Jim Mashek

SPARTANS, A STATE TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALIST LAST YEAR, OPEN TOURNEY PLAY AGAINST DAVIESS COUNTY ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON

It happened so fast, and it was over.

South Warren High School’s ultratalented fast-pitch softball team reached the KHSAA state tournament last year at the University of Kentucky’s John Cropp Stadium, rolling past Elizabethtown, 11-2, in first-round play before running into Lexington Catholic, one of the Commonwealth’s top-ranked teams, in quarterfinal play.

The Spartans scratched out a single run in the top of the fourth inning, knocking off Lexington Catholic 1-0 to return to the semifinals. They made it back to Bowling Green for a few days and returned to Lexington the following weekend, for another high-profile matchup, against Henderson County.

After three weather delays, South Warren finally took the field against right-handed pitcher Anna Kemp and Henderson County. Kemp and South’s Courtney Norwood found themselves in a pitcher’s duel, with both competitors putting up one zero after another. Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, Norwood, then a precocious freshman, surrendered a leadoff home run to Henderson’s MacKenzie Burczyk.

That prompted veteran South Warren coach Kelly Reynolds to make a pitching change, bringing in another experienced pitcher, Layla Ogden, over from first base. Alyse Rollings, Henderson’s leadoff batter, followed with a solo home run of her own, a towering shot to left field that provided a critical insurance run for the Lady Colonels.

South Warren dropped a 2-0 decision, returning to Bowling Green with another banner season, a 39-4 record and a KHSAA semifinalist’s trophy.

And for South Warren shortstop McLaine Hudson, it was a missed opportunity.

Hudson, the UK commit, was also just a sophomore. She said the Spartans’ offseason began on the bus ride back to Bowling Green. The team would return largely intact, for the 2025 season, and Hudson wanted to make sure South’s players were on the same page.

When the Spartans punched their return ticket to Lexington, last week at the WKU Softball Complex, Hudson tried to put it all in perspective. No. 1-ranked South Warren (34-3) tangles with tradition-rich Daviess County (26-3) in the tournament’s opening game, scheduled for a 1 p.m. EDT start at John Cropp Stadium.

“It’s been a long journey, from when last year’s season ended in Lexington,” Hudson said. “Our offseason started as soon as the tournament ended. It started on the bus ride home. We weren’t fulfilled, about how we finished that (39-4) season. We think we could have pushed ourselves harder, pushed ourselves to make something happen on offense.”

Hudson reflected on that experience last week, after South Warren slipped past crosstown rival Warren East, 2-0, to earn the KHSAA 4th Region championship.

The Spartans would be going back to Lexington.

“It’s really just a mindset, as much as anything,” Hudson said. “We’ve been chasing a championship for five or six years now …”

That’s the long and short of it, as Kelly Reynolds, South’s eighth-year coach, confirmed in a telephone interview Monday night. The Spartans have set a standard, a standard based on excellence, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

“We’ve been working to get here for a long time,” Reynolds said. “We work on fundamentals, and the challenges we’ll face, game to game, but we also concentrate on the mental aspect of softball. The game moves quickly. You usually don’t see the scoring you might have in a district or regional tournament. Pitching and defense is such a big part of our game.

“McLaine Hudson has set such a great example for our younger players. She’s tough, she’s a natural leader, she likes to give credit to her teammates. She knows the environment we’re going into … The Henderson County game last year was kind of a ‘throat punch.’

“But this team has returned with the right frame of mind.”

Hudson is a two-sport star for South Warren, a tough customer in the backcourt during basketball season who communicates with her teammates in the infield, until it’s time to return to the dugout. That’s where Hudson can really shine.

A junior, Hudson already has become the KHSAA’s career hits leader, and she’s likely to shatter all sorts of records next season. She’s the Spartans’ leadoff hitter, and she’s been their starting shortstop since she was in eighth grade. (She was the team’s starting second baseman in 2021, her first varsity season, as a seventh grader. Selynna Metcalfe was South’s starting shortstop that season; she’s now playing at Campbellsville University.)

McLaine Hudson’s offensive numbers for the 2025 season jump off the page. She’s batting .617 with 39 extra-base hits in 36 games. She’s struck out FOUR TIMES, in 115 at bats, and leads the team in runs (77), hits (71) and stolen bases (28). She’s joined forces with junior second baseman Kinleigh Russell to become a top-flight, double-play duo, and she’s moved into a signficant leadership role.

“Mac’s dedication speaks for itself,” South coach Kelly Reynolds said.

Layla Ogden, usually hitting in the third or fourth spot in the lineup, leads the team with 24 home runs and 75 RBI. She’s compiled a 12-1 record in the circle, with a 1.10 earned-run average. Courtney Norwood, the 6-foot sophomore, has gone 18-1 on the season, striking out 153 batters in a team-high 92 1/3 innings pitched. She’s given up only 41 hits, and eight walks, speaking to the standard the Spartans have established over the years.

They’ve just got this final mountain to climb. An elusive state championship.

“We definitely have a bull’s eye on our back,” Hudson said, “but at the same time, we have a lot to prove, because we haven’t won a state championship yet.”

The Spartans defeated Daviess County, 8-4, on March 22, in the third game of the 2025 season. Daviess County has won 10 consecutive games, heading into the state tournament, and the Lady Panthers have two top-flight pitchers, junior Sophia Cain (10-1, 1.33 ERA) and sophomore Kamryn Timmons (10-1, 0.65 ERA). Timmons has struck out 112 batters, in just 54 innings pitched, and she’s given up just 18 HITS.

Daviess County rolled through the KHSAA 3rd Region Tournament, outscoring its three opponents — Muhlenberg County, Meade County and Trinity (Whitesville) — to the tune of 27-0. The Lady Panthers’ top offensive threat is junior Annie Newman, who is batting .559 with 15 home runs and 47 RBI, all team highs.

And the backdrop for Thursday’s South Warren-Daviess County game is somewhat similar to the Spartans’ semifinal showdown with Henderson County last year. After the Lady Colonels slipped past South, 2-0, to reach the championship game, they rolled over North Laurel, 11-0, to bring the KHSAA state championship back to Henderson.

“One big inning can change everything,” Reynolds said. “We’re expecting to see Daviess’ County’s best pitcher, but there’s a lot of variables out there. These are teenagers, playing a game with no second chances.”

Reynolds likes the opportunity to play in the tournament’s opening game, as opposed to killing time in the team hotel and arriving at the stadium in the evening hours.

“I’d rather be playing then,” she said, “as opposed to waiting around all day long.”

Kelly Reynolds also will be able to watch her son, Ethan Reynolds, play for South Warren in the KHSAA state baseball tournament. Chris Gage’s Spartans squad (30-8) squares off with Highlands High School (27-7-1) on Friday afternoon, with a first-round game set for 1:30 p.m. EDT.

“This is the first time South Warren has sent our softball and baseball teams to state in the same year,” Reynolds said. “And that’s pretty special … Our girls are looking forward to playing.”