie Heights 20-12, Conner 13-13.

BOONE COUNTY  200 001 0 — 3  6  1
NOTRE DAME       000 011 2 — 4  9  0

WP — Durstock. LP — Jackson. HITTING LEADERS: BC — Collins 2B, 2 RBI. ND — Ladanyi 2-2, 2B, 2 RBI; A. Huston 2-3; Paterno 2-3; Prospero 2-3. RECORDS: Notre Dame 19-8, Boone County 22-8.

Softball regional tournaments

9th Region at Veterans Memorial Park, Newport
Tuesday
Dixie Heights 5, Conner 0
Notre Dame 4, Boone County 3
Thursday
Championship: Dixie Heights vs. Boone County, 6 p.m.

10th Region at Clark County High School
Tuesday
Harrison County 11, Brossart 1
Campbell County 7, Bourbon County 5
Wednesday
Championship: Harrison County vs. Campbell County, 6 p.m.

8th Region at Collins High School
Tuesday
Collins 9, Simon Kenton 1
Anderson County 9, Oldham County 8
Wednesday
Championship: Collins vs. Anderson County, 6 p.m.