Kentucky High School Softball Power 7 Reshaped as South Warren Remains Untouchable

The shape of Kentucky high school softball continues to shift, creating a new pecking order, with the exception of South Warren.

The new Kentucky softball Power 7 softball as of May 2 is as follows: South Warren, Ballard, Mercy Academy, Daviess County, Bullitt East, Eastern and Greenwood.

Teams Falling Out of the Mix

McCracken County (18-8) and Assumption (14-7) dropped out.

DuPont Manual nearly made the cut but after losing three of its last four — Male, Ballard and Mercy — they fell short of the Power 7. The Lady Crimsons' schedule pales in comparison to 15-9 Greenwood.

Greenwood Earns Its Spot

Greenwood’s slate earned it a spot in the Power 7. Their schedule represents one of the state’s most difficult. The Lady Gators' losses have come to strong Tennessee and Alabama programs, including Mount Juliet (Mt. Juliet, Tennessee), and West Limestone (Lester, Alabama), and Kentucky schools such as Daviess County, Eastern, Ballard, and twice to South Warren.

South Warren Still the Standard

South Warren (31-0) has continued its dominant run as it begins wrapping up the regular season next week. It’s truly challenging to identify a team that will be competition for the Lady Spartans. Ballard seems to be the only squad that could possibly execute an upset.

Spartan McLaine Hudson is unshakable at the plate, making the most of her at-bats. The South Warren senior has 72 hits in 96 trips to the plate.

Ballard Surging at the Right Time

Ballard (19-3) has been playing exceptionally well as of late, winning its last six contests, which included victories over Eastern, Mercy, DuPont Manual and Sacred Heart Academy.

Speedy Bruin junior Aubrie Newton has collected nine doubles and two triples, while successfully stealing 13 bases in 14 attempts.

Mercy Academy Holding Strong

Mercy Academy (27-2) last lost April 23 — seven games ago — to Ballard. Their only other loss was to Eastern on March 30. The Jaguars have five games remaining, with a May 11 meeting at Oldham County the most challenging.

Freshman pitcher Addie Henley is lethal from the circle, boasting a 1.13 ERA over 86 innings, and 123 strikeouts to 19 walks.

Daviess County Riding Momentum

Like, Mercy, Daviess County (23-1) is on a winning streak — 12 and counting — last losing April 10 (its only loss) to Logansport, ranked No. 3 in Indiana Class 3A. They’ll conclude the season against a handful of Indiana teams.

Senior shortstop Annie Newman has hit 12 home runs in 77 plate appearances.

Bullitt East Seeking Consistency

Bullitt East (21-4) has constructed a fairly solid season with close losses to Mercy, Eastern, Meade County and Frederick Douglass. They’ll need to maintain that continuity to make it out of the Sixth Region tournament.

Eastern Faces a Tough Path

Eastern (22-6) rounds out the Power 7, however its last four defeats came courtesy of Power 7 units South Warren, Ballard, Daviess County and Bullitt East. The Eagles will be hard pressed to reach the state tournament, as the Seventh Region will most likely go through Ballard.

Seventh grade pitcher Ava Newell has struck out 112 batters to 19 walks in 78 innings and is carrying a 1.17 ERA.

Postseason Picture Taking Shape

Mercy and Bullitt East lead the Sixth Region, and Ballard and Eastern top the Seventh Region.

The postseason state bracket pairs the Sixth Region winner against the Seventh Region champion. That is looking like a Mercy-Ballard matchup.

The Fourth Region is home to South Warren and Greenwood, while Daviess County is in the Third Region.

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