A 10-run explosion by her teammates in the first inning put Harlan County freshman Maddy Fields in the driver’s seat for her first varsity pitching victory. Fields took it from there as she scattered five hits with nine strikeouts and no walks as the Lady Bears coasted to a 17-2 four-inning win Monday over visiting Barbourville.
“That was a really good win for Maddy as a freshman,” Harlan County coach Shelby Burton said. “We tried some different pitches. She handled herself well, and she adjusted and threw strikes.”
The Lady Bears provided plenty of offensive support with 12 hits, led by freshman shortstop Jordyn Smith a two-run inside-the-park homer in the first inning to start the scoring. Julionna Johnson had two singles. Raegan Landa, Alexis Adams, Bella Miniard and Paisley Hendrickson added one double each. Aly Sherman, Kendall Brock, Carmen Thomas, Sienna Banks and Peyton Lewis added singles. Landa also had a sacrifice fly.
“These girls have a knack for hitting the ball. We just need to be able to adjust our timing against different pitchers,” Burton said. “I have a lot of confidence that we have a pretty good hitting team.”
After Barbourville took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, HC wasted little time answering. Sherman was hit by a pitch and came around to score on Smith’s blast to the fence in left for the two-run inside-the-park homer. Adams then walked and scored on Landa’s double that turned into two runs on an error. Brock, Thomas, Miniard, Johnson, Sherman and Adams also had hits in the inning.
Harlan County added five more runs in the third inning with the help of two walks and two hit batsmen along with an RBI double by Hendrickson.
Two walks and two hit batsmen in the fourth inning set the stage for Lewis’ game-ending single to right for the 15-run mercy rule.
Harlan County (2-1) will play McCreary Central on Tuesday in the semifinals of the 2A Section 7 Tournament at Corbin.
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Barbourville 100 1 — 2 5. 6
Harlan County (10)05 2 — 17 12. 0
Thomas, Branstutter (3), Thomas and Branstutterm, Lewis (3); Fields and Robinson. WP — Fields (1-1). LP — Thomas. HR — (Smith 1).
