LEXINGTON — North Laurel needed to turn in one of its best efforts of the season to get past a rough and tough Assumption squad, and the Lady Jaguars did just that during Friday’s KHSAA State Fastpitch Tournament semifinal.
The Lady Jaguars (30-9) scored three runs in the first inning against a stunned Lady Rockets squad and never looked back.
“What a complete game from my girls tonight,” Henry Laurel coach Chris Edwards said. “We came out hitting the ball really well early, scored some runs and put the pressure on Assumption.
“Honestly, we warmed up and prepared so very well,” he added. “The coaches and I knew that we were ready to go. Honestly, Assumption did not throw the pitcher we were expecting them to throw. We were expecting Satterly and got Mattingly instead. We had obviously scouted both of them and was ready for Mattingly as well.”
Edwards received another team effort while eighth grader Emma Carl continues to turn heads in the pitcher’s circle and at the plate.
Carl notched her third win in the state tournament while tossing her first shutout of the Sweet Sixteen. She allowed six hits and no earned runs while striking out a batter. Carl also went 3-4 at the plate with three RBI.
“As everyone knows, we preach pitching and defense every single day and both were on point today,” Edwards said. “We made every play today that we should have. We turned two double plays. We took Assumption’s bunt and run game away right off the bat. And then of course Emma was great again today. She has been on point for a while now.
“Today was very hot and she did begin to labor late in the game,” he added. “I had to make one trip to the mound to just give her and everyone a break and then she came back and got us out of the inning. She pitched to her defense tonight and it’s a beautiful way to play this game when it is done like it was tonight.”
The Lady Jaguars will face-off against the winner of South Warren and Henderson County at 7 p.m. in Saturday’s state championship game.
“It is North Laurel’s first trip to the finals since 2008,” Edwards said. “Whether we get Henderson or South Warren, it’s going to be a huge hill to climb. Both of those teams have been ranked very high all year. But at this point, you shouldn’t overlook us. We will bring our A game again tomorrow and hopefully bring back a big trophy. Go Jags!”
The state title game appearance marks North Laurel fourth. The Lady Jaguars finished as state runner-up in 1999, won the state championship in 2000, while finishing as state runner-up in 2008.
North Laurel now has 40 wins in state tournament play which ranks first overall.
North Laurel wasted little time in getting out of the gate with a fast start.
Saige McClure’s single with one out in the top of the first ignited a three-run rally.
Bella Sizemore followed with a double, scoring McClure to give the Lady Jaguars a 1-0 lead. Braylee Fawbush connected with a single, scoring Sizemore to make the score, 2-0. Emma Carl followed two batters later with a run-scoring single, giving North Laurel a 3-0 lead.
With Carl holding Assumption’s bats at bay, the Lady Jaguars managed to add another run in the second inning.
Keen managed to reach base due to a walk while McClure delivered a two-out double, scoring Keen to push the Lady Jaguars’ lead to 4-0.
With Carl and her teammates doing their jobs in the pitcher’s circle and defensively, North Laurel had a chance to add more insurance runs to their lead in the top of the third.
A walk to Fawbush and a one out double by Carl put runners on second and third, but the Lady Jaguars failed to push any runs across.
The Lady Rockets managed to get their lead off batter on in the bottom of the third, but a double play by Sizemore and Morgan Edwards silenced Assumption’s scoring threat.
North Laurel’s Katie Sams got in the scoring action in the top of the fourth by hitting her first home run of the season, giving the Lady Jaguars a 5-0 lead.
It looked as if the Lady Jaguars were going to run into some trouble in the bottom of the fourth after consecutive hits to begin the inning out runners on first and second.
But North Laurel’s second double play of the game ending the Lady Rockets’ scoring threat.
The Lady Jaguars remained red-hot at the plate in the top of the fifth.
Fawbush led the inning off with a single while a single by Ellie Adams put runners on first and third. Reeselyn Garland pinch ran for Fawbush and stole second base which put runners on second and third for Carl.
Carl helped her own cause by delivering a two-run double, pushing North Laurel’s lead to 7-0.
Sams came up big again with a base hit to centerfield that scored Bella Finley, giving the Lady Jaguars an 8-0 lead.
Carl retired the side in order during the bottom of the fifth inning as North Laurel held on to its eight-run advantage.
The Lady Jaguars got out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth as Assumption put runners on first and second but Carl managed to recover and silence the Lady Rockets’ bats, entering the top of the seventh inning.
Sams finished with two hits, including a home run in, two RBI, and one run scored while McClure had two hits and RBI and a run scored. Fawbush delivered two hits and an RBI while Sizemore had a hit, an RBI, and scored once. Morgan Edwards and Adams finished with a hit apiece. Katie Keen and Bella Finley each scored a run apiece.
“Multiple hits in the first inning got us off to a great start and we never looked back today,” Edwards said. “I could not be any more proud of these girls the way they approached this game and played this game. Multiple hits on the day from Katie Sams, Saige McClure, Braylee Fawbush and Emma Carl.
“Another good detail about our offense today is that we scored in four of the seven at bats,” he added. “Now I like to score in every inning but we put three on the board in two of those innings. Just a great offensive effort from the girls.”
