Frederick Douglass shakes off slump with 5 homers in 11-4 win over Bryan Station
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- Douglass beat Bryan Station 11-4 with five home runs after coach g
- Haylee Lefever (twice). Jarynn Bowman, Kadynce Sanders and Kyleigh Curtis all hit homers.
- Douglass locked in at least the third seed for the 42nd District Tournament.
There was no denying it. After playing 13 games in 16 days, Frederick Douglass needed a break.
A stunning 13-10 collapse at Henry Clay on April 21 quickly turned into four losses in five games during the April grind. The other defeats came against top 25 competition. Douglass (16-8, 3-3 in the 42nd District) plummeted from No. 10 in the Kentucky Prep Softball coaches poll to No. 23.
“We were just flat wore out,” Douglass softball coach Tim Toler said.
Toler canceled two games earlier this week and gave his Broncos Monday off. On Tuesday and Wednesday, batting practice was the only priority.
Rested and refocused, Frederick Douglass erupted for 11 runs on 13 hits, including five home runs in an 11-4 victory against district rival Bryan Station and its two-time city player of the year, senior pitcher Karsyn Rockvoan.
“I don’t know. We just decided that we was going to swing today,” explained Douglass junior Haley McGuire, the Broncos’ starting pitcher and leading hitter who went hitless, but scored after getting hit by a pitch in the Broncos’ third-inning rally. “I think one thing we’ve been lacking is hitting all throughout the lineup every game, and I think we really were able to do that today.”
Haylee Lefever, a right fielder who bats eighth in Douglass’ order, struck two of the biggest blows. She led off the third inning with a homer to center. Kyleigh Curtis followed her to nearly the same spot for back-to-back jacks in what ended up being a four-run inning for a 5-0 lead.
In her next at-bat, Lefever took Rockvoan deep again with teammate Morgan Mitchell on board via a leadoff double for a 7-0 lead through four frames against a team who beat the Broncos 6-0 on April 2.
“We definitely had a rough week last week. … This was a big statement win for us,” said Lefever, who considers Rockvoan one of her best friends, but relished the two home runs against her. “Once we’re going down, we’re coming back up. And we’re not somebody to look over.”
The Broncos stayed aggressive at the plate all game, helping counter a late Bryan Station rally.
In all, Curtis went 3 for 4 with her first homer of the season, a double and two runs scored. Kadynce Sanders, a sophomore catcher, led off the fifth inning with a homer.
Jarynn Bowman, the Broncos’ Murray State commit, led off the sixth inning with a homer, smashed an RBI double in the seventh and finished 3 for 5 with two runs scored and two RBI.
“I hope today’s game sort of regained a little confidence and got a little pep back in our step,” Toler said.
There were still signs of wear, however. With freshman Savannah Wombles nursing a slight injury that hampers her in the circle, Toler tried to let McGuire work through control issues in the fifth inning.
The Defenders cut their deficit to 8-4 as Bryan Station’s Adrienn Acure cashed in one of the Defenders’ two walks to start the fifth with a sacrifice fly. Two more runs scored via a fielder’s choice and some wild pitches that kept moving Station into scoring position.
Toler turned to eighth grader Kennedy Kerr to try to close it out. Throwing only her fifth and sixth varsity innings of the season, Kerr got the last seven outs without allowing a run as the Broncos’ scored three more times to extend the lead.
“She’s definitely proven that she can handle herself,” Toler said.
The victory locked Douglass in as at least the third seed for the 42nd District Tournament later this month. The defending district champ has a win and a loss against each of its rivals. Bryan Station (11-8, 3-2), who had a 1-0 loss at home to No. 19 Scott County on March 31, has a slight chance to grab the top seed away from the Cardinals with a win in Georgetown on May 11.
Meanwhile, Douglass will try to get healed up, rested and ready for the postseason. McGuire put their midseason stumble into perspective.
“We’re way better than what we performed in those games,” she said. “I think we all came out here today and we were ready, and we wanted to win. We wanted to prove that we deserve to be here and that we can beat anybody in the state as long as we’re coming to play.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 8:30 AM.
