Conner spoils Senior Day, repeats as 33rd champion

The Boone County softball team was attempting its first district tournament title in 11 years in Thursday's 33rd District final on the home field in Florence. But Conner had other ideas, and won back-to-back titles for the first time under coach Kristin Koors with a 3-1 victory.

Both teams earned automatic berths in next week's Ninth Region tournament at Northern Kentucky University with semifinal wins, and were looking for a seeding advantage with a win in the championship game.

Conner, 19-15 and ranked No. 3 in the final Enquirer Northern Kentucky coaches' poll, advanced as a No. 1 seed, and will play a No. 2-seeded district runner-up in Monday's first round of the regional. Boone County, 20-7 and ranked No. 2, will open against a district champion. The tournament draw is Saturday.

"They're always sweet," coach Koors said of Conner's district crown, the second under her command. "Because this is back-to-back, it's a little sweeter. We've been runner-up every other time since I've been here, and it's always better to have a No. 1 seed in the regional and play a district runner-up the first game."

Koors, the coach since 2006, had to go through some nervous moments before the Cougars nailed it down. Conner clung to a 1-0 lead through three, and made it 3-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth off ace Dallis Knotts, Boone County's NKAC Division I player of the year.

Maddie Graham's fifth-inning lead-off home run belted over the right-field fence pulled the Rebels to within two. Boone followed with a single, and it appeared a no-out rally was on. But Cougars pitcher Elizabeth Sims got a strikeout and retired the next two batters on infield outs to wriggle out of it.

The Rebels left a baserunner on second in the sixth, and put the lead-off batter on via error in the bottom of the seventh. Boone's Hayley Delaney hit a hard smash to third, starting a 5-4-3 double play, a critical development that preceded a double by Boone's Sydney Foster, who is playing with a broken nose and a special mask.

Sims, named tournament MVP, got a game-ending groundout off the bat of Kamryn Huff, who was representing the tying run. That sparked a Conner celebration in the pitcher's circle, where the Cougars threw down their gloves and hugged each other.

It was a double-bummer for the host. Boone County was celebrating Senior Day after having it rained out twice. After the game, the Rebels' seniors accepted gifts from teammates and parents. They gave single red roses to Conner's seniors, then they consoled themselves and resolved to do better next week.

PLAYS OF THE GAME: Sydney Himes' triple to the left-field fence plated Jenna Hicks with the game's first run in the top of the first, giving Conner early momentum. Hicks' run-scoring single in the fourth made it 3-0. Conner's double play for the first outs in the bottom of the seventh erased the runners before Boone's Foster doubled into the right-center-field gap.

QUOTABLE: "I thought it was huge because it helped keep us up and we went on to win the game," Hannah Straley said of the seventh-inning double-play that she started with a scoop near the third-base bag followed by a hard throw to second for the first out. She was named all-tournament along with teammate Beth Maines.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Sims fanned just one but earned career win No. 104, which is three short of the school record of 107. "I feel really good," she said. "We knew it was an important game, and we played hard."

VIEW FROM THE SIDELINE: "She deserved it," coach Koors said of Sims' second straight district MVP honor. "She had the three-run homer, which was all of our offense (in the semifinal), and she held a pretty explosive offense to one run today. She's just an all-around good player."

Said Rebels coach Andy Petridis, whose squad lost to Conner in the district final for the second year in a row: "A lot of it comes down to how well you're playing at the time, kind of like today. Conner played well, and we didn't. But we feel like we're a dangerous No. 2 (regional seed). When we're on, it's fun to watch."

ALL-TOURNAMENT: MVP-Elizabeth Sims, Hannah Straley, Beth Maines (Conner), Madison Graham, Caitlyn Palmer (Boone County), Bella Steinle (Ryle), Jessica Koors (Cooper), Madison Mullins (Heritage Academy).

W–Sims (17-14). L–Knotts (16-6). Leaders: C–Ellis 2-3, Snelbaker 2-2, Hicks 2-3. B–Graham HR, Palmer 2-3; Foster 2B. Records: C 19-15, R 20-7.