High school softball’s postseason is here. Who will advance out of Lexington?
The high school softball postseason gets underway on Monday with No. 8 Lafayette and No. 10 Lexington Catholic as two of the top-ranked teams in the 11th Region among the contenders looking to make a run to the state tournament.
The defending 11th Region champion Generals (23-9) and defending 43rd District champion Knights (23-5) staged two dramatic tournament championship games a season ago and have many of their top players back, but it’s far from a given that these 43rd rivals can repeat those feats.
In Tuesday’s 43rd District semifinals at Lexington Catholic, Lafayette takes on a dangerous Tates Creek (16-13) team that has won four of its last five and seen junior Kentucky commit Peyton Plotts return to the lineup in the last week. She hit a grand slam on her second day back and joins a number of .300-or-better hitters, including sophomore standout Tinley Easton, who leads the team with a .408 average, 48 runs scored and 39 RBI.
The Generals counter with Spalding commit Kaileigh Franklin Brooks, a .543 hitter who ranks in the state top 50 in average, hits, doubles, homers and slugging. Lafayette has two pitchers, Trinity Bridges (9-4, 1.26 ERA) and Claire Cronan (7-2, 1.35 ERA), who are among the state’s best in earned run average and another solid starter in Leah Holland (7-2, 2.83 ERA) to mix things up.
The 43rd’s top seed, Lexington Catholic, defeated Lafayette in both of their regular-season games for the second year and a row but last year fell in the region championship to the Generals. The Knights’ iron woman in the circle, freshman Abby Hammond (22-4), again is among the tops in the state in ERA with a minuscule 0.67 mark. LexCath faces the winner of Monday’s game between Paul Laurence Dunbar and Lexington Christian.
Over in the 42nd District, tournament host and top-seeded Scott County (18-11) suffered losses to both Henry Clay and Frederick Douglass during the regular season, offering some hope Lexington’s teams can break the stranglehold the Cardinals have on the district. The Cardinals have not lost the 42nd District Tournament since joining the division in 2006, winning three state titles during that span.
Henry Clay (14-19) will try to rekindle the magic that earned them a 4-3 victory on April 25 against the Cardinals when they play the first semifinal game on Monday.
Tuesday, Frederick Douglass (17-16) and Bryan Station (17-14) will battle for the other 42nd finals spot and corresponding berth to the 11th Region tournament. The Defenders split their two games with “The Team on Winchester Road” in the regular season.
All district finalists advance to next week’s regional where teams including No. 12 Madison Central (20-4) of the 44th District and an underrated Great Crossing team (16-14) out of the 41st District will likely await.
42nd District Tournament
At Scott County High School, Georgetown
Monday’s semifinals
Scott County (18-11) vs. Henry Clay (14-19), 6 p.m.
Tuesday’s semifinals
Frederick Douglass (17-16) vs. Bryan Station (17-14), 6 p.m.
Wednesday’s finals
Championship, 6 p.m.
43rd District Tournament
At Lexington Catholic
Monday’s game
Lexington Christian (9-13) vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar (4-18) 6 p.m.
Tuesday’s semifinals
Lafayette (23-9) vs. Tates Creek (16-13), 5:30 p.m.
Lexington Catholic (23-5) vs. Lexington Christian-Dunbar winner, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday’s finals
Championship game, 6 p.m.
