Highlands softball clips South Laurel for state tournament victory
· Yahoo Sports
Before the top of the fifth inning Thursday, June 4, Highlands head coach Milt Horner told sophomore Bailee Class that she would get on base and score the first run of the state softball tournament game against South Laurel.
After the Bluebirds left five runners on base through four innings, Class nearly hit a home run on the first pitch she saw, doubling off the left field wall. She stole third before Morgan Pompilio doubled her home, giving Highlands a 1-0 lead that led to a 3-0 victory at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington.
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"I have so much confidence in Bailee. She doesn't have as much experience as some of these girls do playing softball, but she's got experience as an athlete," Horner said.
Class, a sophomore, is also the starting goalie for the girls soccer team. She allowed one goal per game on average in 2025 and converted the winning penalty kick against Central Hardin in the state semifinals.
After Payton Brown reached on a dropped third strike, Cam Markus hit a sacrifice fly to score Pompilio and pitcher Kaitlyn Dixon helped her own cause with a single to score Brown to make it 3-0.
It was all the offense the Bluebirds would need in their their third state tournament win and first since 2016. The win breaks a nine-year drought where the Ninth Region champion failed to win a state tournament game.
"Monkey's off our back," Horner said.
Class later caught the final out of the game.
"Obviously at first, catch it. Then I was just super excited to go in and celebrate with my team at the mound, especially to hug Kaitlyn because she's so good," Class said.
For the second time in seven days, Dixon was within one hit of throwing a perfect game. She allowed a one-out seventh inning single against Notre Dame in the regional semifinals. On Thursday morning, her only mistake was a pitch that Skye Lawson lined into the left field corner for a double. She finished with 15 strikeouts and threw 77 of her 102 pitches for strikes.
"I get a nice little tan. I just sit there and enjoy the breeze and cheer her on. It's good and bad because sometimes the ball's hit to us where we don't have any reps for a while, but other than that, it's really nice having her pitch in front of us," Pompilio said.
Before the offensive outburst, the game seemed destined for extra innings with two of the state's best pitchers in the circle. Entering the tournament, Dixon led the state with 27 wins, was third with 312 strikeouts and fifth with a 0.71 ERA. South Laurel starter Kenzie Williams led the state with a 0.43 ERA, was second with 23 wins and fifth with 299 strikeouts.
"I thought this team was as prepared to be able to do this as any team I've ever coached, and they showed it today," Horner said. "They bought into every single thing that we asked them to do. Every single thing. They showed up at weights, they showed up at skills training, they showed up at the freshman games to cheer on the seventh graders. I couldn't ask for a better bunch of seniors and I'm so happy for them."
The Bluebirds will face either Apollo (24-12) and North Hardin (25-12) in the state quarterfinals at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 6. The E-gals upset Daviess County, a top five team in the state, in the Third Region championship. The Trojans are in the state tournament for the first time since 2009.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Highlands softball gets timely hitting, dominant pitching in state tourney victory