BACK TO STATE: South Warren holds off Warren East to claim region title
Published 11:45 pm Thursday, May 29, 2025
The South Warren softball team had made a habit out of muscling its way to Thursday’s Region 4 championship game against Warren East – with a high-powered offense that leads the state in runs scored and home runs.
On Thursday, the Spartans had to find a way to grind out the victory – getting just enough offense and a stellar start from sophomore pitcher Courtney Norwood to prevail 2-0 over the Lady Raiders.
South Warren (34-3) got all the offense it would need in one flurry and Norwood took it from there as the Spartans made it back-to-back region titles and the third in the last four seasons.
“I don’t know if we were nervous,” South Warren coach Kelly Reynolds said. “I don’t really know what happened, but East did a good job of switching up pitching on us and keeping us in check. We ended up with eight hits, but it was not at the key moments. Hopefully we’ve got those jitters out, ready for next week.”
Warren East (25-12) held South Warren to its fewest runs scored against a team from the state of Kentucky this season by alternating Tristan Lindsey and Autumn Brooks in the circle and an airtight defense that made every play.
The Lady Raiders held South Warren’s top three hitters to one hit on the night.
“We talked as a coaching staff and we thought that would be a good way to keep the batters off balance,” Warren East coach Jennifer Brooks said. “We changed up pitchers every time we rolled through their lineup and got back to the leadoff. We stuck with it. And we did a little different shifts on defense, some girls that are always pull hitters, we played them differently on defense to help eliminate those hits.”
South Warren finally broke through in a five-batter stretch in the third.
Parker Willoughby got it started with a one-out triple off the wall. Hadley Borders followed with an RBI single to get the Spartans on the board. Three batters later, Borders scored on an RBI single by Keegan Pruitt.
“I’ve said all year long we’ve got an experienced team,” Reynolds said. “They’ve been in the limelight before, which helps. It’s also being able to come together in those moments when you need to.”
“We were struggling at the plate, but the cool thing about us is if someone is struggling we are like, ‘OK, I’ve got your back,’ ” Willoughby said. “That is what’s so special about us.”
Norwood took it from there, limiting Warren East to two base runners all night.
Jordan Brooks reached on an error in the first and courtesy runner Kaylee Jones stole second, but Norwood struck out the next two batters to end the best threat of the night. Kenzie Upton got the only hit on a soft liner over the third-base bag in the first, but was stranded there.
“Courtney did a great job,” Reynolds said. “She was very calm. She was very composed throughout the whole thing, just really did a good job for us.”
Norwood retired the final nine she faced, finishing her night with 10 strikeouts on 92 pitches to earn tournament MVP.
“From the first pitch I threw, everything was working all night,” Norwood said. “We were all hyped. I knew my teammates were behind me. I just relied on that.”
Willoughby paced the offense with three hits, finishing a homer shy of the cycle. Kaylee Wilson added two hits.
“It means a lot to me,” Willoughby said. “Obviously this is the first time I have been in this position. Just a joy came over me. It’s something I haven’t experienced before.”
Willoughby, Borders, Wilson and Laylee Ogden joined Norwood on the all-tournament team. The rest of the team included Upton, Brooks, Addison Lee and Lydia Jones from Warren East; Erica Branham, Madi Cooksey and Lilli Shrock from Cumberland County; Abby Elmore, Bailey Aidala and Lizzy Smith from Barren County; Chloe Longwell and Holdin Thrasher from Clinton County; Addie Cartas and Hayley Henson from Logan County; Abigail Byrd and Madilyn Allen from Greenwood and Kaitlyn Woodall and Jasmine Grover from Franklin-Simpson.
The loss ends a magical postseason run for Warren East. The Lady Raiders claimed the 2A state championship during the regular season, but entered the District 15 as the No. 3 seed before knocking off Allen County-Scottsville and Barren County to win the district crown.
Warren East followed that up with a win over No. 2 ranked Greenwood to open the region tournament, before defeating Cumberland County in the semifinals.
“I told the girls that I am super proud of them,” Brooks said. “They peaked at the right time in the season. I told them every team loses their last game except one. It’s very possible that the team we lost our last one to is going to turn out to be that state champion. I told them to keep their head high, holding them to 2-0. I was proud of them.”
South Warren advances to the state tournament, which begins June 5 at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington. The Spartans will face Region 3 winner Daviess County, a team they defeated 8-4 on March 22.
“We played Daviess County early on,” Reynolds said. “We always like to play each other just in case we see each other in the postseason and here we are. They are going to get our best. We are going to get their best.”
SWHS 002 000 0 – 2 8 1
WEHS 000 000 0 – 0 1 0
WP: Norwood LP: A. Brooks
About Micheal Compton
I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.
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