Warren East 15, Cumberland County 0 (3 innings).
Following up their 14th District Championship win over South Warren, Warren East used an utterly dominant 15-run second inning to cruise past Cumberland County 15-0 in three innings in the 4th Region Softball Tournament Quarterfinals.
Sophomore pitcher Katie Gardner provided much of the firepower for the Lady Raiders, as she hit a two-run homer and pitched a perfect game, striking out all nine batters that she faced.
“Being in this atmosphere, it was kind of nerve-wracking in the beginning,” said Gardner. “I turned that nervousness into excitement and it really paid off.”
“We got a little help from (Cumberland’s) pitching, but when it came time for us to swing the bat, we did a very good job of that,” said Warren East head coach Philip McKinney. “It was just a very dominant performance overall.”
Although it looked as though it may have been a back-and-forth defensive battle after the first inning, the Lady Raiders turned on the burners immediately in the bottom of the second inning and never looked back.
Kendall Smith got the scoring started with a two-RBI single to give the Lady Raiders’ a 2-0 lead.
Two walks and a Jeyda Bays two-RBI double later, Gardner crushed the ball over the left field fence into the concrete parking structure, giving Warren East an 8-0 lead.
“I was really looking for the first pitch,” she said. “Most of the time the first pitch is going to be a strike to try and get in the batter’s head. I knew it was gone right when it came off the bat.”
Shortly after, Lucy Patterson hit a triple to knock in two more runs for the Lady Raiders, expanding the lead to 10-0.
To add on, two-run singles by Olivia Price and Ashton Akins and a reach on an error by Sheridan Akins gave the Lady Raiders a 15-0 lead, which lead to Gardner’s retirement of the next three batters to end the game.
In all, Warren East totaled seven hits, two of them by Jeyda Bays.
With the win, Warren East advances to take on Barren County in tomorrow’s 8 p.m. semifinal game at WKU’s softball complex.
When asked about how he keeps his team focused after a win like this, McKinney rosponded jokingly: “Have you ever coached girls? You can’t keep them focused. You have to let them do their own thing sometimes. If they’re not feeling it, you can’t push it.”
Barren County 3, Logan County 0.
Barren County followed up their first 15th District Championship in 20 years in impressive fashion, grabbing a 3-0 win over Logan County in the quarterfinal round of the 4th Region Softball Tournament.
In what was perhaps the most competitive game of the day at WKU’s softball complex, the Trojanettes strung together hits at the right times, grabbing an early 2-0 lead that they were able to protect most of the game.
Lots of credit went to the two pitchers of the game, who were able to keep each of their opposing teams at bay.
“It was definitely a pitcher’s duel,” said Barren head coach Daryl Murphy. “We had some timely hitting, but (Sydney Lee) really pitched her heart out. It just so happens that she was matched up with Jordan Crist tonight, who also pitched really well.”
The Trojanettes added an early run in the bottom of the first inning when Mallory Pedigo’s RBI double gave them a 1-0 lead.
Both teams traded defensive punches until the bottom of the third inning when Barren added another run on a RBI single by Sonya Merritt gave the Trojanettes a 2-0 lead.
From there, Crist worked the Lady Cougar offense, pitching herself out of sticky situations and stranding many Logan County runners on base.
“It made us a lot more comfortable (with the 2-0 lead) knowing that if they do get a couple of base hits, we still have some room to work,” said Crist.
“She’s been our number one for us all year long, and she got herself out of some big jams tonight,” Murphy said of Crist. “She had her curveball and her fastball working really well tonight.”
The Lady Cougars hung around until the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Trojanettes added another run on a sacrifice fly by Maddie Green, scoring courtesy runner Madison Crist.
Logan got a runner on second with one out in the top of the seventh inning, but Crist retired the next two batters to seal the win for Barren County.
The Tojanettes recorded 10 hits on the evening, including two apiece from Merritt, Pedigo, Crist, and Hadleigh Hammer. The Lady Cougars mustered four hits, all from different batters.
With the win, Barren County advances to take on Warren East in the 4th Region Softball Tournament Semifinals on Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. at the WKU softball complex.
“This team has been nothing but heart and soul all year long,” said Murphy. “They’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do. The way we’re playing right now, I’ll take us over anyone.”
