RECORDED NINE STRIKEOUTS.
DO-IT-ALL SHORTSTOP McLAINE HUDSON, SPARTANS REMAIN UNBEATEN IN 23 GAMES
Ultimately, it came down to beating the impending severe thunderstorms.
Dark, menacing clouds began to drift toward the softball stadium at South Warren High School on Thursday, as the No. 1-ranked Spartans were opening KHSAA 14th District play against traditional rival Bowling Green High School.
The Lady Purples, a vastly improved team under first-year coach Chris Riggs, fell behind quickly against the unbeaten Spartans, who defeated Louisville’s Assumption High School, the defending KHSAA state champion, with a resounding 15-0 victory just 24 hours earlier at South Warren.
South Warren was able to close the curtain on this one, too, a little prematurely, as Kaylee Wilson’s RBI single to left-center field brought home the winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning in the Spartans’ 12-2 victory. Senior right-hander Layla Ogden turned in a strong effort in the circle, retiring the first nine BGHS batters she faced while going the distance for the Spartans.
Bowling Green’s Katie Yarborough accounted for the Lady Purples’ scoring with a two-run home run to left-center field in the fourth inning. Do-it-all shortstop McLaine Hudson delivered a leadoff home run for the Spartans in the bottom of the first inning, sending a pitch from Bowling Green’s Hadley Morrison over the fence in left-center field.
South Warren remained unbeaten in 23 games, while Bowling Green fell to 14-4 overall.
KINLEIGH RUSSELL IS BATTING .423
WITH 11 EXTRA-BASE HITS AND 28 RBI.
IS KELLY REYNOLDS’ PREDECESSOR
AT SOUTH WARREN HIGH SCHOOL.
2-FOR-2 WITH TWO INTENTIONAL WALKS.
WAS PLAYING SIMULTANEOUSLY, LEAVING
A BIT OF A SCRAMBLE IN THE PARKING LOT.
“It’s a great start to district,” eighth-year South Warren coach Kelly Reynolds said as the Spartans packed their gear ahead of the impending storm. “Layla pitched a good game. We never start district until after Spring Break, and it’s our Senior Prom weekend, too, so our girls will get a little time off before we play Allen County-Scottsville next week …”
BGHS coach Chris Riggs, who was Reynolds’ predecessor at South Warren, met with his squad for a few minutes in the right-field corner before the skies opened and the Lady Purples scrambled for their awaiting bus.
“Coach Riggs is doing a very good job over there,” Reynolds said. “Mac (Hudson) led off the game with that home run, and that kind of set the tone for the game.”
South Warren grabbed a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, as third baseman Parker Willoughby delivered a run-scoring triple to right field before scoring on Kinleigh Russell’s ground ball.
Ogden, meanwhile, recorded three called third strikes over the first three innings while retiring the Lady Purples in order. The Spartans broke the game open with a 5-spot, in the bottom of the second inning, but Bowling Green rallied around reliever Ansley Turner, a freshman who replaced teammate Hadley Morrison for the fourth.
Riggs is working with a young squad, with the bulk of the squad comprised of freshmen and sophomores, in addition to five middle schoolers. The Lady Purples seemed to settle down after Ogden went through the lineup the first time.
BGHS shortstop Natalie Klein led off the top of the fourth inning with an infield single, and freshman second baseman Katie Yarborough got the Lady Purples on the board with a two-run home run to left-center field. Bowling Green’s Payton Steward followed with a line-drive double to right-center field, but Ogden struck out the next three batters she faced to send the Spartans back to their dugout.
THE DISTANCE IN THE CIRCLE.
GOT BOWLING GREEN ON THE BOARD
WITH A TWO-RUN HOME RUN IN THE FOURTH.
PUTS THE BALL IN PLAY IN THE FIFTH.
WILL HAVE TO MAKE UP ITS
GAME WITH BOWLING GREEN.
“We had some communication issues but we got the job done,” Ogden said. “Next week, I think we’ll get it together.”
South Warren has seldom been challenged this season, with Ogden and junior right-hander Courtney Norwood sharing the pitching duties while Hudson paces the Spartans’ offense in the leadoff role. Through 24 games, Hudson, a Florida State signee, is batting at an off-the-charts clip of
Ogden remained unbeaten in 10 decisions while striking out nine batters without a walk. Morris (9-4 on the season) took the loss for the Lady Purples, who travel to play Barren County on Monday in Glasgow.
With darkening skies and the first few drops of the impending thunderstorm, South Warren ended the game with two outs in the bottom of the fifth.
South Warren’s Parker Willoughby reached on a Bowling Green error to lead off the inning, and with two outs, Spartans teammates Keegan Pruitt and Courtney Norwood drew back-to-back walks. (Norwood’s was an intentional pass, like Hudson’s in the bottom of the fourth.) Kaylee Wilson ripped a pitch into left-center field for the game-winning hit, bringing all three base runners across the plate.
AFTER HER FIRST-INNING HOME RUN.
IN WALK-OFF FASHION IN THE FIFTH.
CHRIS RIGGS MEETS WITH
HIS SQUAD AFTER THE GAME.
Under KHSAA rules, however, only Willoughby’s run counted as the Spartans won by run-rule fashion for the 19th time in 24 games this season.
In a way, the Spartans are competing against their own lofty standards, as McLaine Hudson admitted just before the skies began to open.
“I was talking to Coach Travis (Hudson, the longtime WKU volleyball coach and McLaine’s uncle) once, and he told me, ‘When you build the beast, the beast can turn on you,'” she said. “It’s always good to get that first district win.”
AWAITS A FIFTH-INNING PITCH FROM
BGHS PITCHER ANSLEY TURNER …
CHANEY’s DAIRY BARN
WAS WAITIN’ ON ME …
TO SOUTH EARLIER IN THE WEEK.