ALLOWED JUST TWO HITS IN
SEVEN INNINGS IN THE CIRCLE.
TOURNAMENT MVP COURTNEY NORWOOD GUIDES SPARTANS PAST BULLITT EAST, 8-0
LEXINGTON — South Warren High School’s No.1-ranked fastpitch softball team has done it.
No longer just a flashy contender, the Spartans were able to climb one last mountain to win the school’s first state championship, pulling away in the late innings to claim a workmanlike 8-0 victory over Bullitt East High School before an overflow crowd at UK’s John Cropp Stadium.
Junior right-hander Courtney Norwood, the tournament MVP, fired a two-hitter to tame the potent Bullitt East lineup, and the Spartans capitalized on a critical error to extend their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
From there, it almost seemed like a coronation.
South Warren made a case for the greatest team in KHSAA softball history, winning all 45 games to claim the first state championship in school history.
ROBS THE CHARGERS’ ALIVA COOPER
OF A LEADOFF HIT IN THE FIRST.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY AFTER
THEIR 8-0 VICTORY OVER BULLITT EAST.
And the Spartans won nine of their last 10 games by shutout, with the lone exception the breakthrough they’ve been looking for in state tournament play.
Layla Ogden delivered a two-run, walkoff home run to send South Warren to Friday’s semifinals, lifting the Spartans to a dramatic 4-3 victory over Madison Central on June 6.
Norwood wouldn’t give up another run the rest of the way.
“The moment finally happened,” Norwood said. “I knew they could hit the ball, I knew they would put it in play … I just had to rely on my defense, and they came through.”
South Warren was making its third consecutive appearance in the KHSAA state tournament. But the Spartans stumbled in semifinal play, dropping a 2-0 decision to Henderson County in 2024. Then, last season, they stumbled in first-round play, falling to a talented Daviess County squad, 3-1.
Norwood retired the first nine Bullitt East batters she faced, and the Spartans struck for two runs in the bottom of the third.
THE FIRST 45-0 SEASON IN KHSAA HISTORY.
AND HER TEAMMATES STRUCK FOR THREE RUNS
ON A CRITICAL BULLITT EAST ERROR IN THE FOURTH.
Senior catcher Kinleigh Russell, a tough, agile defender headed for Oklahoma State University, delivered a soft line drive to the opposite field, a ball that fell for a two-run single in shallow left-center field.
That might have been the turning point, in the estimation of ninth-year South Warren head coach Kelly Reynolds.
“I felt like we might have been a little tense, early,” Reynolds said. “Once we got those two runs, I thought we relaxed a little bit.”
Reynolds was effusive in her praise for the Spartans’ senior class — all-state shortstop McLaine Hudson, center fielder Hadley Borders, first baseman/pitcher Layla Ogden, third baseman Parker Willoughby, outfielder Kaylee Wilson and catcher Kinleigh Russell.
“With these girls, you see the fight, the grit, the determination,” Reynolds said.
Bullitt East finished the season at 32-5 overall.
I’ll have complete coverage in the morning at jimmashek.com … (Yes, I caught most of the second half of Game Five in the NBA Finals. Congrats, Knicks).
Thanks for reading.
