LONDON — Corbin continued its late-season surge Monday, edging Pineville, 3-2, in first round action of the 13th Region Fastpitch Tournament at South Laurel.
The Lady Redhounds improved to 15-19 on the season and have now won 10 of their last 12 games while advancing to the tournament semifinals. Pineville closed its season with an 11-13 record.
“What a game. Welcome to Region 13,” Corbin coach Crystal Stidham said. “We knew coming in Rachel (Howard) would be ready to throw. But so proud of my ladies behind Macie Santos on defense. Macie pitched great with 10 Ks through 5.1 innings only giving up three hits. Defense was on and made plays. Proud of Sawyer Stamper coming in for 1.2 innings and only gave up one hit and getting a big K when we needed it. But our defense took care of business.
“Lydia King came up huge for us again today going 3-for-4 and Sawyer going 2-for-3 on the day with some very timely hits,” she added. “We also had a big inning scoring three. We were able to get timely hits from Mikaila Hopkins, Abbie Mott, Kaili Sanders, and Macie Santos to grab the three runs in the sixth. Shew, at the end of the day it’s a win and we proceed and so very proud of my Lady Redhounds. They have overcome so much throughout the season and me asking them to trust and knowing they could do it. I’m just so happy for them, getting this win in the region in biggest game of season so far. Let’s Go Lady Redhounds.”
In a game dominated by pitching, Corbin finally broke through in the top of the sixth inning after five scoreless frames. The Lady Redhounds scored three runs in the inning and then held off a Pineville rally in the bottom half.
Lydia King led Corbin at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and three stolen bases. Kaili Sanders and Macie Santos each added RBI hits while Sawyer Stamper contributed two hits.
Santos earned the win in the circle after striking out 10 batters over 5.1 innings while allowing only three hits and two runs. Stamper worked the final 1.2 innings in relief to secure the victory.
Pineville answered Corbin’s three-run sixth with two runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. Kameran Evans delivered the biggest hit of the game for the Lady Mountain Lions, connecting with a two-run home run to cut the deficit to one.
Rachel Howard turned in another strong performance in the final game of her remarkable career, allowing just one earned run while striking out 14 batters in a complete-game effort.
Howard closed her career with 1,886 strikeouts, finishing second all-time in Kentucky high school softball history behind only former Alabama and East Carter standout Montana Fouts, who recorded 1,964 career strikeouts.
