CENTRAL HARDIN 12, PENDLETON COUNTY 0 (6 INNINGS)

LEXINGTON — Pendleton County’s run came to an end on Friday in the quarterfinals of the KHSAA state tournament at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington.

The LadyCats were no-hit by Central Hardin’s Kaci Goedde who didn’t allow a baserunner all game in the lopsided victory.

The Lady Bruins got things going early and often as they scored a run in every inning, a five-run sixth putting an end to the game via run-rule. Central Hardin blasted three home runs in the contest and knocked three more doubles, ending Pendleton’s storybook season at 26-15, champions of the 10th Region.

The future is bright in Falmouth, having just one senior on the team that exceeded expectations this year.

Central Hardin moves on to Saturday’s semifinals to face Warren East, who topped Ashland Blazer in the second quarterfinal of the day.

Goedde struck out eight and needed 79 pitches for the perfect game, backed by some solid defensive plays in the contest.

WARREN EAST 8, ASHLAND BLAZER 1

LEXINGTON — Miss Softball in the state of Kentucky didn’t disappoint to start off Warren East’s trip in Lexington.

The Lady Raiders Katie Gardner shut down Ashland Blazer in an 8-1 victory over the Kittens. Garnder pitched five innings, allowing four hits and a run while striking out nine as Warren East advanced to the semifinals on Saturday to face Central Hardin. Gardner also drove in a run on the day.

Warren East jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first after Olivia Price reached on an error to score two, the first of four unearned runs Ashland allowed in the game. Ashland responded in the third with a Lauren Spears leadoff homerun to make it 2-1, but that was the only dent they were able to make in the scoreboard on the day.

Warren East added a run in the fourth and a three-run fifth broke the game open on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch, RBI single and wild pitch to make it 6-1. The Lady Raiders added two more in the seventh for insurance as reliever Emma Markham came on for the final two innings, striking out four of the six batters she faced.

Ashland was able to muster up just four hits on the day, but did put seven runners on base thanks to three Lady Raider errors and two walks. The loss ends the Kittens’ season at 25-12.

Warren East is now 35-2, having faced Central Hardin once already this season for one of their only two losses on the year, a 5-4 Lady Bruins victory in nine innings. Saturday’s semifinal is slated for 30 minutes after completion of the first semifinal on the day.

CLAY COUNTY 4, MADISONVILLE-NORTH HOPKINS 2

LEXINGTON — Clay County scored all of their runs unearned and got enough from Brianda Owens in the circle to stave off Madisonville-North Hopkins in Friday’s third quarterfinal of the day at John Cropp Stadium.

A three-run third was aided by a key Madisonville throwing error in the inning that was setup by base hits from Maddie Frazier and a double by Kimberlyn Mills that plated two to make it 3-0 after 2.5 innings of play.

The Lady Maroons answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth on RBI doubles from Amber Osborne and Bailey Woodward to make it 3-2, scoring Jayda Perkins and Osborne.

Clay County got another run in the fifth unearned after a fielding error was followed by another Mills double to make it 4-2. Madisonville mounted a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles, but Owens got Perkins to line out to center to end the contest.

Owens allowed nine hits and two runs, striking out three in the contest, entering the game with a 0.51 ERA on the season. Courtney Patterson, who was the starting pitcher on the 2017 state champion Lady Maroons team, also pitched a complete game, allowing eight hits and struck out six. Madisonville’s season closes at 24-10, the three errors committed in the game proving to be the difference maker.

Clay County (36-2) will take on undefeated Louisville Male on Saturday at 12 p.m. in the semifinals.

MALE 4, BOYLE COUNTY 0

LEXINGTON — The second perfect game of the day came way of Kelsie Houchens from Louisville Male.

Houchens struck out 10 in perfection, needing 85 pitches as the Lady Bulldogos topped Boyle County 4-0.

Jaelyn Sanders 3-run blast in the bottom of the fourth inning was more than enough as Male also continued its perfect season, improving to 37-0 on the year. Lily Davis’ RBI single in the bottom of the sixth added another run for good measure.

The win sets up a Male-Clay County semifinal on Saturday at noon. The teams have a combined record of 73-2.

Boyle County’s Katy Grace Chadwell held the high-powered Male offense in check for the majority, allowing six hits and struck out four while walking just one. The Lady Rebels season ends at 31-7.

*Note: Due to the impending weather conditions on Sunday, the KHSAA moved the championship game up to Saturday at 6 p.m.

https://maysville-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_2019-khsaa-softball-logo-2.jpg
Two perfect games pitched on day

Staff Report