Scott County beats the rain and Rowan County; defending champs await in semifinals
After defeating Rowan County 10-0 in five innings way back on March 24, No. 7 Scott County figured its rematch with the No. 23 Vikings would be more difficult with their postseason dreams on the line Saturday in the state softball tournament at the University of Kentucky’s John Cropp Stadium.
But while runs did not come as easily this time around, the Cardinals (27-6) never looked troubled in their 7-1 victory in the quarterfinals.
“I’ve told him the last two weeks, just play in the moment,” Scott County coach Mike Wagoner said after leading his team to the program’s first semifinal berth since it won it all for the third time in 2018. “Don’t let the moment be too big. Don’t look too much farther. Just play for the day and each other, and that’s what they’ve done so far.”
Scott County cranked out seven runs on 14 hits, five walks and two Rowan County errors as Georgia commit Ada Little allowed just three Vikings hits, walking none and striking out eight.
“I’ve been playing for Scott County for quite a few years and I don’t think we’ve had a group this close before,” Little said. “We really want to fight for each other. We also have a lot of talent, a lot of young talent and some people might have overlooked that, but I think we knew exactly what we had from day one.”
That talent begins at the top of the order with junior third baseman Aubrey Wigginton, who went 4-for-5 with three runs scored in the leadoff spot, and freshman second baseman Hadley Swint, who follows Wigginton in the order and went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored.
Little scored Wigginton in the first inning with a solid single up the middle for the game’s first run. Then, in the third with Lauren Jones on base via a walk, Little shot the gap in left-center for an RBI triple and a 2-1 lead.
As a pitcher, Little often leaves the bases for a courtesy runner to save her legs for her duties in the circle. Her triple had her teammates joking about what they might be missing.
“They were talking and thought I was going really fast on the bases, and I was like, ‘You guys keep underestimating my speed!’” Little said with a smile. “I can get around the bases, sometimes.”
A daring play by Makiah Jackson yielded Scott County’s third run as she took first base on a walk and took off for second before the next pitch was thrown. Although Jackson was thrown out, courtesy runner Ella Millard scored from third on the double steal.
With Wigginton aboard in the fourth inning, Swint’s first double nearly left the park, hitting midway up the fence in left-center.
“I thought it was out, but then (Wigginton) stopped and I kept running and I almost passed her,” Swint said, almost apologetically. “It felt really good. We haven’t been to the semifinals in a long time, so it felt good to know that our team’s always together and we always string hits together when we need them most.”
Lauren Jones followed with a single to left that scored Wigginton and allowed Swint to cross the plate for a 5-1 lead after Rowan’s left fielder misplayed the ball.
Scott County’s leadoff duo scored again after the Cards loaded the bases in the sixth. Slap hitters Jackson and Maddie Skibo each grounded to short on successive at-bats to bring them in on a fielder’s choice and then an error.
Though pleased with the victory, Wagoner would have liked a few more runs, considering the Cards stranded 12 runners.
“We did leave a lot of runners on base. I’d like to fix that before next week, obviously,” Wagoner said. “But they battled and kept on battling and our defense was behind Ada.”
Rowan County (29-6) tied the game briefly in the bottom of the first as leadoff hitter Diamond Wills bunted for a single, stole second and third in quick succession, and scored on a groundout to second by Malana Hamm. Wills got another single and two more stolen bases in the third, but Hamm’s double in the sixth provided the Vikings’ only other offense.
“I didn’t really get too frustrated, because my job is to keep the ball from going out of the park and keeping it in my defense’s glove,” Little said of the early going. “Even though that first run came across the plate, it didn’t really scare anybody, because we knew what we were capable of at the plate.”
Defending champion Henderson County awaits
After a halting start Saturday that included three rain delays before the second state tournament quarterfinal game was adjourned to 1 p.m. Sunday, No. 5 Henderson County (33-6) improved on its 1-0 lead from the night prior to oust Daviess County 7-0 and continue its quest for a second straight crown.
The No. 6 Panthers (27-4) didn’t have a base runner against Henderson starter Anna Kemp until a Molly Hancock walk in the fourth inning and didn’t have a hit until Danielle Beckwith broke through with a single to lead off the sixth as the Colonels senior hurler pitched a three-hit shutout on just 79 pitches in seven innings.
Henderson leadoff hitter Ayden Bennett had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored, including the first score of the game that gave the Colonels a 1-0 lead going into Sunday’s restart in the bottom of the fourth inning. Braylin Risley provided insurance with two hits and three RBIs in her final two at-bats. Saniya Shields and Maggie Grogan each scored a pair of runs.
Henderson will face No. 7 Scott County at 10 a.m Friday in the semifinals.
Sunday’s other quarterfinals
Lawrence County 3, Taylor County 2: Jada Patton’s three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning rallied the Bulldogs (27-7) to the state semifinals with a stunning turn of events on their final at-bat.
The freshman center fielder launched the first pitch she saw over the left-field fence with courtesy runner Braylie Triplett and Bree Jones aboard. Lawrence County catcher Abby Maynard’s leadoff single put Triplett on the paths to start the rally. Jones singled one out later.
No. 25 Taylor County (29-8) had just taken a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning on Navaeh Kays’ two-run double with two outs.
Taylor County’s Lylah Curry walked to start the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Cardinals could only advance her courtesy runner to second base as Lawrence County starter Taylor Blevins induced a flyout and a groundout to end the game.
Assumption 6, Harrison County 0: The No. 3 Rockets (34-6) exploded for five runs in the fourth inning as Paige Crain and Alex Wagner each hit RBI singles, Ella Wells lofted a sacrifice fly to left field for another run and Maleya Giddens smashed a two-run triple to right-center.
Western Kentucky commit Lauren Satterly threw a four-hit shutout with two walks and four strikeouts in addition to going 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored. Satterly tripled to right field in the seventh inning and then scored on Jaelyn Oaks sacrifice bunt moments later to set the final score against the No. 10 Fillies (35-7).
Saturday’s first-round games
Taylor County 5, Letcher County Central 2: The Cardinals (28-7) ignited for four runs in the third inning capped by Briley Edwards’ two-run double and then held on despite a Cougars rally in the fifth to advance to the quarterfinals.
Back-to-back one-out singles by Claire Melton and Riley Sprowles sparked Taylor County’s big inning. An error let Adelyn Bradstreet reach safely and brought in Melton. Raegan Cundiff followed with an RBI single to set up Edwards’ big blow one batter later. Sprowles went 3-for-3 with a double that scored two runs.
Letcher County Central (23-15) mounted a comeback in the fifth inning, narrowing the deficit with a two-run single from Kaily Bentley and an RBI single by Kara Holcomb. However, Taylor County pitcher Maddie Hunt held firm, getting out of the fifth and allowing just one hit the rest of the way.
Lawrence County 5, Marshall County 4: Jada Patton’s two-out double with the bases loaded in the second inning provided a cushion early and Gracie Preece’s RBI double in the seventh inning provided insurance late as the Bulldogs (25-7) earned their first state tournament win since 2008.
Preece began the second-inning rally with a leadoff single. A walk to Brinley Baisden and an error on Aleaha Gillispie’s sacrifice bunt attempt loaded the bases. After a fly out Ella Smith got hit by a pitch to push across Lawrence County’s first run. One batter later, Patton smashed her three-run double to left field.
Marshall County (28-9-1) battled back with a run in both the fourth and fifth innings and two more in the bottom of the seventh, but it squandered a scoring chance in the sixth as Lawrence County pitcher Taylor Blevins got out of a two-on, no-out jam by fielding a groundout, notching a strikeout and getting a line out to right field. Audrey Kinsley led the Marshals with three hits in three at-bats and an RBI.
Softball State Tournament
Where: At UK’s John Cropp Stadium
Tickets: GoFan.co/app/school/KHSAA
Streaming: KHSAA.tv
Friday’s semifinals
10 a.m.: Scott County (27-6) vs. Henderson County (32-6)
1 p.m.: Assumption (33-6) vs. Lawrence County (26-7)
Saturday’s finals
3:30 p.m.: Championship game
This story was originally published June 8, 2025 at 7:34 AM.
