‘Ride it together.’ GRC rides home run momentum to 1st-round state softball win
Bella Guinn’s 14th home run of the season at the top of the third inning served as the spark which ignited George Rogers Clark’s offense in its lopsided, 6-3 win over Ashland Blazer in Friday’s final first-round matchup of the Softball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare at John Cropp Stadium.
“I kept fouling off screwballs,” Guinn said. “And then I was like, ‘I can keep my front shoulder down, catch it out in front.’ And they threw me a change-up inside, so I just kept my front shoulder down. I waited on it, and I just hit solid.”
Guinn, a junior infielder, stepped to the plate with one out on the board at the top of the third. The game’s first two innings had passed rather uneventfully, with neither the Cardinals (37-5) nor the Kittens able to record more than a single hit apiece.
But this isn’t a team that gets nervous when the hits take their time. Instead, they stick together and believe in themselves. The path to GRC’s first state appearance since 2016 didn’t come easily — two of the program’s 10th Region Tournament wins came via walkoff runs — but each Cardinal understands that if one of their bats breaks through, it’s time to ride the wave.
“I think we’re really close,” Guinn said. “And we all ride it together. When one gets started and gets us all hyped, we all start going. So I think that’s a really good thing for us.”
Immediately after Guinn’s homer past left field, senior Addison Mathews singled up the left to reach first base. Though junior pitcher Lilliana Hill’s foul ball to the third baseline was caught for the second out, Matthews used the distraction as a means to steal second base. When freshman Zyniia Tichenor tripled to center field, Mathews ran all the way home from second and George Rogers Clark suddenly had a 2-0 lead.
The Cardinals’ offensive momentum continued into the fourth and fifth innings.
In the top of the fourth, GRC scored three runs on four hits. Junior Jordyn Abner batted in sophomore Jakhia Tichenor, and Guinn later batted in senior Lexi Burke. Hill hit a sacrifice fly to bring home freshman Lila Fugate to take a 5-0 advantage. The Cardinals’ final run of the night was scored in the top of the fifth, when freshman Jada Grigsby singled to send home sophomore Morgan Parks.
George Rogers Clark held the Kittens scoreless until the bottom of the seventh, when Jenna Delaney hit a three-run homer to send Addison Wolfe and Brookelyn Duckwyler across home plate and avoid the shutout.
Hill allowed three runs on eight total hits across seven innings for the Cardinals, striking out 12 batters and walking two. Addi Laine allowed six runs on 13 hits across seven innings for Ashland Blazer (30-7), striking out three and walking two.
Though George Rogers Clark’s roster skews young — with only four seniors on the team — the program has come a surprisingly long way since its eight-win season just two years ago. Now in pursuit of their second win at a tournament they’ve not reached in a decade, the Cardinals continue to impress their head coach, Matt Puckett.
“For these kids, it’s so huge to get the program back to where it was,” Puckett said. “…It’s exciting for me just to see how we’ve competed in two years and just come back and fought. Because really and truly, I don’t think anybody thought we’d be this far. But these kids had different plans, and they’re a tough group, and they’re resilient and I’m never going to tell them no. Because I think as long as they believe, I believe.”
GRC will next face Henderson County in Saturday’s 8 p.m. quarterfinals matchup, where the Cardinals will seek to continue to ride the wave together.
“I think we need to have good, solid defense,” Guinn said. “Don’t let them score as much as long as we can. We need to hit the ball solid, stay out of the air and I think that should be good.”
Friday’s other first-round games
Bullitt East 5, Assumption 0: Bullitt East successfully shut out the defending state champion Rockets in Friday’s first-round matchup.
Bullitt East (30-4) got things started in the first inning, with senior Alivia Cooper scoring from second base off an RBI single to right field by sophomore Kinnley Murphy. The Chargers would not score again until the fifth inning, but its defense held strong in the interim.
With zero outs on the board in the bottom of the fifth, sophomore Ryleigh Watrous singled to left field and batted in freshman Allie Carter from third base. Senior Kaitlyn McDonald then stepped up to the plate and brought home sophomore June Pile with her own RBI single to left field. Cooper hit an RBI toward right field, and both Watrous and McDonald scored unearned runs on a fielding error.
Senior Mackenzie Mingus earned the win in the circle, allowing zero runs on four hits across seven innings, striking out seven batters and walking one. Freshman Madison Wood took the loss for the Rockets, allowing five runs on nine hits across six innings; Wood struck out four batters and walked three.
Assumption (25-12) ends its season at John Cropp Stadium for the third consecutive season. Bullitt East will face Hazard (24-12) at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Hazard 7, Ballard Memorial 2: Following a pair of quiet opening innings, Hazard (24-12) struck first in the bottom of the third when sophomore Peyton Fields scored an unearned run on a throwing error.
Ballard (24-15) answered in the top of the fourth with an unearned run of their own when senior Trinity Williams scored from second base due to a fielding error.
However, Hazard regained the lead with yet another unearned run in the bottom of the fifth when sophomore Maggie Combs ran home from second base on a fielding error following a single from junior Ryleigh Griffith.
From there, the Bulldogs broke it open in the bottom of the sixth beginning with an unearned score by eighth grader Lyla Coffey due to a fielding error. Eighth grader Zoe Gabbard then stepped up to the plate and hit an RBI single which sent home junior Halle Jones and opened the door for junior Braylynn Eddington to score an unearned run thanks to a fielding error. Fields proceeded to hit a triple, sending home Combs and Gabbard to give Hazard a 7-1 lead.
Ballard freshman Gracelyn Glisson scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh, bringing the Bombers’ run total to 2.
Senior Sami Noble earned the win for Hazard, allowing two runs on four hits across seven innings; Noble struck out nine batters and walked one. Ballard junior Madyson Bohde allowed seven runs on nine hits across six innings, struck out seven batters and walked two.
Henderson County 6, Pulaski County 5: The Colonels (28-8) got a run-scoring sacrifice fly by Lillian Bennett and RBI double by Kamryn Timmons to provide enough cushion to withstand a late rally by the Maroons (18-16) that Bennett snuffed for her 13th save of the season with Pulaski’s potential tying run in scoring position.
Walks to Ayden Bennett and Maggie Grogan in the sixth set up Henderson’s last push for a 6-2 edge, but Pulaski County answered with back-to-back homers off Timmons, the Colonels starter, to cut its deficit to one in its final at-bat.
Brooklyn Thomas smashed a two-run homer to left center with Rilee Ross aboard. Then Ryan Ross picked nearly the same spot to trim Henderson’s advantage to 6-5. After Kynslie Crabtree doubled to put the tying run in scoring position, Bennett took over in the circle to record the final out.
Henderson County scored three in the bottom of the first, beginning with an infield single from Maggie Grogan that sent Saniya Shields home. Though the next two Colonels struck out swinging, a Timmons’ double to left center scored Bennett and Grogan.
That erased an early 1-0 edge for Pulaski County , who got a double from senior Brooklyn Thomas down the left-field line that scored sophomore Rilee Ross in the top of the first.
In the fourth, Henderson County eighth grader Jacelyn Wallace scored on a wild pitch after her leadoff single to give the Colonels a 4-1 lead. Pulaski County answered in the top of the fifth as Claire Hamilton scored on an unearned run on Ryann Sowder’s ground out.
State High School Softball Tournament
What: Softball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare
Where: University of Kentucky’s John Cropp Stadium.
Tickets: via GoFan.
Streaming: KHSAA.tv.
Friday’s first-round games
Bullitt East 5, Assumption 0.
Hazard 7, Ballard Memorial 2.
Henderson County 6, Pulaski County 5.
George Rogers Clark 6, Ashland Blazer 3.
Saturday’s quarterfinals
10 a.m.: Highlands vs. North Hardin.
1 p.m.: South Warren vs. Madison Central.
5 p.m.: Hazard vs. Bullitt East.
8 p.m.: Henderson County vs. George Rogers Clark.
June 12 semifinals
3:30 p.m.: Highlands-North Hardin winner vs. South Warren-Madison Central winner.
6:30 p.m.: Hazard-Bullitt East winner vs. Henderson County-George Rogers Clark winner.
June 13 final
7 p.m.: Championship game.
