State high school softball: Rowan County’s Miss Basketball swats Vikings into quarterfinals

Rowan County’s Haven Ford smashed a two-run home run that proved to be the difference in the Vikings’ 4-2 victory against McCracken County in the first round of the high school state softball tournament at the University of Kentucky’s John Cropp Stadium on Thursday.

Ford, the 2023 Kentucky Miss Basketball winner, put down another marker for this year’s Miss Softball honor with her two-out blast over the left-field fence in the third inning that broke a 1-1 tie with Mustangs. Malorie Hamm had drawn a walk just ahead of Ford to score as well.

The Vikings (34-4) are making the school’s third trip to the state tournament as 16th Region champions and ranked as the No. 21 team in the state in the final Kentucky Prep Softball Coaches Poll. No. 2 McCracken (31-6) has been the 1st Region representative three years straight and won a state title in 2014.

“We are playing off of emotion,” Ford told The (Ashland) Daily Independent’s Matthew Sparks after the game. “We have to settle down and stick to what we have been doing to be successful. Moving forward, we just have to keep doing our thing and not let the moment get too big.”

Rowan County pitcher Trinity Lambert allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits with a strikeout and four walks for the complete-game victory.

Back-to-back doubles in the second inning by Rowan County’s Lauryn Eastham and Kassi Perkins staked the Vikings to a brief 1-0 lead. McCracken answered immediately after Raygan Rodgers tripled to lead off the top of the third. She later scored the tying run on a sacrifice bunt by Ellie Shoulders.

Then came Ford’s 19th home run of the season for a 3-1 lead.

Lambert led off the bottom of the fourth with a double and her courtesy runner, MaKayla Hamm, scored on a two-out single by Brynlee Walker for a 4-1 lead. McCracken responded with a MiKaela Coburn RBI single in the fifth, but that’s all the Mustangs could muster.

Thursday’s other games

Greenwood 2, Mercy 0 (nine innings): Macie Murray hit a walk-off two run home run in the bottom of the ninth for the extra-innings victory.

Pitcher Kayden Murray went the distance for Greenwood (20-13), striking out 19 Jaguars and allowing only two hits and one walk, while Mercy’s Maya Merrill matched her out for out for 8⅔ innings until Macie Murray’s deciding blast to left field. Merrill allowed five hits, struck out four and walked two for Mercy (27-7).

A fielding error to start the bottom of the ninth allowed Kate Rippy to reach base. Pinch runner Macie Maners was aboard at second with two outs for Macie Murray’s homer.

Ballard 4, Woodford County 0: The No. 1 Bruins (33-1) got four consecutive hits in the third inning, including RBI doubles by Mikayla Milby and Imari Golden, and an RBI single by Macy McCoy to plate all the runs the defending state champs needed for winning pitcher Brooke Gray.

But Gray had to pitch out of a couple of jams as Woodford (26-10) threatened in the fourth and fifth innings. With runners on second and third with one out in the fourth, Gray got two of her four strikeouts to end the threat. With the bases loaded and two out in the fifth, she struck out the final Woodford batter on three pitches.

Golden’s RBI single in the fifth inning cashed in a one-out walk and a steal of second by McCoy for the final margin.

Johnson Central 3, Highlands 1: The Eagles’ Madelyn Vaughn allowed just one hit and helped her own cause by starting Johnson Central’s two-run second inning by drawing a lead-off walk.

Vaughn’s courtesy runner, Lacey Smith, moved into scoring position on a bunt single by Keylee Blair. Sophie Younce’s double brought Smith home for a 1-0 lead. Younce then kept herself alive in an inning-ending double-play rundown long enough for Blair to reach home on the fielder’s choice hit into by Carrigan Ratliff.

Johnson Central (28-9) benefited from three walks around the double of Randi Delong to score its third run on a bases-loaded free pass in the fifth inning.

Highlands (27-9-1) got its run in the sixth inning on a two on, one-out fielder’s choice grounder by Michelle Barth that scored Bailey Markus. Markus led off the sixth with the Bluebirds’ only hit of the game.

State tournament

At UK’s John Cropp Stadium in Lexington

Tickets: gofan.co/app/school/KHSAA

Streaming video: KHSAA.tv (via subscription); Go.PrepSpin.com (pay per view)

Streaming audio: KHSAA.net

Schedule listed in bracketed order

Friday’s games

Daviess County 16, South Laurel 0

East Jessamine 5, Perry County Central 1

9 p.m.: Henderson County (30-5) vs. Great Crossing (30-4)

6 p.m.: Central Hardin (32-8-1) vs. Harrison County (31-7)

Saturday’s quarterfinals

11 a.m.: Greenwood (20-13) vs. Ballard (33-1)

2 p.m.: Rowan County (34-4) vs. Johnson Central (28-9)

6 p.m.: Daviess County (31-4) vs. East Jessamine (28-5)

9 p.m.: Henderson County-Great Crossing winner vs. Central Hardin-Harrison County winner

Friday, June 9

Semifinal games at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Saturday, June 10

3 p.m.: Championship game

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