ALLEN COUNTY-SCOTTSVILLE WINS IN 12 INNINGS; RUSSELLVILLE ROLLS
It had been a long day at the KHSAA 4th Region Softball Tournament, and all South Warren High School could do was wait.
Likewise, Barren County.
After Allen County-Scottsville’s thrilling 9-8 victory over Logan County — in 12 innings, no less — the tournament schedule got thrown out of kilter.
Greenwood breezed to a 7-0 victory over Russell County, and Russellville collected 16 hits in a resounding 16-2 triumph over Clinton County.
And all South Warren could do was wait, first at the school and later at the stadium.
The Lady Spartans made sure the wait was worth it, forcing extra innings before Selynna Metcalfe’s RBI single subdued Barren County 4-3.
It was a devastating defeat for the Trojanettes, as Metcalfe’s line drive fell for a single in center field, allowing South Warren’s Avery Skaggs to score from second base.
South Warren’s dugout emptied as the Lady Spartans celebrated their improbable victory. South Warren improved to 34-2 with the victory, advancing to a semifinal matchup with Russellville on Sunday afternoon.
Greenwood, the 14th District runner-up, will square off with Allen County-Scottsville in the first semifinal, scheduled for a 2 p.m. start at Western Kentucky University.
SOUTH WARREN 4, BARREN COUNTY 3 (EIGHT INNINGS)
South Warren, the KHSAA 14th District champion and the Commonwealth’s No. 1-ranked team, according to MaxPreps, fell behind quickly against Barren County and right-hander Lillie Broady.
The Lady Spartans threatened several times but could only get one base runner to cross the plate over the game’s first five innings.
South Warren’s Caroline Pitcock’s RBI single in the third cut the Lady Spartans’ deficit to 2-1, but Barren County answered in the top of the fourth with an unearned run. South Warren was running out of time, meeting along the third-base line to talk about that reality two or three times.
BEFORE BATTING IN THE SIXTH INNING.
“I told ’em, ‘time’s running out.’ Barren County played a great game, no doubt about it,” South Warren coach Kelly Reynolds said. “They hit the ball really well.”
Reynolds said she thought the Lady Spartans were getting a healthy dose of good at bats, but line drives were finding infielders’ gloves and the pressure started to mount.
GREW MORE PENSIVE WITH EACH PASSING INNING …
Heading into the bottom of the seventh, South Warren was looking at the end of its season. And no one understood that more than star center fielder Elly Bennett.
“Honestly, I was just trying to calm myself down,” Bennett said with a laugh.
It was a textbook rally, with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
Eighth grader McLaine Hudson lined a single to center field, and then Caroline Pitcock drew a walk on four pitches. That brought Bennett to the plate. The Lady Spartans’ center fielder was 0-for-3 on the night but took a positive offensive approach with the game on the line.
“I just knew I had to make good contact, I had to get something to get the runners moving,” Bennett said.
The Lady Trojans’ Lilie Berry jumped ahead 0-1 in the count, but Bennett lined her next pitch into center field, scoring Hudson from third base.
Barren County would avoid further damage, and the Lady Trojans threatened themselves in the top of the eighth. But South Warren reliever Selynna Metcalfe delivered a called third strike to strand two base runners, and the Lady Spartans were poised to end it all in the bottom of the eighth.
“One advantage that we have is that we’ve played in a lot of games like this,” South Warren coach Kelly Reynolds said. “We had our bats going early, good at bats, but we just couldn’t get any breaks.”
That all changed in the bottom of the eighth.
With one out, junior infielder Avery Skaggs reached on an infield hit, and Jenna Lindsey, a freshman, followed with a bunt single, setting the stage for Metcalfe.
Metcalfe’s single to center field scored Skaggs, who eluded a late tag for the winning run to empty the South Warren dugout.
“I’m just real proud of them, how they wouldn’t give up,” Reynolds said.
For Bennett, a senior who will play next season at Berry Collge in Rome, Georgia, this is her last chance for a berth at the state tournament. South Warren was the state’s No. 1-ranked team last year, heading into 4th Region play, but Warren East stunned the Lady Spartans 3-2 in the championship game, ending South’s season at 35-2.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 season before it even got started.
The senior-laden Spartans understand their window is shrinking.
As opposed to the other way around.
No one had to run any of that by South Warren’s Elly Bennett.
“I had to try to stay calm, but this is my last shot (at the state tournament),” Bennett said. “I’m thrilled just to see another day, just to get a chance to play again.”
The South Warren parents and fans waited for Bennett, Metcalfe and their teammates to file out of the dugout and toward the buses, but Kelly Reynolds was quick to add a cautionary tip.
“I told the girls,” Reynolds said, “that ‘from here on out, every game is going to be a fight.’ These teams are very good. You’ve really got to be on top of your game, mentally.”
That represents the starting point for South Warren in the second game on Sunday against an upstart Russellville squad.
RUSSELLVILLE 16, CLINTON COUNTY 2
Russellville needed just five innings to claim the first KHSAA 4th Region Tournament victory in school history, a lopsided triumph over Clinton County.
Russellville improved to 24-11 while the Lady Bulldogs finish their season 17-15.
The Lady Panthers struck for eight runs in the first inning and never looked back. A’miyah Collier was the winning pitcher and had a triple in Russellville’s big first inning.
Russellville’s Jacklyn Zuege had two run-scoring singles in the first inning alone, finishing with three hits. Teammate Jaylah Kees also had three hits for the Lady Panthers.
GREENWOOD 7, RUSSELL COUNTY 0
Junior pitcher Kayden Murray was perfect through five innings, and Murray and reliever Abigail Byrd carried the Lady Gators to the semifinals with a combined 1-hitter.
The decisive defeat ended Russell County’s season at 18-11.
Greenwood coach Taylor Proctor lamented her team’s long wait before heading to the WKU softball complex, with Allen County-Scottsville needing 12 innings to slip past Logan County.
“It’s hard,” Proctor told the Bowling Green Daily News. “We sat around for 2½ hours this morning and we didn’t come out with the intensity that I wanted, but to come away with a win … hopefully we will be ready to play (against AC-S).”
Greenwood (31-7) broke a scoreless game with six runs in the top of the fourth, and Murray took it from there, improving her record to 21-3 in the process. The Lady Gators sent 10 batters to the plate, and Russell County never recovered.
The Lady Gators’ Caydence Wolfe and Allyson Smith had two hits each, and teammate Abigail Byrd worked the final two innings in the circle, giving up a lone single to pinch hitter Mallie MacQueary.
Greenwood will face Allen County-Scottsville at 2 p.m. Sunday.
PUTS ON ITS COLLECTIVE RALLY HAT.
ALLEN COUNTY-SCOTTSVILLE 9, LOGAN COUNTY 8 (12 INNINGS)
Allen County-Scottsville was down to its final three outs when the Lady Patriots’ Bailey Ausbrooks unloaded a two-run home run to left field — underneath where dozens of spectators were watching from the WKU parking garage — and tie the game at 7.
Both squads scored single runs in the 11th inning, but Allen County-Scottsville was able to end it in the 12th.
Eighth grader Addie Ausbrooks, Bailey’s kid sister, delivered the walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th inning, sending AC-S to a semifinal game against Greenwood.
Allen County-Scottsville improved to 19-14 with the dramatic victory, while the Lady Cougars finished their season 18-15.
Addy Law, Hadley Borders and Jacie Rice all had three hits for the Lady Patriots. Shelby Gettings had three hits for Logan County, while teammate Emerson McKinnis had a two-run double and a three-run home run.
Audie Ausbrooks was the winning pitcher, while freshman Shayla Johnson took the loss for the Lady Cougars.
AC-S faces Greenwood at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
