By MICHAEL CHILDERS, CJ Correspondent
Somerset — The Southwestern Lady Warriors kicked off the second and final day of the Keith Blair Memorial on Saturday afternoon with a dominant 9-1 victory over Powell County.
Thanks to a seven-run onslaught in the fourth inning capped off by a Micah Tarter home run, Jim Woodall’s club was able to bump up their record to 9-3 on the year.
Destiny Molden stole home in the bottom of the second to give Southwestern a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Pirates of Powell County responded with a run of their own, knotting the game up at one apiece. After a Meghan Mays and Sarah Crabtree single, Kayla Goodwin picked up an RBI single to tie the game at one.
The Lady Warrior defense made two huge plays in the inning, keeping the game tied up at 1-1. Outfielders Chelsea Malicoat and Meghan Halcomb each came up with huge throws from the grass.
After three innings of work from junior pitcher Leanze Jones, Woodall brought in eighth-grader Sydney Fourman for relief.
In the bottom of the fourth, the flood gates opened, as the Lady Warriors tacked on seven runs on five hits. Fourman kicked things off with a double, followed by a RBI single from Lensey Halcomb. Jones got two RBI’s with a single, scoring Erin Carter and Malicoat.
With a 2-2 count and two outs, Micah Tarter was at the plate. After striking out and flying out earlier in the contest, Woodall asked Tarter to do something big.
“I asked her, ‘This is your third time up, are you going to do anything this time up?’,” explained Woodall. “She said, ‘I’ll try.”
Tarter did exactly what the head coach asked, giving her club a huge lift. The senior catcher smashed the ball to left center, over the white fence, for a three-run home run.
“She nailed that one,” stated the Southwestern head coach. “I think it was a really big boost for the girls. It kind of took the wind out of the sail for Powell County.”
The Southwestern defense made another big play in the fifth, to finish off the Lady Pirates. A Goodwin grounder was hit to third baseman Megan Burchett. The freshman gathered the ball, and hurled it across the way to Carter at first base to get the out. Base runner, Sarah Crabtree, took off for third as soon as Burchett released the ball in an attempt to score. However, Carter and Burchett teamed up once again for the out. Carter hurled the ball back across the field to Burchett, who made the tag for the third out.
The game was called because of the time limit rule with Southwestern winning 9-1 in five innings over the visiting Lady Pirates.
Powell County’s Meghan Mays was settled with the loss.
Sydney Fourman picked up the ‘W’, striking out two batters in as many innings on the mound.
Six of Southwestern’s nine hitters picked up at least one hit. Micah Tarter’s jack in the fourth proved to be the biggest hit of the contest.
•••
Less than two hours after defeating Powell County in dominate fashion, the Lady Warriors got a date with the Estill County Lady Engineers. The Lady Engineers were a little too much for Jim Woodall’s club, as Estill County won 4-3 over Southwestern in the Keith Blair Memorial at The War Path.
Estill County took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with an RBI groundout from Shayla Brinegar.
The scoring action occurred in the third inning, as both teams combined for five runs.
The Lady Engineers ran out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the third frame. After Kara Singleton reached base on an error, Lyda Arvin picked up an RBI with a double. A Jodi Dawes single scored Arvin, giving Estill County a 3-0 advantage. Two consecutive singles from Hailey Dawes and Morgan Johnson allowed J. Dawes to round the bases.
In the bottom of the inning, the Lady Warriors managed to cut the Estill County lead to 4-2. Back-to-back singles from Burchett and Malicoat kicked the hitting spree off for the Lady Warriors. With one out, Jones picked up an RBI single. The Lady Warriors could not tally any more runs, stranding two base runners.
Fourman came in to relieve Jones in the fourth, holding the Lady Engineers in check for the remainder of the contest.
With the time limit approaching, the Lady Warriors had to get runs quickly. In the fourth, Fourman led-off the inning with a double. However, Southwestern could not score, as three straight batters grounded out.
M. Halcomb began the bottom of the fifth with a lead-off double. She scored eventually, lessening Estill County’s lead to a mere run at 4-3. Molden picked up a double with two outs, but CJ Jones struck out, ending the contest.
“Our defense held up okay, but we’re going to have to take advantage of opportunities with runners on-base – we’ve got to score,” Woodall explained.
The Lady Engineers picked up the 4-3 victory, as pitcher Hailley Dawes was given the win. Dawes struck out five batters in five innings on the mound.
Leanze Jones, of Southwestern, was credited with the loss, striking out two in three innings. At the plates, Jones led the charge with two hits, including a double.
Coach Woodall tried something a bit different today with the pitching duo of Jones and Fourman. Jones started both games, while Fourman was brought in to relieve the junior in the later innings.
“I thought out pitching was nice,” Woodall said. “We tried to mix it up, bringing one in with Jones then Fourman, and Fourman then Jones. I think it worked really well this weekend.”
“All-in-all, it was a good weekend,” reflected Woodall. “We went 3-1 against some good, quality teams. I see some good bright spots for the girls.”
The Keith Blair Memorial tournament was established in the memory of Keith Blair. Blair was Lady Warrior softball patron over the years. This softball showcase, played at Somerset and Southwestern, is played to honor the time that he put in to the Southwestern softball program. The money raised at the tournament provides scholarships to softball players. This year, four scholarships were awarded to four young ladies in the tournament. Southwestern first baseman Erin Carter was awarded one of the four scholarships.
“We had nothing but good reviews from everybody here,” concluded Woodall. “Everyone is having a good time and we had a good turnout. It’s been a huge success.”
The Lady Warriors will face McCreary Central tonight in a 48th District showdown in Stearns. Southwestern will return to the friendly confines of The War Path on Thursday night, as they will host Monticello in another District contest.
PC 0 0 1 0 0 - 1 7 4
SW 0 1 1 7 X - 9 6 2
RBI - Tarter 3, Jones 2, Malicoat, Fourman (SW). Boswell (PC).
2B - Fourman (SW).
HR - Tarter (SW).
WP - Fourman (SW).
LP - Mays (PC).
EC 1 0 3 0 0 - 4 7 1
SW 0 0 2 0 0 - 3 9 2
RBI - Arvin, Brinegar, Johnson (EC). Jones, Molden, L. Halcomb, Malicoat, Fourman (SW).
2B - Arvin (EC). M. Halcomb (SW).
WP - H. Dawes (EC).
LP - Jones (SW).
