On Friday night, the McCracken County Lady Mustangs made their return to Lexington, competing in the first round of the 2024 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Softball State tournament, where they took on the Lawrence County Bulldogs. In a back-and-forth affair, the Lady Mustangs hung on in a slugfest including a sixth-inning rally to survive in the state tournament, winning by a final of 11-8.
“This one was a lot of hard work, it took everyone doing their job, playing 18 or 19 kids, but they did it,” McCracken County head coach Tony Hayden. “That’s been the story of this team all year, they never quit, and they hang in; it’s not without errors, it’s not without making mistakes, but it’s good to win one of these.”
Getting the start for the Lady Mustangs was sophomore Addley Leidecker. Across her four innings of work, Leidecker allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits, striking out three. Leidecker helped herself out at the plate as well, going 4-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
A.K. Hawes pitched three complete innings to earn the win, allowing four runs, one earned, on four hits, striking out four along the way.
Ellie Shoulders served as a spark plug for the Lady Mustangs out of the leadoff spot, reaching base five times, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, and a pair of walks. Freshman Lilly Hamilton contributed in a pinch hitting appearance, knocking in a pair of runs in her lone plate appearance. KG Walker (3-for-5) and Cami Cox (0-for-2) each drove in a run for the Lady Mustangs, while Savannah McDowell and Grace Henderson both hit safely as well.
The Lady Mustangs hit the ground running in the first, with Shoulders reaching with a lead-off walk, taking second on a sacrifice bunt from Cox. Keeping her form from the regional tournament, Walker hammered a ball on a 0-1 count, dropping a ball into left field for an RBI double. One run was all McCracken could bring across, despite putting another runner on base, as they took a 1-0 lead to the bottom of the first.
After Leidecker shut down the Bulldogs in the back half of the first, McCracken looked to pounce again, as a one-out double from O’Brien had the Lady Mustangs back in business. A walk to Lee and single from Butler loaded up the bases, turning the lineup over to Shoulders. After a play at the plate resulted in the second out, a called strike three on Cox drew the inning to a close without any further damage, as the Lady Mustangs still led by a run through the middle of the second.
Lawrence County knotted things up to close out the second, plating a run through a walk, error, and ground ball. Despite a handful of baserunners on either side, the score remained level at one through the middle of the fourth.
To lead off the back half of the fourth, Lawrence’s Hallie Adkins singled on a fly ball into center field, bringing Abby Nelson to the dish. On the first pitch from Leidecker, Nelson hammered a ball to dead center, sailing over the fence for a go-ahead two-run shot to put the Bulldogs on top, 3-1. Lawrence continued to apply pressure after Leidecker put two outs on the board, with a hit batter and single, leading to a double steal to extend the margin to 4-1 heading into the fifth.
Looking for an instant response, Shoulders provided a spark for the Lady Mustangs, leading off the fifth with a single into left field. After a miscommunication on the basepaths following a Walker single saw McCracken faced two outs with only a runner on first, Leidecker provided herself with some run support, ripping a line drive into center field for an RBI double, cutting the Lawrence lead down to two runs, as the Lady Mustangs trailed 4-2 headed into the middle of the fifth.
Holding the Bulldogs off in the back half of the fifth, Henderson and O’Brien led off the sixth with a pair of singles, giving the Lady Mustangs a runner in scoring position with no outs on the board. In the next at-bat, Lee dropped down a bunt, aiming to move both runners along. However, a sailed throw to first allowed lead courtesy runner Skylar Clark to come home, slashing the lead down to a single run.
McCracken stayed patient at the plate, with Butler working a walk to load up the bases, turning the lineup over once more to Shoulders, who worked a six-pitch walk to knot the ballgame. With Hamilton in to pinch hit for Cox, a wild pitch allowed Lee to score, putting McCracken back out in front. Within the same at-bat, Hamilton kept things rolling for the Lady Mustangs, lifting a fly ball into right field for a two-run single, making it 7-4 for McCracken, still without any outs on the frame. Two more singles followed for the Lady Mustangs, but a slick snag from Adkins at second resulted in a double play, ending the inning with McCracken now ahead by three runs.
Lawrence struck back in the latter half of the sixth, putting two runners on with one away through a walk and a single. An error along the third base line cut the lead down to two, before a hit batsman loaded the bases up. With two outs on the board following an infield fly, Danielle Crum punched a line drive straight up the middle, tying the game at seven runs apiece with a two-run single. A force at third ended the frame without any further damage, with the game headed to the seventh, tied at 7-7.
Aiming to regain the edge in the seventh, O’Brien set the Lady Mustangs off on the right foot, working a leadoff walk. After a sacrifice bunt from Lee moved her along to second, O’Brien took off towards third, swiping the bag with Butler at the plate. Taking off on contact, O’Brien beat the tag at the plate following a ground ball towards second, putting McCracken back up by a run. Shoulders gave the Lady Mustangs a cushion in the next at-bat, lifting a deep shot into center, settling on the warning track for an RBI triple, scoring herself shortly after on a well-placed bunt by Cox to see McCracken take a 10-7 lead.
With Hawes out for her third inning of work, looking to put the game to bed, Lawrence strung together a walk and a single to cut into the lead, bringing in a run to make it a three-run game. However, a pair of strikeouts on either side of another single was enough for Hawes and the Lady Mustangs, as they closed out the Bulldogs, advancing to the second round with a final score of 11-8.
“We were hitting the ball hard, just right to them early,” Hayden said. “The one inning that I didn’t feel good about was the second, where we had a chance to open this thing up and couldn’t...I thought if we got on top of [Lawrence] early, we’d sink them, but they battled. Both teams really battled tonight...But they weren’t as deep as we are, and that ended up being the name of the game, we used a lot of girls.”
With the win, the Lady Mustangs advance to the second round, where they will face Henderson County, Saturday at 8:30. p.m. EST.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 11, LAWRENCE COUNTY 8
MCHS 1 0 0 0 1 5 4 — 11 15 4
LCHS 0 1 0 3 0 3 1 — 8 8 2
WP: A. Hawes ; LP: B. Ellis
2B: LCHS — D. Crum; MCHS — A. Leidecker, K. Walker, M. O’Brien
3B: MCHS — E. Shoulders
HR: LCHS — A. Nelson
TB: LCHS — A. Nelson 5, D. Crum 3, A. Woods 1, B. Jones 1, E. Smith 1, H. Adkins 1; MCHS — A. Leidecker 5, E. Shoulders 4, K. Walker 4, M. O’Brien 3, G. Henderson 1, L. Hamilton 1, M. Butler 1, S. McDowell 1
HBP: LCHS — A. Maynard 2; MCHS — A. Leidecker
SB: MCHS — M. Butler, M. O’Brien; LCHS — B. Jones
E: LCHS — A. Nelson, B. Jones; MCHS — O. Lee 2, M. Butler, M. O’Brien
RECORDS: Lawrence County (30-5); McCracken County (31-7)