LONDON — Chris Edward’s North Laurel Lady Jaguars are ready to make a run at the Fastpitch program’s second state championship, but to do so, they’re going to have to get past first round opponent, defending state championship Henderson County.
North Laurel enters Thursday’s matchup with the Lady Colonels riding a four-game win streak while posting an impressive 18-3 mark since April 19.
“Right now, we are in a good spot,” Edwards said. “We gave the girls some time after the region finals to rest and get ready for this week. We are in a good spot right now physically and I think emotionally. We just have to start pushing toward that first round game.
“We are playing at a good level right now,” he added. “We had to face Danni Foley and Rachel Howard in our first two Region games and then an emotional game against our district rival in the finals. We handled everything the tourney threw at us as I was expecting and were fortunate to be able to get three wins.”
And now, North Laurel will look to get revenge against the Lady Colonels.
Henderson County possesses a 31-6 record, a seven game win streak and seven starters that bat over .400 on the season.
The Lady Colonels have a .373 batting average and 22 home runs, led by Mackenzie Burcyk’s 10 homers. Ayden Bennett leads the team with 63 hits and a .508 batting average.
Anna Kemp possesses a 20-3 record in the pitcher’s circle, which includes a 1.33 ERA and 186 strikeouts.
She faced North Laurel in the state title game last season, striking out six batters while allowing only three hits and no runs.
“Henderson County was really good last year and they are really good again this year,” Edwards said. “We did not represent ourselves very well last season and I will certainly bring the game up at some point but honestly, the girls know we didn’t play well and will want to have a much better showing this year.
“Our keys for Thursday will be to pitch and play defense well like we’ve done for the most part this season,” he added. “Henderson does have a high-quality pitcher that will be a challenge so we may have to win a low scoring game. That is why pitching and defense are so critical.”
