11th Region softball: Top teams, players ready to battle for title and state berth
In past years, high school softball teams could count on the cushion of a double-elimination tournament at state after claiming their region titles.
But those days are gone. With district champions crowned and district runners-up still alive with hopes of more postseason glory, this weekend’s regional tournament and the state playoffs to follow are all win-or-go-home.
That’s just fine, said Lexington Catholic Coach Emery Emmert.
“It’s been a great season. I don’t think there’s stress,” Emmert said. “I think we just go out and play and what happens, happens.”
Make no mistake, Emmert’s 43rd District champions want to win the 11th Region Tournament and a state title, but negative thoughts don’t figure into the equation.
“I talk to them about always believing we’re going to win no matter what,” he said. “And sometimes you don’t. I mean there’s been three times this year, we didn’t. We believed we were going to win. We didn’t. But the next day we woke up believing we’re going to win.
“So, we’re going to go into the tournament believing we’re going to win.”
It won’t be easy. The 11th Region field features three top-10 teams, according to the latest Kentucky Softball Coaches Association poll and a number of programs fully capable of playing spoiler.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s regular season RPI standings have Madison Central at No. 11 and Madison Southern at No. 28. Southern defeated Central in the 44th District title game. Neither is ranked in the coaches poll.
Despite losing three times to Lexington Catholic, Lafayette ranks ahead of the No. 6 Knights at No. 5, according to the RPI, thanks mostly to a tougher Generals schedule. Great Crossing comes in at No. 9.
Region play begins Saturday at each district champion’s home field with semifinals Monday and the championship on Tuesday at Madison Southern.
Here’s a look at how the hopefuls stack up and the first-round pairings and rankings according to the KHSAA’s RPI standings, which rate every team.
Top-ranked matchup
Madison Central (22-8) at Great Crossing (22-7), 11 a.m. Saturday.
RPI ratings: Indians — No. 11 (.65859); Warhawks — No. 9 (.66204).
Madison Central: The Indians had a signature win over No. 3 McCracken County early in the season and also topped No. 17 Pulaski County on May 13. Senior infielder Skylar Jacob, a Tusculum commit, leads the team with a .505 average, 11 home runs and 49 RBI. Freshman Bailey Hensley hits .425 and, in fact, no regular Madison Central batter averages worse than .292. Sophomore Jasmine Kaylor (18-5) handles most of the pitching duties with a 3.04 ERA and 73 strikeouts.
Great Crossing: Four of the Warhawks’ seven losses have come at the hands of No. 2 Ballard and No. 4 Butler. The new school formed out of the split with Scott County, the 41st District champs are led by Jeff Portwood, the Cardinals’ three-time state title-winning head coach. In its first season of competition, Great Crossing has defeated a number of top-ranked teams, including No. 5 Lafayette on May 29. Sophomore Delani Sullivan leads the team with a .500 average, 29 runs scored and 10 triples, followed by matching .494 marks from fellow sophomore Camryn Lookadoo and senior Nani Valencia. Inside the circle, junior Layne Ogle (10-4) carries most of the load with a .271 ERA and 84 strikeouts.
Other first-round games
Lafayette (27-8) at Madison Southern (20-12), 11 a.m. Saturday
RPI ratings: Generals — No. 5 (.67476); Eagles — No. 28 (.61351)
Lafayette: The Generals have beaten six top-25 teams and defeated Madison Southern 7-3 on April 23. Lafayette’s combination of pitching (team ERA of 1.48, 298 strikeouts) and power (45 home runs, 8.17 runs per game) make it a tough out. Sophomores Leah Holland (13-3, 1.61 ERA) and Trinity Bridges (11-4, 1.24 ERA) split pitching duties to great effect. Holland also leads the team with 11 home runs, 47 RBI and has a .422 average. Western Carolina commit Natalie Henry (.435 average) and West Alabama commit Rylie Grantz (.465) lead the team in runs scored with 44 each.
Madison Southern: The Eagles have six top-25 wins, including a three-game sweep of neighbor Madison Central and their own Western Carolina commit in Tessa Juett who leads the team with a .444 average and 37 runs scored. Juett gets nearly two-thirds of the pitching duties with an 11-9 record and 1.06 ERA alongside Sage Jackson (9-2, 2.45 ERA). Jackson also leads the team with 26 RBI. Basketball standout Samantha Cornelison, a Transylvania commit, moonlights as a .412 hitter with 25 RBI and 26 runs scored for the 44th District champs.
Frederick Douglass (17-15) at Lexington Catholic (26-3), 11 a.m. Saturday.
RPI ratings: Broncos — No. 90 (.53630); Knights — No. 6 (.67445).
Frederick Douglass: In their third season as a program, the Broncos make their third appearance in the region tournament with perhaps their best team, yet. Center fielder Kasia Parks, a Western Kentucky commit, hits a whopping .565 in the leadoff spot with 42 runs scored and 21 RBI. Rachael Harris (12-11), a Walters State commit, has a 3.58 ERA and threatens at the plate with a .354 average and 26 RBI. Alyssa Wade (.313) homered twice in the district finals (one was an inside-the-park trip) and Kayleigh Bell ranks second in average (.413), has 26 RBI and leads the team in doubles (10). Freshman Aailyah Long has a team-high 29 RBI.
Lexington Catholic: In addition to sweeping three games from No. 5 Lafayette, the 43rd District champs have downed No.13 Woodford County twice, but haven’t faced the same kind of schedule the Generals endured, which helps explain their lower ranking. LexCath boasts a tops-in-state earned-run average of 0.65 with eighth-grader Abby Hammond (24-3) responsible for most of that (0.68 ERA, 218 strikeouts). Hammond also contributes at the plate with a .400 average and team high 28 RBI. Senior catcher Ella Emmert, a Kentucky commit, leads the team in hitting (.513) and runs scored (38). As a team, LexCath hits .362
Franklin County (10-21) at Scott County (15-17), 11 a.m. Saturday.
RPI ratings: Flyers — No. 130 (.48786); Cardinals — No. 81 (.54251).
Franklin County: The Flyers have struggled this season, but a 15-14 win over Collins on May 13 shows they play big-time softball. Collins upset No. 13 Woodford County this week, knocking the Yellow Jackets out of the postseason, and went on to win the 30th District. Franklin County hopes to replicate that magic and has the offense to do it. Freshman Rylee Warner leads the team with a .475 average, 37 RBI and 32 runs scored. Baylee Spickard (.324), Emma Story (.308) Annabelle Southworth (.300) also pose a threat at the plate. Inside the circle, Franklin County’s team ERA is a troubling 6.09. Peyton Sutton has seven wins and 84 strikeouts.
Scott County: It hasn’t been a typical Cardinals season, but the 42nd District champs showed they are beginning to shrug off their offensive struggles with two blowout playoff wins. Scott County outscored its 42nd opponents 23-6. Eighth-grader Ada Little (13-15) has pitched all but 15 innings for the Cards this season with a 2.40 ERA and 241 strikeouts. Alexis Roby leads the team with a .349 average, four home runs and 26 runs scored. Senior Kaylie Wise (.294) is coming off a district tournament MVP performance and has a team-high 22 RBI.
Coming up
All remaining games at Madison Southern.
MONDAY’S SEMIFINALS
5 p.m.: Lafayette-Madison Southern winner vs. Franklin County-Scott County winner
8 p.m.: Frederick Douglass-Lexington Catholic winner vs. Madison Southern-Great Crossing winner
TUESDAY’S FINALS
6 p.m.: Championship game
STATE TOURNAMENT
All games at UK’s John Cropp Stadium
June 11-12: First round.
June 18-19: Quarterfinals and semifinals.
June 20: Championship game, 2 p.m.
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 3:41 PM.
