On Wednesday night at Calloway County, a trip to the state tournament and bragging rights within the First Region were on the line, as the McCracken County Lady Mustangs and Paducah Tilghman Lady Blue Tornado met for the fourth time this season in the First Region softball tournament championship. The night prior, both teams booked their spot in the final with a 10-0 win in the semifinal round, with McCracken handling Ballard Memorial, while Tilghman took care of Calloway County.
With the regional crown on the line, the Lady Mustangs completed the season sweep over Tilghman, cruising past the Lady Blue Tornado and into their fourth-straight state tournament appearance with an emphatic 17-4 victory.
Following up her perfect outing against Ballard the night prior, Addley Leidecker took the circle once again to start for the Lady Mustangs. In three innings of work, Leidecker surrendered three earned runs on six hits. AK Hawes made an appearance in relief pitching two innings of two-hit, one-run ball while also going 1-for-1 with an RBI double at the plate.
Eventual tournament MVP KG Walker had another big night for the Lady Mustangs working out of the three spot, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, including a three-run home run in the third. Ellie Shoulders drove in a pair of runs as part of a 2-for-3 night batting leadoff, reaching safely four times with an additional two walks. McKenzie O’Brien also reached safely on four occasions, going 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI, while Macy Butler also strung together a multi-hit night, going 2-for-4. In a top-to-bottom team effort from McCracken, Raygan Rodgers, Gracie Henderson, Olivia Lee, and Cami Cox each drove in a run, as well.
“This is a great win for us. We hit the ball well all night, defended well, and didn’t have an error. When we’re playing like that, we’re tough to beat,” McCracken County head coach Tony Hayden said. “[Tilghman] hit the ball well themselves, we just got out in front early on those couple of errors they made...Getting those five in the first was huge, because we knew they could score if we couldn’t get the ball where it was supposed to be.”
Adrienne Romain took the ball to start for Tilghman, lasting 0.2 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with a strikeout. Pitching the bulk of the middle innings for the Tornado was Camrynn McMinn, who tossed 2.2 innings, allowing seven runs, two earned, on six hits.
Kaiden Rodgers put together a fine showing at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles while batting third for Tilghman. Mia Bobbitt, Sophie Key, and Autumn Taylor each recorded a hit and an RBI, while Audreya White and Hailey Mooney both hit safely on the night.
McCracken hit the ground running in the top of the first, with Shoulders working a leadoff walk to put runners on for the Lady Mustangs straight away. The deadlock was quickly broken, as a perfectly placed bunt by Rodgers was misplayed in the field, allowing Rodgers to reach second, while Shoulders made her way around the bases to score. After a single from Walker doubled the early advantage, the offense kept coming for the Lady Mustangs, as they batted around in the top of the first to build an early edge, leading 5-0 through the top of the first.
After the Lady Tornado stranded a runner on second to cap off the first inning, Tilghman reliever Camrynn McMinn retired McCracken in order to open the second, keeping the score at 5-0. Looking to cut into the deficit, Bobbitt led off for the Tornado by lifting a ball into center to reach on a stand-up double. With Bobbitt along to third on a ground ball by McMinn, Taylor ripped a shot deep into right field, bringing in the first run of the night for Tilghman with a triple. The two-out rally continued for the Lady Tornado, with Key driving in another run with an RBI single to slash the lead down to three runs, as Tilghman now trailed 5-2 after two complete innings.
Henderson legged out an infield single to get the Lady Mustangs in motion to start the third, quickly coming in to score off a double from O’Brien. However, O’Brien was cut down at third trying to stretch an extra base, putting the first out on the board for Tilghman. Even with empty bases, the Lady Mustangs continued to pour on the pressure, racking up three straight singles to drive in their seventh run, bringing Walker up to bat with two on, and two outs. On a full count, Walker hammered a ball to dead center field, which rattled off the scoreboard for a three-run home run, putting McCracken on top 10-2 before the half inning was brought to a close.
After Tilghman pulled back a run in the bottom of the third by executing a double steal, McCracken answered straight back by putting two runners on with one out in the fourth. Both runs came across in a miscue at the plate, following a throwing error on a third baseline rundown. An RBI single from Shoulders tacked on another run for the Lady Mustangs as they extended their lead to double digits, taking a 13-3 lead into the bottom of the fourth.
Holding Tilghman quiet in the fourth, McCracken continued the onslaught, recording three more hits alongside an error and walk to drive in four more runs.
Holding onto a commanding 14-run advantage, Hawes retook the circle for her second inning of work, looking to put the finishing touches on a win. After a single and double to lead off eventually resulted in a run for Tilghman as the inning rolled along, Hawes secured the final out of the night by picking off a runner on third, closing the door on a 17-4 victory and another regional title for the Lady Mustangs.
With the victory, McCracken punch their tickets to their fourth straight state tournament appearance, where they will face the winner the Fifteenth Region tournament final between Lawrence County and Belfry.
“We’d like to go up there and win one, for a change” Hayden, with a chuckle, looking ahead to the state tournament. “We’ve played well for these four years, had all kinds of talent, this year we’re hoping to win that first round game and get on to the quarterfinal.”
“This is what we start the season thinking about, from January, and this is their goal; to get to the state tournament” Hayden continued. “They’ve accomplished that this year, and hopefully they’ll go up there and prove some people wrong this time.”
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 17, PADUCAH TILGHMAN 4
MCHS 5 0 5 3 4 X X — 17 13 0
PTHS 0 2 1 0 1 X X — 4 8 6
WP: A. Leidecker; LP: A. Romain
2B: PTHS — K. Rodgers 2, H. Mooney, M. Bobbitt; MCHS — O. Lee, A. Hawes, M. O’Brien
HR: MCHS — K. Walker
TB: PTHS — K. Rodgers 5, A. Taylor 3, H. Mooney 2, M. Bobbitt 2, A. White 1, S. Key 1; MCHS — K. Walker 5, M. O’Brien 4, O. Lee 2, M. Butler 2,, A. Hawes 2, E. Shoulders 2, G. Henderson 1, R. Rodgers 1
HBP: PTHS — A. Taylor, A. White
SB: PTHS — A. White 2; MCHS — G. Henderson, M. O’Brien, E. Shoulders, K. Dowdy
CS: PTHS — M. Boling; MCHS — E. Shoulders
E: PTHS — K. Rodgers 2, H. Mooney, K. Wade, M. Bobbitt, S. Key
RECORDS: Paducah Tilghman (24-13); McCracken County (30-7)