An Augusta player readies a swing against the Lady Bears on March 18, 2026.
Kyndall Johnson scores a run for the Bracken County Lady Bears against the Lady Panthers on March 18, 2026.
BROOKSVILLE, Ky. — The Bracken County Lady Bears returned to the diamond on Wednesday, eager to start their season off with a win.
After chilling weather rescheduled much of the first week of the 2026 softball season, the Lady Bears hosted the Augusta Lady Panthers in what was both a 39th District seeding matchup and the first round of the 10th Region All “A” Classic.
“First time on the field for a game for sure. We’ve been able to have a few practices on the field. Most of them have been gym practices. Glad to be out here no matter what the temperature is,” said the Lady Bears’ head coach, Jamey Johnson.
Addyson Tucker stepped into the pitcher’s circle first for Bracken County, throwing three strikeouts and allowing one walk to the Lady Panthers.
Bracken County began in the bottom of the first with a single from leadoff batter Jenna Colvin, before six walks drove in four runs, and a double from Kaelynn Nickell sent three more runners home.
Tucker walked three batters at the top of the second, allowing Augusta to load the bases. Rees Hargett then stepped in as pitcher, throwing one strikeout before walking in one more batter for Augusta. Hargett closed the inning two strikeouts later to move into the bottom of the second, leading 7-2 over Augusta.
“We got a lot to work on. Lot of things to sharpen, definitely pitchers have got to throw strikes. Didn’t have the best circumstances to pitch on — it’s hard to drag your pitching toe in wet dirt. Both pitchers kind of struggles to find the zone at times,” said Coach Johnson. “We have a busy week ahead of us, so we kind of had to plan and try to figure out what we have coming up.”
The Lady Bears’ bats got hot in the bottom of the second, with leadoff batter Kyndall Johnson walking, followed by a single from Ella Burton to bring her home. Another walk from Hargett and a single from Colvin brought in Bracken County’s second run of the inning, with a ground out from Tucker bringing in their third. Two more singles from Nickell and Macy Beckett, a triple from Jordan Ahrens and four more walks brought seven more runners home for the Lady Bears, who now led 17-2 heading into the top of the third.
Hargett threw three more strikeouts in the top of the third, ending the game early.
“This was a district opponent, also first round of the All “A.” It was our All “A” play in-game to move on to the semifinals. It was kind of a mandatory in two ways,” said Coach Johnson.
Bracken County went on to face off against the Cooper Lady Jaguars on Thursday, March 19, before returning home this evening to host the Franklin County Lady Flyers, scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. Augusta’s next game is scheduled for this evening at 5:30 p.m. on the road against the Holmes Lady Bulldogs.
LADY PANTHERS
IP: #11 2.0
SO: #11 1
LADY BEARS
2B: Nickell
3B: Ahrens
SB: Burton, Hargett
IP: Tucker 1.0, Hargett 2.0
SO: Tucker 3, Hargett 6
