South Warren softball advances to first-ever state title game, defeats Highlands 10-0 in semifinals

LEXINGTON, Ky. -South Warren softball made history Friday evening at John Cropp Stadium, winning its first ever semifinal matchup in the state tournament.

Senior McLaine Hudson had a momentous day on the diamond with two home runs, one of which came off the very first pitch of the game.

“I told her walking up to the plate, I said, ‘I feel big things coming out of you today, kid,'” head coach Kelly Reynolds said.

Hudson’s homer ignited a spark through the offense because just a couple of batters later, Layla Ogden stepped up to the plate and slugged another South Warren hit out of the park.

“It was definitely a momentum starter,” Ogden said, “I think just seeing her (Hudson) home run, it kind of motivated me. I was like, ‘If she’s going to throw that, I’m going to hit that, too.'”

The team continued to ride the momentum as Hudson homered again at the top of the third inning.

Hadley Borders, Kinleigh Russell and Parker Willoughby also contributed a handful of runs batted in and seven runs later, the Lady Spartans closed this game out after five innings with a final score of 10-0, and that number 10 was historic in itself.

“South Warren had never scored in a semifinal game, so we were playing for something a lot bigger than ourselves. We were playing for history, and that’s what we’ve been doing all year,” Hudson said.

Now the team will play for history one last time, but they also aren’t ready for the season to end.

“Knowing tomorrow’s our last game of 2026, and they know that, and all these seniors know that, it gets me emotional because it’s just been a ride,” Reynolds said. “For them, they want it so bad for each other and for this team, and it just really means a lot.”

It is emotional to be one of the final two teams out of 261 in the state of Kentucky to remain standing, but South Warren is ready to close out 2026 as the one team that gets to hold up the state championship trophy tomorrow night.

The Lady Spartans will fight for the title on Saturday, June 13, with the Bullitt East Lady Chargers at 7 p.m. EST.