MURRAY — The McCracken County Lady Mustangs will return to the First Region final four on Tuesday night after defeating the Hickman County Lady Falcons in a five-inning romp. With the win, the Lady Mustangs will continue their hunt for the program’s eighth trip to the state tournament since the school’s inception in 2013.
The Lady Mustangs scored in almost every inning except the fourth. The game concluded as senior KG Walker ripped a three-run bomb over the left field fence. Walker went 3-for-4 in the win for McCracken County.
“We went into tonight knowing anything could happen. Anna Kate [Hawes] shut them down in the circle while our bats were on all night,” Walker said. “It felt good to end the game with a home run. Tomorrow, we will aim to do the same thing and bring our all to the field—we are playing for each other.”
As Walker mentioned, hurler AK Hawes worked all five innings in the circle for McCracken County. Hawes fanned six while allowing three hits. The senior did not allow a single run while walking one.
Raygan Rodgers went 3-for-3, McKenzie O’Brien went 3-for-3, Macy Butler went 2-for-3 and Ellie Shoulders went 2-for-2. Additionally, Grace Henderson doubled, adding to McCracken County’s 14 hits. Hickman County collected three hits courtesy of sophomore Blair Byassee, who went 2-for-3, and seventh-grader Kaylee Britton.
The Lady Falcons opened up the contest with a single by Blair Byassee. With one out, Hickman County found themselves with bases loaded early against McCracken County. However, Hawes fanned the next two to end the Falcon threat and send the Lady Mustangs back to the dugout.
At the bottom of the first, the Mustangs plated two runs. Shoulders drew a six-pitch walk before Rodgers and Walker singled. Hickman County collected two outs before Rodgers scored on a passed ball. Courtesy runner Kinley Dowdy scored the second run on a wild pitch, giving McCracken a 2-0 lead.
Despite two singles in the top of the second inning, the Falcons could not monopolize with runners in scoring position. For McCracken County, the team extended the lead to 5-0 in the bottom half of the inning.
O’Brien led off with a single to center field before advancing to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Cami Cox. Back-to-back singles by Butler and Shoulders put the Lady Mustangs up 3-0. An additional run came as Rodgers knocked a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Butler. The next batter, Walker, singled to left field, allowing Shoulders to make it 5-0.
The lead moved to 9-0 in the third inning for McCracken County. Savannah McDowell led off with a HBP, scoring on the stand-up RBI double by Henderson. Henderson’s courtesy runner, Olivia Lee, scored on O’Brien’s RBI single, extending the lead to 7-0. The offensive onslaught continued as two more runs came across home plate courtesy of hits by Butler and Rodgers.
The contest concluded in the bottom of the fifth inning as Walker ripped her three-run bomb, scoring Shoulders and Rodgers to make it 12-0 with one out.
Blair Byassee took the loss for Hickman County. The sophomore worked over four innings for the Lady Falcons, allowing 14 hits, 12 runs (10 earned), and two walks while fanning two.
UP NEXT: The McCracken County Lady Mustangs will return to Calloway County on Tuesday night to face Ballard Memorial’s Lady Bombers in the First Region semifinals. The winner will head to the regional championship against the Paducah Tilghman/Calloway County contest winner.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 12, HICKMAN COUNTY 0
HCHS 0 0 0 0 0 X X — 0-3-1
MCHS 2 3 4 0 3 X X — 12-14-1
WP: A. Hawes; LP: B. Byassee
2B: MCHS — G. Henderson
HR: MCHS — K. Walker
TB: HCHS — B. Byassee 1, K. Britton 1; MCHS — K. Walker 6, M. O’Brien 3, R. Rodgers 3, E. Shoulders 2, G. Henderson 2, M. Butler 2
HBP: MCHS — S. McDowell
SF: MCHS — R. Rodgers
SB: MCHS — E. Shoulders, K. Dowdy, M. Butler, M. O’Brien
RECORDS: McCracken County (28-7); Hickman County (12-15)