CORBIN — Jackson County had 50th District champion South Laurel on the ropes the entire game during Monday’s 13th Region Fastpitch Tournament, and eventually stunned the Lady Cardinals with a 3-2 eight-inning win.
The two teams had met on April 4 with Carly Mink’s Lady Cardinals (26-6) coming away with an 18-5 win, but things were different Monday.
The Lady Generals (17-15) received a stellar effort from one of the state’s top pitchers in Candice Williams as the senior hurler tossed eight innings, limiting South Laurel to only four hits, and two earned runs while striking out 11 batters.
After seeing her team reclaim a 3-2 edge in the top of the eighth, Williams retired the side in order during the bottom of the eighth, striking out two of the three batters she faced.
The one-run victory marked the first time Jackson County has defeated South Laurel in program history.
The Lady Generals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning and added another run in the fifth inning to push their advantage to 2-0.
Ryleigh Bretz connected with a two-run homer to tie the game at two apiece in the bottom of the sixth.
The game remained tied until the top of the eighth when Jackson County’s Lexi Brockman led off with a single. After a strikeout, Aubrey McCowan hit a grounder that was misplayed and led to two more errors on the play (three total), allowing Brockman to score from first in what turned out to be the game-winning run.
In all, Jackson County took advantage of seven errors committed by the Lady Cardinals during the game.
Blakelynn Fee also had a run-scoring hit in the win while Baylee Berry, Kylie Moore, Brockman, Scarlett Peel, and Sadie Seals each finished with a hit apiece.
Bretz led the Lady Cardinals with two hits, two RBI and one run scored while Morgan Jackson and Addison Baker each finished with a hit apiece.
Kenzie Williams took the loss, allowing six hits and one earned run while striking out nine batters.
