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Lady Cards are district runners-up, advance to regional softball tourney Melodie Phelps News Editor You might call it the beginning of a tradition for Wayne County softball. The program earned its third straight trip to the regional softball tournament last week, after finishing as district runner-up. The Lady Cardinals won the district in 2004 and finished as runners-up in 2003. This year, Monticello hosted the 46th District softball tournament, which allowed local fans a chance to see some of the exciting action. Russell County, a perennial district power, flexed its muscle again in this yearıs tournament, having little trouble taking the title. The Lady Lakers eliminated Monticello 14-2 in opening round action on Monday evening. In the second game on Monday, Wayne County and McCreary Central went to the wire, before the Lady Cardinals took a 12-11 win. ³McCreary and Wayne always battle it out in the district,² said Wayne County softball coach Myson Rice. ³We always end up in a good match with them in the district tournament....McCreary Central has a good program and they have a good bunch of kids playing.² Early in Mondayıs game, it looked like the Lady Raiders would be the ones advancing to the district title match. Wayne County started out slow, and McCreary Central built a 9-1 lead by the second inning. Rice said he gathered his team and told them not to panic. ³I told them to relax and play solid...to score four runs in this inning and four in the next and it would be tied,² Rice said. They listened, following exactly that strategy to knot things up at 9-9. The game remained tied until the top of the seventh inning, when McCreary Central scored to take a 10-9 lead. Lady Cardinal Tabitha Williams hit one into right field to score Brittany Dishman who was on second base. The tying run forced an extra inning, where Wayne County secured the win. McCreary Central walked Lady Cardinal Atisha Gehring. Gehring stole second and third. Emily Keeton stepped to the plate and drilled one to centerfield. With the win, Wayne County advanced to the district title game on Tuesday, where they faced the favorite Russell County. Rice knew that it would be a difficult game for his young team, and it was over quickly. Russell County won 15-0 in four innings to take the title. ³I think being so young and coming off a big game the night before hurt us,² said Rice. ³You just canıt make mistakes when you are up against a real good team like Russell County.² Both Wayne County and Russell County advance to the regional tournament this week at Southwestern High School. While Rice was uncertain what day his team would play, he did feel they would probably be considered an underdog in the tournament. While many people are looking at the Laurel County schools and Pulaski Southwestern as regional favorites, Rice said that Russell County should be right there on the list. ³I think a lot of them are overlooking Russell County,² he said. ³They are fundamentally solid and they are senior dominated.² Three Lady Cardinals were named to the All-District Tournament Team. They were: Sasha Chaplin, Atisha Gehring, and Elizabeth Cowan. Monticello players named to the team were Rachel Bristow and Alesha Gehring. Add a comment |
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