By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The one-and-done curse that haunted 9th Region teams in the state softball tournament for years was finally broken Thursday when Highlands defeated South Laurel, 3-0, in a first-round game at the University of Kentucky’s John Cropp Stadium.
It was the first state tournament victory for a 9th Region team since the single-elimination format was adopted in 2019 and snapped a nine-game losing streak overall dating back to 2017. There was no state tournament in 2010 due to the pandemic.
Highlands senior pitcher Kaitlyn Dixon had 15 strikeouts and allowed only one hit in Thursday’s victory. At the plate, she had two of her team’s five hits and drove in a run.
Dixon’s earned run average dropped to 0.69 with the shutout that lifted her pitching record to 28-3.
“What more can you say about Kaitlyn,” Highlands coach Milt Horner said after the 9th Region championship game when her ERA was at 0.71. “Go back and look in the last 10 years, there are only a couple pitchers in the state that had an ERA anywhere close to that. So this has been an unbelievable year for her.”
The Bluebirds (34-6) broke the scoreless tie in the fifth inning on doubles by sophomore outfielder Bailee Class and senior second baseman Morgan Pompilio.
After a third-strike passed ball put senior catcher Payton Brown on first base and moved Pompilio to third, senior outfielder Cam Markus made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly and a single by Dixon drove in the third run.
Dixon retired the final nine batters she faced, getting five on strikeouts to raise her season total to 327. The Thomas More University recruit holds the Highlands career record with 1,161 strikeouts.
After going winless in their last three state tournament appearances, the Bluebirds advance to the quarterfinals and face North Hardin (26-12) at 10 a.m. Saturday. The winner of that game will advance to the semifinals to be played Friday, June 12.
The bracket for the state softball tournament is posted on the khsaa.org website.
The first four games of the state baseball tournament were played on Thursday at Legends Field in Lexington. The opening round will conclude on Friday with four more games, including Campbell County vs. LaRue County at 10 a.m. and Beechwood vs. West Jessamine at 8:30 p.m.
This is the first time since 2023 that Beechwood earned a state tournament berth as the 9th Region champion. Campbell County is representing the 10th Region in the season finale for the first time since 2022.
Campbell County senior shortstop Tyler Schumacher and Beechwood junior center fielder Tyler Fryman were both named first-team all-state by the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association. Walton-Verona senior pitcher Bronson Corpus was another first-team selection.
Beechwood pitcher Caleb Arrasmith was named second-team all-state. The third-team nominees included Ryle senior shortstop Anthony Coppola and Beechwood senior shortstop Brooks Becker.
The bracket for the state baseball tournament is posted on the khsaa.org website.
HIGHLANDS. 000 030 0 — 3 5 0
SOUTH LAUREL 000 000 0 — 0 1 2
WP — Kaitlyn Dixon (15 Ks). LP — Kenzie Williams (9 Ks).
HITTING LEADERS: H — Kaitlyn Dixon 2-3, Bailee Class 2B, Morgan Pompilio 2B. SL — Skye Lawson 2B. RECORDS: Highlands 34-6, South Laurel 36-6.