Senior pitcher Kylie Ropp threw a one-hit shutout, striking out nine as Kenton Ridge cruised to a 7-0 victory over Graham in a D-II district semifinal on Tuesday.
“Having her leadership in the circle has been great,” said Cougars coach Sarah Schalnat. “She’s staying focused and trying to work her pitch. She’s done a great job with that. I think it helps with all of our seniors having that leadership from all of them.”
KR freshman center fielder Kendall Massie went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple and freshman catcher Brenna Fyffe went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.
“The kids are being where their feet are,” Schalnat said. “They’re coming out to play every day and they’re really focused. They’re just having a great year.”
Last season, the Cougars beat Clinton-Massie 5-3 to win their first district title since 2018. They’ll look to repeat against Franklin (19-8), which finished second in the Southwestern Buckeye League East Division. The Wildcats beat Eaton 16-3, collecting 17 hits en route to a district semifinal victory.
The game was originally scheduled for 5 p.m., but was moved due to Franklin’s graduation ceremony scheduled for later that night. The Cougars never played before 3 p.m. last season en route to a D-II regional final appearance.
“They’re excited to get out of school,” Schalnat said. “It’ll be new for them.”
Southeastern exploded for nine runs in the third inning as the Trojans beat Fayetteville-Perry 12-0 in five innings on Wednesday to advance. The big inning included a three-run home run by sophomore Sara Sulfridge and a grand slam by freshman Kaylee Wells. Trojans freshman pitcher Reese Wells threw a five-inning shutout, allowing three hits with seven strikeouts.
The key to the game was staying focused, Southeastern coach Kaitlyn Blair said. While the team was quiet to start the game, they also showed confidence, she said.
“I realized we were all in the zone,” Blair said.
They’re one of just two Ohio Heritage Conference teams remaining. D-III district finalist West Jefferson is the other.
“They’re starting to realize what this means,” Blair said.
Russia (17-7) is seeking its third straight district title. They beat Newton 13-1 on Tuesday to advance. A year ago, Southeastern fell to Russia 8-3 in a D-IV district final game.
“We’re sticking with our motto, one game at a time, one win at a time,” Blair said. “Our bats are really, really hot right now and I want to keep it that way.”
Baseball
Seventh-seeded Catholic Central (10-16) upset No. 1 seeded Tri-Village 8-4 on Wednesday to advance to a D-VI district semifinal game for the second straight season. They advanced to face second-seeded Southeastern (12-9), which beat No. 5 Tri-County North 5-0, at 5 p.m. Monday at South Charleston Community Park. The winner will advance to face either Fayetteville-Perry or Felicity-Franklin in a D-IV district final on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
The Trojans, which advanced to the D-IV regional semifinals last season, beat the Irish twice during Ohio Heritage Conference South Division play this season.
Division III: Top-seeded Greeneview beat Northwestern 7-4 on Wednesday to advance to the North 1 bracket district semifinal game. They’ll host 14th-seeded Preble Shawnee, which upset No. 6 Miami East 4-2, in a second round game, at 5 p.m. Monday.
The winner will advance to face either Middletown Madison or Cincinnati Madeira in a D-III district final at 5 p.m. Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
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