To wrap up the opening round of the First Region softball tournament, the defending champion McCracken County Mustangs took another step closer towards their fifth straight title, as they dispatched the Ballard Memorial Lady Bombers in five innings, 13-3.
A big night for the Lady Mustang bats, they would combine for 10 hits on the evening, with every member of the starting lineup reaching safely. Of their 13 runs, the lion’s share of the damage would come from the top of the order; batting third and fourth, Macy Butler and Ava Knight would each record a home run on 2-for-3 nights, driving in four and five runs, respectively. Between them in the order, Addy Leidecker would put together a 2-for-2 night with a double, while also posting three scoreless innings in the circle.
Leidecker would find herself in a bit of trouble early on, though, as the Lady Bombers put some traffic on the basepaths in the top of the first. Following a lead-off single from Miley Nichols, Aubrey Alexander and Johnna Riggs would reach on an error and a single to load up the bases with one away. Despite the pressure, heads-up fielding from the Lady Mustangs would cut Nichols down at the plate, setting up Leidecker to escape the jam with a strikeout, keeping zeroes on the scoreboard through a half inning.
While the Lady Bombers nearly capitalized on an error in the top half of the first, McCracken made no mistake when given the chance in the back half. After Olivia Lee would reach on an error to lead off, Leidecker would provide herself her first run support of the night, shooting an RBI single into left for the opening run of the night, putting the Lady Mustangs ahead through one.
Now with the advantage, McCracken would not look back following a scoreless second from Leidecker. In the bottom of the second, the lineup would turn over with the bases loaded. After Lee and Butler added three runs with a pair of hits, Ava Knight would blow the game wide open, getting ahold of the first pitch she saw for a grand slam to dead center field, and an 8-0 lead. An equally busy third inning would follow for the Lady Mustangs with five hits, including two doubles and an inside-the-park home run for Butler, extending the lead up to 13.
Although in a deep deficit, the Lady Bombers would show life in the fourth and fifth, starting with a scoreless bottom of the fourth. In need of four runs to extend the game in the top of the fifth, Kenslee Shepherd and Annlee Polivick would set Ballard off on the right foot, both reaching to turn the order over with one away. However, even with singles for Trinity Williams (2-for-3) and Aubrey Alexander (1-for-3) bringing in three runs between them, the Lady Bombers would fall short in the fifth. A ground ball up the middle would be turned for two, moving the Lady Mustangs into the semi-final round by a score of 13-3.
Now, the Lady Mustangs turn their attention to the second round, set for this evening at 7:30 p.m. There, they will face off against Hickman County, who took down Calloway County 3-2 earlier in the day.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 13, BALLARD MEMORIAL 3
BMHS0 0 0 0 3 X X — 3 5 3
MCHS1 7 5 0 X X X — 13 10 4
WP: A. Leidecker; LP: M. Bohde
2B: MCHS — A. Leidecker, M. Butler, M. O’Brien
HR: MCHS — A. Knight, M. Butler
TB: MCHS — M. Butler 6, A. Knight 5, A. Leidecker 3, M. O’Brien 2, K. Dowdy 1, L. Hamilton 1, O. Lee 1; BMHS — T. Williams 2, A. Alexander 1, J. Riggs 1, M. Nichols 1
HBP: MCHS — A. Leidecker, C. Cox
SB: MCHS — S. McDowell 2, A. Knight, O. Lee
CS: BMHS — M. Nichols
E: MCHS — C. Cox, C. Hurley, K. Dowdy, O. Lee; BMHS — M. Nichols, S. Owens, T. Holman
RECORDS: McCracken County (30-5); Ballard Memorial (18-13)