{"id":21797,"date":"2026-06-11T18:01:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T18:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/?p=21797"},"modified":"2026-06-11T18:06:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T18:06:02","slug":"taking-charge-south-warren-catcher-kinleigh-russell-is-the-boss-when-the-spartans-play-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/?p=21797","title":{"rendered":"TAKING CHARGE\/South Warren catcher Kinleigh Russell is ‘the boss’ when the Spartans play defense"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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SOUTH WARREN’s KINLEIGH RUSSELL HAS
EXCEPTIONAL BAT CONTROL<\/strong> AT THE PLATE.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH COACH KELLY REYNOLDS: ‘I FULLY TRUST KINLEIGH BEHIND THE PLATE …’<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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South Warren High School’s No.1-ranked fastpitch softball team had just left the field after its first-round game in the KHSAA state tournament last week in Lexington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spartans had pummeled Oldham County High School, 12-0, in a game shortened to five innings under the KHSAA’s “mercy rule” guidelines. They left nothing to chance. Junior right-hander Courtney Norwood dominated in the circle. South Warren scored in every inning. The Spartans were ready to move on, to bigger and better things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But veteran South Warren coach Kelly Reynolds wanted to recognize a handful of individuals, girls who have devoted themselves to playing softball in addition to academics and handling the complexities of adolescence. And she made a point to single out senior catcher Kinleigh Russell, the Spartans’ defensive ace who started playing the game when she was four or five years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russell had gone 3-for-3, at the plate, with a sacrifice fly while finishing with a team-high four RBI. Norwood needed just 57 pitches, 41 of them for strikes, to eliminate the Lady Colonels in resounding fashion. And Russell was nearly flawless behind the plate, framing pitches and catching a couple foul tips for third strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Kinleigh’s been a little up and down (offensively),” Reynolds said after the game. “She carries a lot of weight behind the plate. She’s the boss, on the field.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Boss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Move over, Bruce Springsteen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I pretty much have been catching since I started playing softball,” Russell said. “I played basketball, through middle school, but I always liked playing softball … I love being involved in every play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I love a challenge.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spartans have handled one challenge after another in their pursuit of the first KHSAA state championship in school history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH WARREN CATCHER
KINLEIGH RUSSELL (LEFT), AND
HER BACKUP, SOPHOMORE ANNA HARL.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH’s KINLEIGH RUSSELL
IS BATTING A ROBUST .470
WITH 20 EXTRA-BASE HITS<\/strong> …<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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… AND SHE’s ALWAYS
EXCELLED AT PUTTING
THE BALL IN PLAY.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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They’ll take an unblemished 43-0 record into Friday’s opening semifinal against Highlands High School, a squad sporting a 19-game winning streak of its own. The Bluebirds (36-5) haven’t lost since dropping a 5-4 decision to Louisville’s Eastern High School, a game played at Great Crossing High School in mid-April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And South Warren knocked off the Bluebirds, 8-0, in first-round play of the KHSAA state tournament in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So there’s some familiarity there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Russell has become a familiar face in the Spartans’ dugout. She’s a grinder, a gamer … and she’ll be playing college softball next spring at Oklahoma State University, located about a 12-hour drive from Bowling Green in Stillwater, Oklahoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South coach Kelly Reynolds believes in Kinleigh Russell, and so, too, do her teammates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Kinleigh’s game is insane,” South Warren pitcher Courtney Norwood said with a smile. “She’s always out there, pushing herself. She’s tough, behind the plate, and she frames pitches really well … and she’s a great teammate, a good example for the young girls.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH CATCHER KINLEIGH RUSSELL
EXCELS AT FRAMING PITCHES FOR
TEAMMATES LAYLA OGDEN (LEFT)
AND COURTNEY NORWOOD.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH WARREN SENIOR CATCHER
KINLEIGH RUSSELL AND TEAMMATES REACT
TO THE FINAL OUT AGAINST BARREN COUNTY.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russell also is a versatile player, having spent the previous two seasons as the Spartans’ starting second baseman. Hayden Holloway, her former South Warren teammate, was a big target behind the plate, standing 6-foot-1. Russell’s more like 5-foot-5, but she’s fearless, and excels at blocking pitches in the dirt and keeping opposing base runners in check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spartans were stunned in first-round play of the state tournament last year, dropping a 3-1 decision to a top-flight Daviess County squad. Holloway told Russell she planned to spend her senior year of eligibility at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and she’d transferred to South Warren from McCracken County High School in Paducah, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russell was ready to get the shin guards back on and call the shots behind the plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH’s KINLEIGH RUSSELL
IS FLANKED BY FELLOW SENIORS
LAYLA OGDEN (LEFT) AND McLAINE HUDSON.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH WARREN CATCHER KINLEIGH RUSSELL
AWAITS THE PITCH FROM COURTNEY NORWOOD.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Kinleigh has caught for us, previously, but we needed a second baseman last year,” South coach Kelly Reynolds said. “I want all our players to be versatile. All of our girls have been good at being utility players, and been willing to move to another position if we have a need there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But she’s a natural, behind the plate … I fully trust Kinleigh, behind the plate. She communicates well with me and lets me know where batters are (in the batter’s box), and that helps me in calling pitches. Anna Harl is our backup catcher, and she’ll be a junior next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Kinleigh’s a dedicated player. On offense, she’s an excellent contact hitter and you can count on her to usually put the ball in play. She’s a very disciplined hitter.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russell hits fifth, in the South Warren batting order, behind senior slugger Layla Ogden, who delivered the two-run home run to send the Spartans to a dramatic 4-3 victory over Madison Central last week in quarterfinal play. Russell is batting .470, with 20 extra-base hits and 54 RBI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps most remarkable is that Russell has struck out just TWICE<\/em><\/strong> this season, in 115 at bats, while drawing 28 walks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And she possesses a consistent swing, from the left side of the plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH’s SENIOR CLASS (FROM LEFT):
PARKER WILLOUGHBY, HADLEY BORDERS,
KAYLEE WILSON, McLAINE HUDSON,
KINLEIGH RUSSELL AND LAYLA OGDEN.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH WARREN IS
UNBEATEN IN 43 GAMES.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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“You try to prepare yourself, for pressure situations, in practice,” Russell said. “We haven’t had the best track record, in the kind of game we had last week against Madison Central … But I don’t think anyone was doubting ourselves. All of us are really focused, on our goal.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russell and her Spartans teammates will be leaving Bowling Green with a team send-off at 3 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. First pitch for South’s semifinal game against Highlands is 3:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH’s KINLEIGH RUSSELL
WILL PLAY NEXT YEAR
AT OKLAHOMA STATE.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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SOUTH WILL BE LOOKING FOR
MORE HARDWARE THIS WEEKEND.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I’M GUESSIN’ PIPER IS
DOWN WITH THE SPARTANS …<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SOUTH COACH KELLY REYNOLDS: ‘I FULLY TRUST KINLEIGH BEHIND THE PLATE …’ South Warren High School’s No.1-ranked fastpitch softball team […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,18,1,20,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nationalsports","category-otherhssports","category-potpourri","category-thesec","category-wkusports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21797"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21819,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21797\/revisions\/21819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}