In a roller coaster year full of inconsistent play and injuries, Pendleton Heights showed their program perseverance by winning 7 of their last 8 games to claim the 2026 IHSAA Softball Sectional 9 championship over Mt. Vernon, 4-0. The championship was the 21st sectional championship in program history. The Arabians did not allow a single run in the three sectional games. The return of Morgan Bricker from injury has been key over the past few weeks. The senior has been nothing short of dominant. She continued her dominance with a complete game shutout against the Marauders, allowing 5 hits, striking out 9, while only walking one batter. Offensively, Pendleton Heights continued to ride the hot bat of Cassie Hayes, going 2-for-3 on the night and driving in the games first run in the first inning. Macy Hufford added to the total with a RBI double in the 2nd inning. Some Marauder errors led to an additional couple of unearned runs. Defensively, Pendleton Heights played clean in the field without committing an error. Harley Coleman gunned down a Marauder base stealer and sophomore Jama Smith made an exceptional play against the wall in right field to get the Arabians out of a jam. Pendleton Heights will advance to the IHSAA Regional on Tuesday, June 2nd at 6:00 pm. The Arabians will play at the winner of Lawrence North/Lawrence Central, which will take place on Friday evening.