The two teams will meet Thursday at 5 pm at Jack C. Fisher Park.
In their four seasons as a program, the
Lady Mustangs (29-8) have played Louisville Male eight times,
winning six of those meetings. In those eight meetings, six of
those have come at the KHSAA State Softball Tournament. In the state
tournament McCracken County has a 4-2 record against Male, and has
eliminated the Lady Bulldogs from tournament play each of the last
three seasons.
Lady Mustangs head coach Tony Hayden acknowledges the first round showdown with Louisville Male (25-4) is an extremely important contest.
“I really feel good about my team,” Hayden said. “The bracket, though, is another story. Winning Thursday night would be a big plus in making a run for the state tournament.”
McCracken County started the 2016 state tournament by losing to Male 3-1. But after that, the Lady Mustangs became the first team in KHSAA history to lose the first round of double elimination and reel off seven straight wins over the next two days to get back to the championship game. McCracken eventually fell to Scott County in the winner-take-all championship match.
During the 8-game run last year, McCracken ended Louisville Male’s season again, beating the Lady Bulldogs 8-2 in the state semifinals.
Both Male and McCracken County come into the game playing their best softball of the season, both having won 9 of their last 10 games. In that stretch, the Lady Mustangs have outscored opponents 95-10. McCracken County outscored their three Region 1 opponents by a margin of 41-2.
The Lady Mustangs had some question marks to answer in the offseason after losing some major pieces from last season’s state runner-up squad. They graduated seven seniors and three starting pitchers last season, including Miss Softball for Kentucky, Audrey Dodd, and senior pitchers Jenny Chapman and Hannah Ridolfi.
McCracken County head coach Tony Hayden had his questions around his pitching staff answered quickly.
“Lakyn (Largent) and Natalie (Lang) have thrown most of the games and have done a great job for us,” Hayden said. “Lakyn being able to go seven innings was the question mark, but she answered that question for me real quick. And I’m not afraid to go to Gabi (Snow) at any moment either.”
Once again, the Lady Mustangs’ bats have had great success this season. Coming into the state tournament, the Lady Mustangs team batting average is an outstanding .414. They have 407 hits on the season, including 98 doubles, 13 triples, and 38 team home runs.
Six different Lady Mustangs have a batting average over .400 (minimum 40 at bats) including Mackenzie Durbin, Elizabeth Lindsey, Kalli Harris, Hannah Jones, Lindsey Carroll, and Lakyn Largent.
Coach Hayden pointed out that his team has come alive at the right time of the season.
“The regional tournament was great
for us because it really woke us up,” Hayden said. “We had some
girls that needed a little push and they refocused and we saw what
we’ve been expecting to see from them.”
Louisville Male and McCracken County square off in the first round of the 2017 KHSAA State Softball Tournament Thursday at 5 pm. You can listen to the game by radio with Eric Chumbler, Michael Ceglinski, and Kris Garrett on 99.5FM The Fan.
