‘This team? They’re fighters.’ They’re leaving the 11th Region and want their parting gift.
Delaney Enlow’s two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning provided Woodford County the cushion it needed to seal a 4-0 win over Lafayette on Tuesday night in the 11th Region Softball Tournament semifinals at Tates Creek High School.
It’s fair to say Woodford County survived its opening-round matchup with Madison Central after a 2-1 win in 11 innings on Monday. So, coming back the next day to see its offense and defense get in gear heading into Wednesday’s finals offered a much-needed boost.
“This team? They’re fighters,” said Woodford County Coach Les Anderson. “Against Madison Central, ... we went 11 innings. We fought and fought and fought. Same thing tonight. Lafayette is an incredible club. We knew we were going to have to give it every single thing they had. The girls really brought it tonight. I’m proud of them.”
Woodford pitcher Claire Lehmkuhler, who pitched all 11 innings Monday, came back to combine for the shutout Tuesday against Lafayette. She settled into a groove in the fourth and fifth innings, striking out the side twice.
“The last two weeks, (Lehmkuhler) has caught fire,” Anderson said. “She was throwing smoke. She had all her stuff. The ball was moving a lot. She was in control. It was really fun to watch.”
Lehmkuhler knows she’ll probably be called on again to try to get the team’s second 11th Region title in three years and its final one for a while thanks to a realignment that pushes the Yellow Jackets to the 8th Region next year.
“Throwing 11 innings yesterday, I felt pretty good coming into today,” she said. “I wasn’t very sore and just knowing we had to win tonight to advance was a big deal.”
Woodford scored a run on a controversial play in the first to take a 1-0 lead. Leea Cole, on base thanks to a walk, avoided a tag at the plate coming home on Abby Moffet’s single to center.
Lafayette looked to be working its way out of a jam in the fourth as pitcher Lucy Basehart got a strikeout and a fielder’s choice ahead of Enlow’s at-bat, but a runner remained on.
“I just swung and swung for the fences, I guess,” Enlow said of her blast over the left-center field fence. “I didn’t hit that good last game, so it was really nice to feel that swing and start screaming up first.”
Woodford tacked on another run in the fifth as Jocelyn Edwards put down a perfect bunt to bring in Lehmkuhler. Lafayette induced a bases-loaded double play a batter later to avoid a huge inning.
Woodford County will take on the winner of the late game between Scott County and Madison Southern, which finished too late for this edition. Woodford County lost 8-6 at Scott County in their only meeting this season on May 7. The Yellow Jackets also lost 1-0 at Madison Southern back on March 28.
Madison Southern 10, Scott County 9
Facing a program that has won more state titles (three) in the last 10 years than itself had won 44th District crowns (two) prior to this season’s, Madison Southern proved Wednesday it would back down from no one in a roller coaster 10-9 win over Scott County in the late 11th Region semifinal.
Kayla Pigg, rocked early as the Eagles starter, came back into the circle in the seventh to shut down yet another Cardinals rally and oust the defending state champions. After the Cardinals cut a two-run lead to 10-9, Pigg sealed it with a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around catcher Alicia Venter’s pickoff throw to second which erased a potential tying run.
“The resiliency of this team is unbelievable,” Madison Southern Coach Abbey Stepp said after the Eagles earned their first trip to the 11th Region finals since 2005. “I never fear anything when we’re down. It doesn’t matter how many runs we’re down. I don’t worry at all about them. They punch back every time.”
Madison Southern went down 2-0 in the first inning, 5-3 in the second, 6-5 in the fourth and 8-7 in the fifth. Each time, the Eagles rallied to take the lead again or tie it in the bottom half as they did when Zaria Carter smashed an RBI double in the fifth to tie the game at 8-8.
In the sixth, Pigg knocked in what proved to be the game-winning RBI with a sharp single past Scott County’s third baseman. A sacrifice fly moments earlier by Kennadi Story had put the Eagles up 9-8 after Tessa Juett and Samantha Cornelison led off the inning with a pair of singles.
“I just wanted to get the ball down and hard,” Pigg said.
Pigg’s rocky start included giving up a two-run homer to Scott County’s Nani Valencia in the first and a three-run shot to Carly Oliver in the second.
But Madison Southern matched power for power when Juett’s solo homer cut the lead to 5-3 in the third and two batters later, Story hit a two-run dinger to tie it.
Juett came on in relief for Pigg in the fifth and held Scott County to one of just two of its scoreless innings in the sixth to earn the win. Pigg got the save.
“It’s amazing,” Juett said. “We worked really hard to get where we are today and we fight every game. We’re all in it together.“
Wednesday
11th Region Softball Tournament
Finals: Woodford County vs. Madison Southern
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Tates Creek High School
This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 9:23 PM.