Douglass softball routs Lafayette after a key injury briefly derailed season
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- Douglass lost three of five games after Kavery Myrick suffered a knee injury.
- Douglass defeated Lafayette 8-0 as Savannah Wombles threw a complete-game one-hit shutout.
- Douglass has won three straight and is No. 10 in the Kentucky Prep Softball Coaches’ Poll.
Picked by coaches as the 11th Region’s top softball team coming into the 2026 season, Frederick Douglass looked the part early, scoring 51 runs in their first seven games, which included six wins and a close loss to perennial 10th Region contender Harrison County.
But a freak knee injury to sophomore third baseman Kavery Myrick against Henry Clay on March 31, shook the Broncos in multiple ways.
Myrick anchored the left side of the defensive infield and hit .500 at the plate in the heart of the Broncos’ order with two home runs and 10 RBI.
Douglass lost three of its next five games, including a 6-0 setback to 42nd District rival Bryan Station.
“When Kavery got hurt, it sort of took the wind out of ourselves a little bit, but we’re starting to slowly find our footing,” first-year Douglass coach Tim Toler said.
The Broncos’ 8-0 win over 43rd District favorite Lafayette at home at The Farm on Tuesday proved Douglass has plenty of firepower left to achieve its goals of another district title and the first 11th Region crown in program history.
Douglass (11-4) has now won three in a row and is the No. 10 ranked team in the latest Kentucky Prep Softball Coaches’ Poll.
“It’s awesome to know that, this game, we were able to make adjustments and figure out a way to get hits out of the whole (lineup) and not just be one person,” said junior Haley McGuire, the team’s top hitter who cranked a solo homer against the wind in the first inning and doubled and scored in her next at-bat. “We know it has to be everybody, and that’s why we put up so many runs, because we hit up and down the lineup.”
McGuire, a 5-10 Liberty commit, splits time in the circle with freshman Savannah Wombles, and has picked up Myrick’s duties at third base. It’s been a big adjustment.
“On defense, we’ve had to switch up everybody, no one’s playing their actual position, and it’s kind of just a sacrifice that we’ve all had to make,” McGuire said.
Against Lafayette, Douglass racked up 14 hits from seven different players, including a pair of doubles by senior Transylvania commit Haylee Lefever and a solo homer by junior Murray State commit Jarynn Bowman. In their three-run fifth inning, Wombles, Riley Baker and Lefever went single, single and RBI-double with one out. Eighth grader Morgan Mitchell added a sacrifice fly. Kyleigh Curtis’ RBI single scored Lefever to put Douglass up 6-0.
Though McGuire is counted on to pitch more high-pressure situations, Wombles has shown her mettle, too. Lafayette (7-5) featured two future Division I players — junior Kentucky commit Addi Combs and senior Evansville commit Anna Clay Denton. Wombles threw a complete game one-hit shutout against the Generals, scattering seven walks and notching five strikeouts.
“When Savannah can throw a game like today, that’s just sweet as pie,” Toler said.
At the plate, Wombles went 3 for 4 with an RBI, breaking a recent slump. Wombles acknowledged she can get down on herself at times. She walked two in the last inning against Lafayette, but pitched out of the jam to complete the shutout.
“I just told myself that this game is a sport of failure. So, I’ve got to pick myself up, and then my teammates started picking me up,” she said.
Toler moved to Kentucky a few years ago after more than 20 years of coaching high school softball in West Virginia where he won two AAA state titles with Logan High School in southern West Virginia about 30 miles from the Kentucky border.
It didn’t take Toler long to realize his new team’s potential.
“I’ve told a few people it’s like hitting the lottery or inheriting a Ferrari,” Toler said. “The way we came out the first of the year hitting — we were just on fire, putting up lots of runs, lots of hard hit balls.”
McGuire said it’s taken some time adjusting to a new coaching staff. Her father, Jason McGuire, coached the last two seasons but did not have his contract renewed after last year despite leading the Douglass to its first 42nd District title. The Broncos seem to have put that controversy behind them.
“It’s definitely different,” Haley McGuire said. “It’s always hard with someone new, … but I feel like as we get further into the season, we’re starting to get to know him, and get to know how he’s going to coach our team, and I think that’s why we’re starting to do so well.”
Toler said when his players are upbeat and locked in, “we can put up some big runs against anybody.”
And if the Broncos can keep that positive attitude, Toler believes they can reach their goals, which include winning all of their return matches against district rivals — Henry Clay (April 21), Scott County (April 23) and Bryan Station (April 30) — and the district and region tournament crowns beyond.
“The sky’s the limit for this team,” Toler said.
