‘Finally showing out.’ Bryan Station softball snaps 34-game losing streak to Scott County.
In the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday night, Bryan Station held a 6-2 lead over No. 16 Scott County, a team the Defenders hadn’t beaten in high school softball since 2006.
The host Cardinals, ranked No. 16 in the latest Kentucky Prep Softball Coaches Poll, rallied, alternating walks and doubles to trim their deficit by two while still having runners on second and third base with no one out.
In the past the Defenders might have let this kind of moment overwhelm them. But not this night.
On this night, Bryan Station defeated Scott County 7-4, snapping a 34-game losing streak to the Cardinals in the process.
“I’m glad we’re finally showing out and showing our full potential as a team,” said sophomore shortstop Tiahna Bowman.
Bowman drove in Bryan Station’s first two runs with a double in the second inning and later hit a solo home run that was part of a three-run fifth inning that staked the Defenders to a 5-0 lead. When Scott County scored two runs in both the fifth and the sixth innings, Station responded with runs in the sixth and seventh to maintain a somewhat comfortable margin.
“I know we’re capable of beating anyone that we face,” said Bryan Station Coach Hector Urbaneja, whose team has also beaten No. 8 Great Crossing this season. “We’ve played close games with high-ranked teams …
“We’re the same. We’ve got two legs, two arms, and we’ve just got to want it more than they do.”
In the critical sixth inning with two runs in and two runners in scoring position with no outs, Bryan Station freshman pitcher Karsyn Rockvoan didn’t panic.
“I just chose to get mad and focus on the strike zone again and believe in my defense,” Rockvoan said, even though she admitted with a laugh that she didn’t really know how she accomplished it.
Rockvoan struck out the next batter on four pitches. She then fielded a bunt that loaded the bases, but did not score a run as Rockvoan made sure to keep the lead runner at third base on the play. Another strikeout and a fly out ended the inning without further harm.
Seniors Sydney Webster and Morgan Williams, a Bellarmine commit, also had RBI along with junior Michelle Moore. Bowman went 4-for-4 at the plate and scored two runs.
Rockvoan walked five, but struck out eight. She is among the state leaders in strikeouts (165) and earned-run average (2.09). The Defenders beat Scott County’s Ada Little, who also appears in the state’s top 50 in each of those categories.
In Scott County’s 5-1 win over Bryan Station earlier this season, the Defenders committed four errors. On Tuesday, the Defenders didn’t commit any.
“These girls have been playing good, working hard and staying together as a team,” Urbaneja said. “If we have good defense and back that pitcher up, we’re going to win games.”
The win improves Bryan Station’s record to 14-8 and 4-1 in the 42nd District with Frederick Douglass left to play on Thursday. Scott County (13-7, 4-1) has its last district game against Henry Clay the same night. If both win out, a tiebreaker system that begins with runs allowed against district opponents will decide the No. 1 tournament seed.
Lafayette rallies from behind 3 times in 11-inning win
Claire Cronan’s sacrifice fly with two on and one out in the bottom of the 11th inning Tuesday scored the winning run for No. 7 Lafayette over No. 10 Lexington Catholic as the Generals prevailed 5-4 in this 43rd District rivalry.
“That’s a long, long game,” said Cronan who also pitched all 11 innings for the win and struck out 17. “I was looking for an inside pitch and I was trying to pull the ball to the right side … That’s what I did and I’m just happy we were able to pull it out.”
LexCath took leads of 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3 in the third, 10th and 11th innings only to see the Generals respond to each.
Lafayette’s Nora Mack tied the game in the fifth inning on a fly ball to right field that spawned a sequence of errors that helped her get all the way home on the play.
In extra innings by rule each team gets to have a runner on second base to start the inning. In the 10th, LexCath’s Ava Emmert hit an RBI double and Lydia Kennedy followed with an RBI single to put the Knights up 3-1. But Lafayette’s Mack struck again with a two-run homer to right to tie the game.
A bases-loaded walk in the 11th inning put LexCath up 4-3, but a sacrifice and an error helped Lafayette tie the game 4-4 ahead of Cronan’s game-winner.
“I’m just so proud of my girls,” Lafayette Coach Dan Grantz said. “They have done a tremendous job fighting, never doubting that they can come back and win.”
Though these two teams have each won 11th Region championships over each other in the last two years, Tuesday’s win snaps Lafayette’s four-game regular season losing streak to LexCath
Lafayette (18-3, 4-1) still has games against Lexington Christian, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Tates Creek within the district. Lexington Catholic (14-7, 4-1) must face Dunbar twice and Tates Creek once more in district play before the 43rd’s top tournament seed is settled. If both LexCath and Lafayette win out, the team with the fewest runs allowed against all opponents will get the top seed.
