7th inning rally not enough

Lady Raiders fall in Regional opener

A seventh inning, 2-out rally by the Lady Raiders fell just short Monday afternoon in the opening round of the 12th Region Tournament, putting an end to their season. 

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Trailing 5-2 entering the final frame, McCreary pulled out all the stops in their last at-bat – putting their first six batters on base, scoring two runs, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit and the Somerset Lady Briar Jumpers prevailed and advanced to the semi-final round    of the tournament.

The Lady Raiders, who hosted the tournament this week, took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning off the bat of Cierra Terry who blasted a two-run homer over the left field fence, driving in Kaylee West who singled one hitter earlier.

McCreary’s celebration was short-lived, however, as the Lady Jumpers responded with a three-run inning of their own.

Jordyn Bray and Alyssa Richardson led off the inning with back-to-back singles, and both runners scored on a Lauren Hibbard triple down the right-field line. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Brynlee Bigelow scored Hibbard and put Somerset ahead 3-2.

Lady Raiders pitcher Kaylee Cotton regained control, blanking Somerset over the next two innings, but ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth.

Bigelow led off the inning reaching on a base hit. The next batter, Emily Spears, laid down a sacrifice bunt attempt, with Bigelow breaking for second. Cotton fielded the ball in front of the plate, and turned to throw toward third in an attempt to cut down the lead runner. Her throw went wild, rolling into the outfield, and both runners would score on the play for a 5-2 Somerset lead.

Down to their last at-bat the Lady Raiders did their best to prolong the game and keep their Tournament dreams alive.

Cyndol Kiser led off the inning with a base-hit, but was forced out at second on a Reagan Kidd grounder. Kidd was erased one batter later when McKayla Chestnut hit into a fielder’s choice.

Emily Simpson’s single spurred the rally, putting runners on first and third with 2-outs. West’s second base-hit of the game scored Chestnut, and moved Simpson into scoring position. Terry followed with a single, driving in her third run of the game and putting her team down just one run. Cammie Gilreath tried to keep the rally alive, but flew out to right field to end the game.

McCreary ended the season with  a 18-14 record.

In other 12th Region action Monday night:

Rockcastle County pitcher Kristen Holcomb baffled the Southwestern Lady Warriors all night, limiting her opponent to only one hit over seven innings, while striking out nine as the Lady Rockets fought for a 4-0 win.

46th District Champion East Jessamine scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to outpace Garrard County for a 7-2 win.

Boyle County scored six runs in the first two innings and withstood a Mercer County rally in the seventh to advance with a 9-6 win.