Ryle senior Makenna Hirshey has found herself at the plate in some pretty crucial spots this season.
In an April 15 district seeding game against Cooper, she gave Ryle a 7-6 win with a bloop single in the bottom of the seventh inning.
In the Kentucky High School Athletic Association 33rd District semifinals, her walk-off single gave Ryle a 2-1 win over Cooper, sending the Raiders to the district championship and securing a spot in the regional tournament.
On Thursday afternoon against Dixie Heights in the Ninth Region semifinals, she walked to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, runners on first and third, and the score tied 8-8. Although she didn’t hit a ball out of the infield all day, she hit a weak grounder to third base on the first pitch she saw, beating the throw and scoring Keegan Murr for a 9-8 walk off win to send the Raiders to their first regional final since 2018.
“I keep finding the one hole off the end of my bat and then just going with it. Every single time I’ve gone up with runners in scoring position, I know I just have to do it for my team, especially being a senior. We’ve lost to Dixie or lost in the second round of regionals every single year I played Ryle softball,” Hirshey said.
The Raiders, now 22-11, are also the first 33rd District school to appear in the regional final since Boone County won it all in 2021.
A two-run seventh inning rally capped off a topsy-turvy instant classic between the Raiders and Colonels.
Dixie got the scoring started in the third inning, scoring two runs, thanks to two walks, a hit by pitch and an error.
Ryle answered with four runs, all coming with two outs. Emily Gehring, Rayne Patsel, Korlin Rechtin and Brooklyn Roland all recorded singles in the rally, the first hits of the day for either team.
“It’s one through 21. They’re just a great team, a great group of girls,” Ryle head coach David Meier said.
After a quiet fourth inning, the offense ramped up again. Emma Buford singled and later scored to cut the deficit to one. Dixie took a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning thanks to singles from Emma Buford and Ava Niemer.
Enter Ryle sophomore Kiley Patterson.
With runners on first and second and two outs in the sixth inning, she hit a laser shot over the scoreboard down the left field line for a three-run home run and a 7-5 lead. It was her fourth round-tripper of the year.
“I did go 0-for-3 with a strikeout and two pop-ups, and then I hit it and was like, ‘Wow, it’s another pop-up.’ I threw my bat behind me and said, ‘Get out, please!’ I was really scared, then I started crying happy tears,” Patterson said.
But Dixie Heights wasn’t done yet. After Madison Skees scored on a wild pitch, a McKenna Litke ground ball brought Salin Haskins home to tie the game.
If the Colonels wanted any chance to retake the lead, they needed to roll the lineup over to senior catcher Sydney Schumacher, and that’s what she did.
Schumacher, who played in just 12 games this year due to a broken finger, lined a double to right field, scoring Sam Skees.
“She’s truly an impact player. I know that she didn’t necessarily offensively do things that she wanted to do when she came back, which is hard to do, but defensively, she’s a difference-maker. The moment we knew she could come back, we were ecstatic,” Dixie Heights head coach Sarah Osborne said.
Murr had arguably the biggest seventh inning of any player, getting the final two outs as a pitcher before scoring the winning run.
The Colonels finish with a 16-17 record after combining for an 18-38 record in 2024 and 2025. They graduate Schumacher, Taylor Dawalt and Madison Skees, but there are plenty of reasons for optimism moving forward.
Sullee Sheehan, who pitched four innings in the semifinal, is one of the best young pitchers in the region. Haskins, Sam Skees and Haley Waters will all be names to watch next year.
“I looked at the seniors this year before the season even started and I asked them to help rebuild this program. I needed their help rebuilding this program. They did exactly what I asked them to. There’s a lot of young talent coming up,” Osborne said.
Kaitlyn Dixon nearly perfect as Highlands advances to fifth straight region championship
Notre Dame senior Brigid Zekl’s seventh-inning single was the only thing that separated Highlands pitcher Kaitlyn Dixon from perfection on Thursday afternoon.
Taking the circle in her future home at Thomas More, the senior was as dominant as ever, striking out 14 Pandas and throwing 60 of her 74 pitches for strikes as Highlands defeated Notre Dame 6-0 to advance to its fifth straight regional championship.
“She had them off balance all day. I think the only ball they hit hard was the little liner in the seventh inning. We pitched her back-to-back days a bunch of times during the season so she’d be prepared to do this,” Highlands head coach Milt Horner said.
Notre Dame head coach Mickie Terry said of her team’s performance, “I think it was more mental. We practiced for this. We knew we would see Highlands, so we got in there and I think we were just nervous.
“We’ve got a lot of young girls and it was just a big moment, and we couldn’t take advantage of the little things. You know, semifinals with a very young team, we’re very happy with what we did this year.”
This season has been all about finishing the job and leaving no doubt for the Bluebirds. They’ve been the best team in the region since 2022, but after dropping the 2025 region final to an upstart Holy Cross team, they built a statewide schedule that would more than prepare them for the postseason.
They’ve won 25 of their last 26 games, including wins over West Jessamine, Letcher County Central, Ballard and Greenup County. According to the KHSAA’s ratings percentage index, Highlands has played the sixth-toughest schedule in the state this season.
Thursday’s semifinal was just one more step on their mission to win games in the state tournament.
“Last year, we didn’t perform how we know we could have. This year was just, for us, about proving to everybody in the Ninth Region, but most of all ourselves, that we can do whatever as long as we play how we know we can,” Dixon said.
The fourth inning was key to Highlands’ victory. Kate Class opened with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, her twin, Bailey, singled her home. Morgan Pompilio singled home two more runs to break the game open, then scored on a Payton Brown double.
Over the last five years, the Bluebirds have had some memorable senior classes. Brown, Dixon, Pompilio and Cam Markus not only headline this team, they’re quite possibly the best senior class in program history.
“We’ve all been playing together since seventh grade. We all started our eighth-grade year. Us four, we’re definitely way closer outside of softball than just in softball. We always hang out; we all have classes together. We’re just a very fun group and we’re all different, but the same people in certain ways,” Pompilio said.
The Pandas fell to Highlands, 10-0 in five innings, on May 6. In Terry’s first season, they won five of their next six games, including a 13th straight 35th District tournament.
Even after Abby Turnpaugh graduated, Lucy Dillon, who almost didn’t play this season, morphed into the second-best pitcher in the region behind Dixon. She finished with a 12-12 record and 196 strikeouts.
“Where she came from, she threw five innings last year. I mean, we had Abby Turnpaugh, the best pitcher in the region, and for Lucy to be able to fill those shoes this year, no one knew who she was. I am beyond proud of her,” Terry said.
Notre Dame finishes with a 13-12 record and graduates second baseman Brigid Zekl and center fielder Sydney Sheely.
The Ninth Region tournament championship game is set for 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29, at Thomas More’s softball field.
Bishop Brossart, Campbell County fall in 10th Region semifinals
After winning their first 37th District tournament since 2016 and first region tournament game since 2017, the Bishop Brossart Lady ‘Stangs ended their 2026 campaign with a 12-1 loss to George Rogers Clark.
The Cardinals did their damage early, scoring three runs in the first inning and five in the second inning. After GRC scored two runs apiece in the fifth and sixth innings, Brossart needed three runs to keep the game going. It could only muster one, Maggie McKenzie scoring on a Tessa Wells groundout.
Brossart graduates three seniors in Madison Dozier, Olivia Hildebrand and Rachel Shewmaker. Its 24 wins are the most since 25-5 in 2011.
In the nightcap, Campbell County had just three hits in a six-inning, 10-0 loss to perennial power Harrison County. Samantha Perry, Faith Whitford and Addison Propes earned the hits, and Hope Hamilton drew the only walk.
The Fillies put up six runs in the first inning, thanks to a three-run homer from Aleigha Newby and a bases-clearing double from Karsyn Bennett.
Behind seniors Hamilton, Perry, Whitford, Mallory Fleckenstein, Addysen Griffin, Lilly Phirman and Emma Schultz, the Camels went 22-9, their first 20-win season since 2023.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ryle, Highlands softball win their 2026 KHSAA Ninth Region semifinals
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