It had been a long time since the Lady Dragons had won a Region Title. 2014 to be exact. In fact none of the current players on the 2021 Softball team were on the varsity team, but they watched from the stands as many had older sisters on the squad that hoisted the trophy at Hart County’s softball field on a cloudy warm evening.
For the 2021 team which would actually play their last two games on unfamilar settings on the sportsturf of Elizabethtown’s sports Park, the feeling was probably the same as they overcame several factors to become the first team other than Central Hardin to win the 5th Region Softball championship and punch a ticket to the KHSAA State Tournament this Saturday night.
Before we talk about the 15-5 score in the Final, let’s look at several things this Green County team had to overcome to get there in the first place. Coach Jeff Wright’s team despite winning the 18th District Championship would be slated in the toughest bracket in the 5th Region Tourney which actually began at John Hardin high school. They would face the reigning Region Champions for the last five seasons in the first round in Central Hardin in the first round and if they survived would possibly face another team which had won 29-games in the second round and would lose one of their best players due to an ejection and would be forced to go the rest of the way with a coverted outfielder at the all important position of shorstop. Senior pitcher Katlyn Milby would end up facing three teams, two of which had beaten the Lady Dragons once during the regular season and then would go against another hot team in the championship game in Marion County.
The first game against Central Hardin was truly a classic which pitted Milby against her opposite number Eleecia Hager in what looked like a pitchers duel for a while with both team’s keeping the other in check. Milby, who Wright admitted he hadn’t penciled in as the starter, shutout the Lady Bruins for the first three innings and allowed just Macey Martin’s homer in the fourth, while the Lady Dragons put four runs up in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-1 lead. In true fashion, Central Hardin fiught back and tied things up in the top of the sixth and that’s the way it stayed until the bottom of the ninth when Tanlee Hudgins, who had two of Green County’s nine-hits that day was hit by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third on a wild throw and then came home on the errant misplay for the game winner.
It was the first time Green County had beaten Central Hardin since 2014 and they road the momentum into their Monday afternoon meeting with Bethlehem which was moved to Elizabethtown Sports Park. Playing their first game in new surroundings got the Lady Dragons pumped as they scored twice off 27-game winner Kaitlyin Cissell, but the Banshees responded with a run in the bottom of the third, but Green County came right back with three in the fifth and put the game away with four in the seventh to make it 9-3. Mikka Thompson was moved to shortstop after Hudgins was ejected earlier in the game and had four of the Lady Dragons 16-hits. Catcher Haley Judd had three-hits, while Madi Corbin (the team’s biggest cheerleader), Milby and Allie Burris each had two-hits apiece.
Tuesday’s Championship game against a Marion County team which had a surprise surge during the Tournament brought back memories of the 2012 Final when the two team’s met at Marion County. The Lady Dragons won that game, 3-1. Tuesday night’s game would be no different.
The Lady Knights were fired up and put two quick runs on the board in the top of the second, but Green County got them right back and then some with a four run outburst in the bottom of the inning. Milby was doing a great job keeping Marion County off balance and Green decided to end the suspense in the fourth with a nine-run assault on Emma Sullivan and her reliever Jordan Browning to build a comfortable 13-2 lead. Marion County got a few back in the fifth to cut it to 13-5, but when freshman Lillie Beard walked in the fifteenth run the game ended and Green County’s domination was complete.
After the awards ceremony, the Lady Dragons Gatorade dunked Wright, who immediately told me to look at the senior leadership on the team and those are the building blocks to a Region Championship. He went on about Milby’s insisted on pitching the Central Hardin game despite the 21-8 disaster earlier and her courage going against three of the top hurlers in the region. She never blinked no matter what the situation and persevered under pressure. Kuddos to Madi Corbin, one of the smallest on the team was the loudest and has the biggest heart always pushing her teammates being positive. Haley Judd, who’s sister played on the last Region championship Green County team as an eighth-grader went 4-for-4 against Marion County, scored twice and 3-RBI’s along with 2-doubles. Last, but not least was Mikka Thompson, who stepped in at shortstop (Wright said she wasn’t crazy about the move being an outfielder, but accepted it) and played like a veteran despite some shaky early moments.
Ironically, just like the seniors from the 2014 team passed on the responsibility of excellance to their younger siblings, this group will do the same to the underclassmen. Even without this senior class, the Lady Dragons are still pretty young and there shouldn’t be too much of a dropoff in the years to come.
So, the Lady Dragons will continue their magical mystery journey this Saturday night in Lexington against Henry County to look for victory 31. If the last three days of the Region Tournament were any example, John Cropp Stadium will have a different shade of Green in the stands and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Greensburg Fire Truck isn’t busy during the celebration if the Lady Dragons pull this one off come next Sunday.
