OWENSBORO – As the South Warren softball team huddled up Saturday after its final game in the KHSAA State Fast Pitch Softball Tournament at Jack C. Fisher Park in Owensboro, head coach Chris Riggs made sure his team appreciated the moment.

Despite falling to Male 12-2, South Warren claimed third place in the tournament – a feat that Riggs made sure to tell his team one more time before breaking the huddle. It was an accomplishment that he wanted to make sure they appreciated.

“It’s hard for them to understand some of the things – how you have to fight to get through the region just to get to the state tournament and then to fight the way they did at the state tournament and not give up,” Riggs said. “It’s things they will remember for the rest of their lives.”

The third-place finish capped a historic season for South Warren, which began 24-0 before going on to a school-record 36 wins. The Spartans became the third team in Region 4 to finish in third place or better in the state tournament and the first team from Region 4 to get this far since Greenwood won the state title in 2013.

Perhaps most important for the Spartans, the third-place finish erased a sour taste after going 0-2 in the school’s first state tournament appearance last year.

“We totally redeemed ourselves,” junior first baseman Madilyn Daugherty said. “That was a great tournament, just how we played and that we got that far.”

Outfielder Katie Conley, one of three seniors along with pitchers Shelby Nunn and Karson Williams, agreed this weekend was redemption for the Spartans.

“Last year we came out 0-2, but this year we showed who we were,” Conley said. “We came and played ball.”

The redemption didn’t come without a lot of resiliency.

South Warren rallied from two runs down with one out remaining to defeat Warren East 3-2 in the Region 4 final. All four wins in Owensboro came in the final at-bat, including a walk-off stolen base by Conley and Daugherty scoring the winning run on an error against Owensboro Catholic. The four teams South Warren beat all won at least two games while in the tournament.

Both losses came to eventual state runner-up Male.

The Spartans played six games in a 42-hour span. That included two out of three games going to extra innings Friday – including a 14-inning marathon to end the day, with the final out recorded more than 14 hours after South Warren’s day began.

“The character of the kids is unbelievable,” Riggs said. “That is what it takes. It takes great kids believing in themselves and each other. They did a great job.”

Daugherty had a simple explanation for the team’s ability to come through in all the tough situations.

“We work our butts off and we try so hard and it kind of pays off,” Daugherty said.

Riggs said it might take a day or two for it to sink in with the players what they were able to accomplish, but eventually they will realize what a special run they were a part of.

Nunn said it doesn’t have to end there, adding that the experience should provide even more motivation for a talented core that returns next season.

“Even though the three of us are gone, there is still so much talent on that team,” Nunn said. “They will go far next year.”

Nunn, Smith among all-state honorees

Nunn was one of five local players to receive all-state honors from the Kentucky softball coaches that were announced Sunday.

Nunn was selected as first team all-state for Class 3A.

Warren East’s Kendall Smith and Allen County-Scottsville’s Ryley Whitney were selected as first team all-state in Class 2A, with Warren East’s Katie Gardner and ACS’s Kaylee Skaggs receiving second-team honors.{&end}