It had been seven years since the Green County softball team had played in a KHSAA State Tournament and a lot had changed since then. The format was now single elimination and the games were know being played at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that the Lady Dragons still know how to win games and that habit didn’t change this afternoon as the first round game between Green County and Henry County which was orginally meant to be the final game of the eight game first round was moved from Saturday evening to Monday afternoon a 2:30 start because of weather.
The extra day layoff didn’t seem to bother the pitchers of both teams as both Kaitlyn Milby of Green County and Grace Adams of Henry County were throwing strikes early. So effective were to two that the game was scorless through three innings.
The Lady Cats got on the scoreboard first thanks to a one-out double by Lizzy Young and she scored when Sydney Raisor reached on a fielding error allowing Young to score making the score 1-0 Henry County going into the bottom of the fourth.
It was the only time Milby bent as for the rest of the game she faced only 10-batters, allowing just one (Young) to reach base on a walk in the sixth, complied four strikeouts, forced three popups, a line out and a ground out. Milby’s marvelous pitching kept the game close and her teammates were about to give her the win, but not without a little luck.
In the bottom of the fourth, Mikka Thompson led off with a double to right field and Milby moved to first when Adams hit her with a pitch. With two on and no one out, up stepped Tatum Caulk, who bunted down the first base line and appeared to interfer when she ran between the ball and the first baseman trying to retrieve it. Thompson took off and rounded third base a bit wide and was eventually tagged out before she could get back. However, it was ruled that Caulk was out by interference and the play was ruled dead, so Thompson was allowed to return to second with just one out. Allie Burris then sacrafice bunted the two baserunners to second and third and then Bella Johnson singled Thompson home to tie the game at one apiece.
After Milby retired the side in the top of the fifth, the Lady Dragons went right back to work when Haley Judd had a one-out single, then Madi Corbin walked to put runners at first and second. Thompson stepped up and delivered her second hit of the game, this one scored Judd all the way from second for the run to put Green County up for good, 2-1.
Although Adams did a great job keeping the Lady Dragons off balance for most of the game, it was Judd and Thompson (who both had two hits a piece) that finally broke through and the defense continued to keep the Lady Cats off the basepaths including a great shoe string catch of a sinking liner by Raisor by outfielder Catie Church after Young walked in the sixth.
On a day when defense and pitching wins championships, it was the Milby, the defense and the clutch hitting that gave the Lady Dragons their first KHSAA state tournament win in seven years and is the reason why they can’t be counted out for the rest of the tournament this weekend.
