Aggressive play key to Lafayette softball’s hopes to contend this postseason
Lafayette has taken down some of the top softball teams in the state on its way to a 21-7 record and the top seed in next week’s 43rd District Tournament.
Wednesday’s come-from-behind 8-4 win over 41st District front-runner Franklin County at home showed why.
“We’ve got all the basic elements. We’ve got speed. We’ve got power. We’ve got pitching. We’ve got defense and a knowledge of the game,” said first-year head coach Chris Hould, who’d been an assistant coach for a number of years. “It’s really just if the girls put it together and get up there and be aggressive at the plate and string hits together, timely hits. That’s huge for us.”
One of four ranked teams in the 11th Region, the No. 10 Generals have impressive wins against No. 3 Greenwood, No. 8 Male, No. 16 North Laurel, No. 18 Ballard, No. 22 Frederick Douglass, No. 23 Montgomery County and defending 42nd District champion Bryan Station, who has popped in and out of the coaches’ poll all season.
They’ve also split their regular-season series with 43rd District nemesis Lexington Catholic, who has Kentucky commit and two-time Gatorade player of the year Abby Hammond in the circle.
“I feel really confident. I’m excited to see where we go,” said senior second baseman Kierstyn Kelley, who had a pair of doubles and two RBIs Wednesday. “I feel like we have a strong defense behind our pitchers and the energy is always good. And we hit one through nine pretty consistently.”
Lafayette manufactured several runs against the Flyers.
Sophomore right fielder Addi Combs would have probably preferred knocking in teammates Rylan Music and Brynna Harris at first and second base via singles, respectively, when she came up in the third inning. But her groundout to the right side of the infield served a purpose by putting them into scoring position. Franklin County let them both across the plate on a passed ball three pitches later.
Courtesy runner Aarilyn Waletich-Silverio turned Ellie Thompson’s sacrifice bunt into the go-ahead run an inning later. On base thanks to Abigail Winkler’s walk, Waletich-Silverio didn’t settle for second base as Franklin County got Thompson out at first, rounding the bag at full speed and drawing an errant throw by the Flyers in an attempt to cut her down at third. She scored as the ball caromed into left field.
In the middle of Lafayette’s three-run sixth inning that put the game away, McKenzie Harney walked, advanced to third on Abigail Winkler’s double and stole home by timing Franklin County’s routine toss from the catcher to the pitcher during the next at bat to put the Generals up 7-4.
“We’re always looking to try and take the next base. We’re being super aggressive,” Hould said. “Sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes it costs us, but a lot of times it can make the biggest difference.”
Winkler (11-2), who has split most of Lafayette’s starts in the circle with Music (5-4), got a hit and a pair of walks at the plate against the Flyers, leading to those courtesy runner scores. Music leads the team in homers with 12. The Generals smashed five home runs in a 14-7 win at Montgomery County on Tuesday, including two by Combs.
The 43rd District Tournament begins Monday at Tates Creek as the host faces Lexington Christian for the right to take on Lafayette in Tuesday’s semifinals. The Generals will be looking for their third district crown in four seasons.
If Lafayette makes the district finals, it will also earn a spot in the following week’s 11th Region Tournament, which will likely include No. 7 Scott County and Georgia commit Ada Little along with No. 13 Madison Central, the only team to have beaten the Generals at home this season.
“You’ve got to bring your “A” game and you’ve got to take advantage of the little things,” Hould said. “It’s going to be tight and you’ve got to take advantage of mistakes that are made to be successful against those teams.”
Breaking down Lexington’s baseball districts
The city has just two ranked teams in the latest PrepBaseballReport.com Top 25, a noticeable departure from recent years. But there could be some surprises this postseason, regardless.
No. 5 Sayre (25-6-1, 6-2) will be the top seed in next week’s 42nd District Tournament at Frederick Douglass High School.
The host Broncos (16-18) earned the second seed by virtue of tiebreaker rules after finishing 4-4 in district play and in a three-way tie in the district standings with Scott County (21-8) and Henry Clay (17-15). Douglass will play Scott County in Monday’s semifinals. Henry Clay must face Bryan Station (9-15, 1-6) in Sunday’s play-in game for the right to take on Sayre the next day.
No. 12 Lexington Catholic (17-7, 7-1) tops the 43rd District standings and is set to play in Monday’s semifinals against the winner of Sunday’s play-in game between host Lafayette (15-16, 3-5) and Paul Laurence Dunbar (8-22, 2-6).
Lexington Christian (18-13, 5-3) and Tates Creek (11-15, 3-5) will play in Monday’s other semifinals matchup. The Commodores won the tiebreaker for the third seed based on having allowed fewer runs in district play than Lafayette.
Next week’s district tournaments
42ND DISTRICT SOFTBALL
At Frederick Douglass
Monday’s semifinals
7 p.m.: Scott County vs. Henry Clay
Tuesday’s semifinals
7 p.m.: Frederick Douglass vs. Bryan Station
Wednesday’s finals
7 p.m.: Championship game
43RD DISTRICT SOFTBALL
At Tates Creek
Monday’s first round
6 p.m.: Lexington Christian vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar
Tuesday’s semifinals
5:30 p.m.: Lafayette vs. LCA-Dunbar winner
8 p.m.: Tates Creek vs. Lexington Catholic
Wednesday’s finals
6 p.m.: Championship game
42ND DISTRICT BASEBALL
At Frederick Douglass
Sunday’s first round
3 p.m.: Henry Clay vs. Bryan Station
Monday’s semifinals
5:30 p.m.: Sayre vs. vs. Henry Clay-Bryan Station winner
8 p.m.: Frederick Douglass vs. Scott County
Tuesday’s finals
7 p.m.: Championship game
43RD DISTRICT BASEBALL
At Lafayette Creek
Sunday’s first round
6 p.m.: Lafayette vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar
Monday’s semifinals
5:30 p.m.: Lexington Catholic vs. Lafayette-Dunbar winner
8 p.m.: Lexington Christian vs. Tates Creek
Tuesday’s finals
6:30 p.m.: Championship game
