THREE RUNS IN THE 11TH INNING.
LADY GATORS WILL RETURN PLENTY OF YOUNG TALENT IN 2024
LEXINGTON — Greenwood pitcher Kayden Murray was sad, and upbeat, pretty much at the same time.
The Lady Gators took Louisville’s Ballard High School, the No. 1-ranked team in the Commonwealth and the defending KHSAA state champion, to the limit on Saturday afternoon.
And then some.
First-year Greenwood coach Rod Bush had his team poised to pull off the upset, even though offense came at a premium, as if usually does in top-flight, fast-pitch softball.
Ultimately, however, the Bruins from Ballard proved to be a resilient bunch, and they struck for three runs in the top of the 11th inning, on their way to a gritty 4-1 victory over the Lady Gators at UK’s John Cropp Stadium.
IS UNBEATEN IN 27 DECISIONS.
THAT’s RIGHT, 27 OF ‘EM …
THE BULK OF ITS SQUAD
FOR THE 2024 SEASON.
ADDRESSES HIS TEAM AFTER THE DEFEAT.
Ballard used a masterful short game and the pitching of senior left-hander Brooke Gray to slip past the Lady Gators, who caught fire at the right time to get back to the state tournament for the first time since 2014.
When it was still a battle of attrition, for the most part, a three-day, double-elimination affair at Owensboro’s Jack Fisher Park.
This one had that kind of feel, however, as Ballard squeezed into a semifinal berth while Greenwood closed the door on Rod Bush’s first season in the Lady Gators’ dugout.
Greenwood upset South Warren High School, 2-1, in the KHSAA 4th Region championship game on May 25 at the WKU Softball Complex. The Lady Gators needed extra innings, and Macie Murray’s mammoth two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the ninth, to slip past Louisville’s Mercy Academy, 2-0, in the KHSAA state quarterfinals on Thursday night.
Greenwood’s date with destiny, the highly anticipated matchup with Ballard, certainly lived up to its billing. And the Lady Gators should be loaded for bear in 2024, as Kayden Murray pointed out shortly before leaving the stadium.
“Most of our team,” she said, “is in middle school.”
Murray is right.
WILL BE BACK NEXT SEASON.
MIKAYLA MILBY’s TWO-RUN SINGLE IN THE 11th.
A KHSAA 4th REGION CONTENDER.
Molly Spidel, the Lady Gators’ second baseman, just completed seventh grade at Drakes Creek Middle School. Macie Murray, the Greenwood catcher and Kayden Murray’s kid sister, is an eighth grader. Speedy outfielder Elsie Kirby, utility player Kate Rippy, starting shortstop Caydence Wolfe and cleanup hitter Cali Huff are freshmen, with three more years of KHSAA eligibility.
And the Lady Gators have six or seven role players who got their taste of top-flight, highly competitive softball before they’ve ever stepped foot in a classroom at Greenwood High School.
To quote ZZ Top, in Greenwood’s case, “The future’s so bright, they’ve got to wear shades.”
First-year Greenwood coach Rod Bush usually does, when he’s calling signals and directing traffic from the third-base coaching box.
“I’m proud of this team, proud of these kids,” Bush said after it was over. “They’ve worked hard, to get here, and they will work hard to get back here next year. They’ve seen what it takes …
“I just think we got beat by the team that’s gonna win it.”
Bush definitely has a point.
HANDLES A POP FLY
TO RETIRE THE SIDE IN THE FIFTH.
FLAWLESSLY ON DEFENSE.
GREENWOOD’s KAYDEN MURRAY AFTER THE GAME.
Ballard is 63-1 since Opening Day, 2022, and the Bruins eliminated South Warren, 10-0, in the KHSAA state semifinals last year. They’ve been the Commonwealth’s No. 1-ranked team from the start, and the finish line is in sight.
“We know what to do when we get there,” Ballard pitcher Brooke Gray told the Courier Journal’s Caleb Wiegandt. “Compared to other teams, they walk in and it’s a huge stadium, a bunch of fans and all these different rules. We’re kind of used to that. There’s nothing that throws us for a loop.”
By the same token, the Lady Gators were not in awe of anything. The stadium, the setting, you name it.
“I think we fought to the end,” Greenwood third baseman Lydia Kirby said. “I’m sorry that it didn’t go our way, but we’re a young team. They’re learning, all the time … I’m proud of each and every one of them.”
Kirby had two of the Lady Gators’ six hits, an RBI single in the sixth and a squibber to shallow left field in the eighth. Leadoff hitter Savannah White, a sophomore corner outfielder, scored the lone Greenwood run on Kirby’s single up the middle in the sixth.
Ballard’s Brooke Gray, who will pitch next season at her hometown school, the University of Louisville, battled out of potential trouble in five different innings over the course of the game. The Lady Gators stranded a base runner in scoring position in virtually all of them.
IS ON HER WAY TO
LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE.
Gray finished the game with 16 strikeouts and only two walks. The Lady Gators were intent on working the count and getting her pitch count as high as possible, and Ballard coach Alan Jones had junior pitcher Rylee Cooper up in the Bruins’ bullpen a couple times in extra innings.
Brooke Gray needed 191 PITCHES — that’s no misprint — to complete the task at hand.
Lydia Kirby was right.
The Lady Gators fought to the end.
“Coach Bush kept telling us to see (the pitch) down, to don’t give in to the rise ball,” Kirby said. “We wanted to hit line drives and hard ground balls.”
“It took us a while,” Bush said, “but I think we got adjusted to (Gray’s) pitching … We kind of knew what to expect at the plate.”
Bush remained unbeaten 27 decisions. That’s right, 27 of ’em …
Greenwood’s Kayden Murray, on the other hand, put her best foot forward while compiling a more pedestrian 14-7 record. The months of March and April brought some growing pains for the Lady Gators while they made the transition from former coach Taylor Proctor to Rod Bush’s first season with the team.
“If we could have won today, I really think we could have won it all,” Kayden Murray said.
BALLARD TO SEVEN HITS.
THE CALL AFTER SAVANNAH WHITE’s INFIELD SINGLE.
The Bruins used a leadoff double from Kiersten Smith, an unusual bunt single from Lily Koch and Kady Dennis’ sacrifice fly to center field to strike first, scoring the game’s first run in the top of the fifth inning.
Ballard got a huge break when Koch popped up on her bunt, before it landed near the back of the circle, falling for a single. The Lady Gators would get that run back on Lydia Kirby’s RBI single up the middle in the sixth.
Once it went to extra innings, the Lady Gators had a significant advantage. But Ballard’s Brooke Gray understood the circumstances, too. And Greenwood never got a base runner past second base in the final FIVE innings, a winning formula if there ever was one.
“They didn’t roll all over us,” Greenwood pitcher Kayden Murray said. “It’s sad, but I’m happy to be going to Lindsey Wilson (College) next year … I’m going to be rooting for these girls when I get to college.”
Greenwood’s Rod Bush said he’ll miss the likes of Kayden Murray, Lydia Kirby and Hanna Kirby, the only seniors on the Greenwood roster. But he’s bullish on where the Lady Gators go from here.
“You don’t replace kids like Lydia Kirby, the best athlete on the team, and Kayden Murray,” Bush said. “(Backup infielder) Hanna Kirby. These are hard-working kids, team players … it’s been a rewarding season. We’re looking forward to next year.”
