Underdog Scots ready for regional softball outing
SPARTA ― Somehow, someway, Highland's softball team continues to overcome the odds.
Saturday afternoon at Pickerington Central in a Division II district championship game, the Scots did the improbable again.
"If that’s not the story of this team, I don’t know what is. They just find this fight in their belly like no other. When they get it in their mind that they’re ready to win, they win. I’m so proud of them," Highland head coach Abby Steele said after watching her team rally late for a 5-3 victory over Jonathan Alder.
It is the program's second-ever district title, joining the 2010 squad that earned a trophy, and it puts them in the D-II regional semifinals today at 5 p.m. at Wright State University.
Not bad for a team that was hovering around the .500 mark at the tournament draw and ended up seeded eighth.
"We’re in disbelief," Highland senior pitcher Stevie Asher said following the district final. "Getting ranked as the eighth seed and then coming this far, we were definitely not expecting this."
Highland had to go on the road to play its sectional opener at No. 7 London and came away with a 12-7 victory. The Scots then hosted No. 11 Bloom-Carroll and won the D-II sectional crown with a 6-2 win.
In the district semifinal against No. 2 seed Granville, they endured an epic back-and-forth battle. The Aces took an early 3-1 lead only to see Highland go up 4-3 in the sixth, but Granville evened it at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth as the game went to extra innings.
In the ninth inning, Guinevere Jackson scored off a squeeze bunt by Aubree Bellamy and Bellamy later scored on a wild pitch. Granville tried to answer with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth, but Highland held on for the 6-5 win.
Against top-seeded Jonathan Alder, the 2022 D-II state runners-up, the Scots fell behind 2-0 in the first inning and 3-0 in the fourth. As they showed in the tournament and in certain regular season games, the Scots were resilient. They tied it at 3-3 in the sixth and won it in the seventh when Asher knocked in two runs with a single off the fence.
"When we beat Granville in the ninth inning, I felt good," Steele said. "That’s when you’re like, don’t go in as the underdog. Go in with confidence that you’re going to win this. You’ve got to play completely with confidence and knowing what we’re doing. That’s the mentality they have to carry through to regionals."
Up next is another test. The opponent is Kenton Ridge, champions of the Central Buckeye Conference's Kenton Ridge Division where Alder finished as runner-ups this season. At 22-6, the Cougars are ranked No. 5 in the last state coaches poll for D-II.
"We know we’re going to see Kenton Ridge, and they’ve got a great program down there, so it’s going to be you deserve to be here as much as any other team, so go win it. One step at a time, right," Steele said.
Kenton Ridge has yet to give up a run in the tournament, outscoring its three opponents 45-0. It bats .390 as a team and holds a .961 fielding percentage.
Senior pitcher Kylie Roop is 20-5 with a 1.73 ERA and 187 strikeouts. Freshman phenom Brenna Fyffe has power and speed, holding a .546 batting average with five home runs, nine triples, 13 doubles, 42 RBI, 34 runs and 11 steals. Fellow freshman Annie Fincham backs her at .346 with 13 doubles, 24 RBI and 23 runs, while senior Kristen Wright checks in at .562 with 28 RBI, 39 runs, 13 steals, nine doubles, eight triples and two homers.
As for Highland (14-11), it is batting .278 this season and fielding the ball at a .885 clip. Asher holds a 2.55 ERA with 158 strikeouts and 49 walks. At the plate, she posts a .338 batting average with 22 RBI, five doubles and two homers.
Also for the Scots, Jackson leads with a .424 batting average with 11 doubles, 25 steals and 32 runs; Bellamy is at .316 with 24 runs, five doubles and 20 steals; Dalaynie Hernandez had three homers and a .296 batting average; and Kate Clements has 16 runs and 20 RBI.
"We have eight new varsity girls and four seniors leading them right now," Steele said of Asher, Jackson, Abby Jordan and Abbi Burke. "They did a heck of a job leading them and just carrying this team."
The only other regional softball squad finished as regional runners-up in Division III in 2010. To advance to where that group ended up going, the Scots will need to remain confident and business-like in the field, in the pitching circle and at the plate.
"Stevie Asher and Guinevere Jackson are very stoic and their minds are right. They’ve taught these girls how to control their minds," Steele said, later adding, "We tell the girls all the time that you’ve got to win one inning at a time," Steele said. "We can’t think of it as this giant we’re going against. We’re going one inning at a time. Beat every inning and you win a ballgame."
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Underdog Scots ready for regional softball outing
