Headed for home: Greater Cincinnati softball storylines as regular season wraps up
It's hard to believe there is just over a week left in the Ohio softball regular season. But what a week it will be. Several conference titles are up for grabs while teams are trying to get into prime position for the postseason.
In Kentucky, the regular season stretches until May 16. Highlands has separated itself as the favorite to win a third consecutive Ninth Region title. Who could challenge them?
Here's the latest look at the biggest storylines in Greater Cincinnati softball.
Conference titles locked up
The Badin Rams played their final conference game on April 24, beating Carroll 14-6 to wrap up their third Greater Catholic League-Coed title in four years. They went 10-0 to wrap up the first undefeated conference season since 2021. After starting the season 0-3, Badin has gone 11-3 to gain serious momentum heading into the postseason.
Mount Notre Dame won its second straight outright Girls Greater Catholic League title. With a 7-0 record so far this year and an 8-0 record in 2023, the Cougars haven't lost a league game since April 22, 2022. They are 10-0 overall and own one-run wins over Ursuline and Little Miami.
With a 13-0 win over Mt. Healthy on April 25, the Talawanda Brave locked up their first Southwest Ohio Conference title. Harrison has been their toughest opponent. The Brave needed an extra-inning walk-off to beat the Wildcats on April 9, then scored six runs in the ninth inning to stun Harrison on April 17.
The Greater Miami Conference is the wild West
It's tough to find a place to start when explaining the GMC softball season. Let's start with this: Fairfield, Lakota East and Mason are all currently tied atop the standings with a 10-2 record. Hamilton is one game behind at 9-3, and Oak Hills rounds out the top half of the table with a 7-4 league mark.
The Indians have a tough road stretch coming up with games at Hamilton, Oak Hills and Lakota East before returning home to face the Highlanders.
Mason may have the easiest remaining league schedule, but still has to travel to Oak Hills and Hamilton before closing the regular season at home against the Big Blue.
The Thunderhawks face Fairfield on Monday before playing Hamilton and Oak Hills (twice) in the final three days of the season. A gauntlet, indeed.
Hamilton, despite being one game back in the standings, has the best opportunity to shake up the standings. The Big Blue still have at least one game remaining against each of the top three.
Oak Hills faces an uphill battle if it wants to ascend to the top of the league standings. The Highlanders face Mason on April 25 and have two games remaining against both Fairfield and Lakota East. They most likely will have to win out and receive some help from around the league to have a shot at the title.
The GMC hasn't had three teams split the league title since 2014. With so many games between top five teams remaining, that could be the case this year.
Kings fending off the rest of the ECC
The Knights softball team is taking a page out of the girls volleyball team's season by going on a long winning streak, including an undefeated run in conference play. The Knights have never won the league title, but that vision started to become clearer when they defeated 2023 co-champions Lebanon (10-4 on April 9) and Milford (4-2 on April 17). Their resume also includes a walk-off win over West Clermont and a 7-6 win over Mason.
The hardest part of the schedule awaits as Kings travels to Milford on April 25 and Lebanon on Monday. The Warriors and Eagles both have two league losses and don't play each other again. If they both beat Kings, there is the possibility for a three-way tie for the conference crown.
The Knights cap off their regular season schedule with five games in five days. If they can dispatch all of their opponents, they'll be the first undefeated ECC champions since Milford in 2017.
Who will challenge Highlands for Ninth Region crown?
The Bluebirds are the only Northern Kentucky team to appear in the top 25 of the coaches poll this season and are undefeated against regional opponents.
Looking at the rest of the Ninth Region, there are several teams that have had bright spots, but it has been tough for anyone to gain traction.
Cooper is 10-7 with a recent win over Conner, which is 9-9. The Jaguars also have a loss to Ryle, which is 5-9. Notre Dame is 9-4 with only one blowout loss. The Pandas beat Conner 1-0 but have a one-run loss to an always competitive Dixie Heights team.
Dixie faces a gauntlet in the final three weeks as they face as the Colonels face Rowan County, Harrison County, Campbell County, Scott, Highlands, Conner and Cooper. They will once again be favorites in the 34th District. A tournament win there will give them some momentum heading into the regional bracket.
Highlands still has to face Cooper, Notre Dame, Dixie Heights and Ryle in the regular season. At the end of the day, it's not necessarily about which teams beat the Bluebirds in the regular season, but who can stop them in one of three rounds in the regional tournament.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: High school softball: several league races come down to the wire
