“I’m still jittery. My hairs are still sticking up,” Ivey said. “I still feel like I need to calm down a little bit because I’m still on cloud nine. But we are playing amazing. Our defense is amazing. Our hitting is amazing. It couldn’t be more perfect. It’s awesome.”
Two days after Kaitlyn Justice’s grand slam beat Clinton-Massie in a district title game, Ivey’s fourth-inning homer broke a scoreless tie and pushed the Rams (20-7) into a regional final for the first time since they captured the state championship in 2009.
Greenville and Granville will meet Thursday, with the winner returning to Mason to face Ross at noon Saturday.
Greenville knocked the Rams out of the regional last year, and Granville is the defending state champion. Which team would Ross coach Paul Fernandez rather play?
“We’ll take either Ville or we’ll take Millville. Whoever has a Ville on the back of their name, we’ll play them,” Fernandez said. “It’s a great day for our girls. This is a big step, and we’ve still got some steps to climb.”
Kenton Ridge (24-4) outhit the Rams 9-4 and tallied its run in the bottom of the sixth, but that inning proved to be mostly a missed opportunity.
Brooke Ehling, Mykee Holtz and Mariyah Burkhardt all singled off Kenzie Meyer to load the bases with nobody out. Carly Turner then sent a liner in the hole between Ross’ first baseman (Kelsey Warman) and second baseman (Annie Hinterlong).
Hinterlong made a diving catch and threw to Warman for a 4-3 double play. Lexee Trainer followed with an RBI infield single for the Cougars, who then stranded two runners.
“We practice a lot of defense — mostly defense, honestly — and I never really work on diving plays like that,” Hinterlong said. “But once it came to me, I just knew I had to get it.”
The Rams turned an 8-3 double play in the seventh. Kenzie Tyson reached base on a leadoff error (Madison Hall ran for her), and Ashley Parrett caught Jordan Rucker’s fly ball in short center field and fired to Warman to double off Hall.
Parrett said she had no idea where Hall was when she caught the ball.
“Catch first and then throw,” Parrett said. “Usually I’m thinking when it’s like a short line drive … I’m going to dive for it or I’m going to have to go after this one hard. I just went after it, and then I heard their coach screaming, ‘Get back to the bag.’ Annie’s in my ear screaming, ‘Go 1,’ so I was like, ‘I guess I’ll just go 1,’ and I got it there.”
“The runner was obviously trying to get a big jump off the bat, but I don’t think she realized how close our outfield was,” Fernandez said. “We were playing in with that lefty thinking bunt or possibly just a slap. At first I didn’t think Ashley would have the runner, but she just put a seed over there to first.”
Sarah Albaugh slapped a two-strike single to center field to keep the Cougars alive. Ehling then lined out to Justice at shortstop to end the game.
“I was very happy,” Meyer said. “I was proud of my girls. (Kenton Ridge) played a heck of a game too.”
Albaugh and Trainer both had two hits for Kenton Ridge. Turner totaled eight strikeouts and two walks in the circle.
“These kids don’t ever seem to give up. It just didn’t go our way today,” Cougars coach Sarah Schalnat said. “We needed that one big hit, but we didn’t get it.”
Ross didn’t have a hit until the fourth inning. Maddy Foster led off with a bunt single, and Ivey followed by sending a Turner pitch over the fence in center field.
It was the school-record ninth home run of Ivey’s career. Maria Weitzel’s eight homers now rank second at RHS.
Ivey said she didn’t see the ball clear the fence. She was just sprinting and listening to first-base coach Sam Fernandez.
“I hit that ball solid,” Ivey said. “I was up on the plate because inside is my best pitch. I was running through first base and Sam’s like, ‘Keep going, keep going, look at 3.’ So I’m thinking it’s got to be at least hitting the fence or something that’s so solid, then everyone’s cheering. All I knew what to do was stick my arms up in the air. I ran those bases fast.”
“It didn’t get over the fence by a lot, but that was a shot,” Paul Fernandez said. “The flag was blowing pretty much straight in. That ball was straight into the teeth of the wind.”
Meyer struck out five and issued no walks for the Rams, who have won 12 of their last 13 games. The sophomore worked in and out of trouble all day.
“I got a little nervous at times, but my defense was there,” Meyer said. “The seventh inning was really nerve-wracking. Props to (Kenton Ridge). They did a very good job hitting.”
Ivey had the best view of Meyer’s performance behind the plate.
“Her changeup was awesome,” Ivey said. “They could hit a changeup, but it was still good enough for them to foul it off. She was golden on corners, and that’s key.”
“The double plays were huge,” Paul Fernandez said. “The one that Hinterlong made, I thought that was by her and out to right field. That was just a heck of a play. Kenzie got a little heated towards the end, maybe a little tired, but she battled through it.”
He said he never saw any doubt in his players’ eyes, even when the Cougars loaded the bases in the sixth.
“It definitely gives you chills when you’re playing out there,” Hinterlong said. “We just all stay up throughout, and that’s what made us get through it.”
“Everybody’s just so excited coming off the last game with Kaitlyn Justice’s home run, I think everybody was still hyped about it,” Parrett said. “We came into this game and just wanted to feel the same feeling. I think we did.”
“We’ve been through tough games all year, and this was one of the hardest,” Ivey said. “They are an awesome team, and we knew that going into it. They made our hearts beat fast … I give props to them.”
The Rams are aiming for their sixth state berth. In addition to its 2009 title season, Ross was a Final Four team in 1993, 1994, 1999 and 2005.
“We all felt that this team had that potential,” Paul Fernandez said. “I think we as coaches felt that, and I think the players believed what we were preaching to them back in the gym.”
Kenton Ridge, a six-time state qualifier, is losing six seniors: Tyson, Albaugh, Holtz, Burkhardt, Amanda Shy and Bailie Frazier.
“The seniors had a great career at Kenton Ridge. They have 100-plus wins,” Schalnat said. “I’m proud of the girls, and I’m looking forward to next year.”
Ross 000-200-0—2-4-1
Kenton Ridge 000-001-0—1-9-0
WP — Kenzie Meyer (15-5); LP — Carly Turner (24-4); HR — R: Ally Ivey. Records: R 20-7, KR 24-4
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