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ASHLAND The sixth-inning blast was a no-doubter.
Ashland pitcher Riley Harmon left no doubt who wanted the ball in the circle against Boyd County.
Seven days after allowing 16 runs and 20 hits to the Lions, the junior shined in the sequel. She used an early offensive surge by the Kittens and a timely home run from teammate Jenna Delaney to hold off Boyd County for a 9-6 victory on Tuesday.
“There are so many things that we talk about all the time,” Ashland coach Scott Ingram said. “Jenna Delaney has a couple of errors in the first two innings, then comes back and makes so many phenomenal plays. Then gets the big hit. You have to have a short memory. I think they are starting to pick up on that game to game.
“There are plenty of tomorrows left,” he added. “Even when we get to that point, we have to have the same mindset. We ran through the gauntlet the last couple of weeks. I knew it was going to be. Addi Laine is back, and obviously, it’s a big help to our lineup. We had a lot of good at-bats, one through nine.”
Ashland scored five runs in its first at-bat, but the night's biggest hit came in the sixth. The Lions had started to mount a charge, but the Kittens found the separation they needed with one big swing.
Ashley Ingram led off the frame with a hard-hit single and Brookelyn Duckwyler battled at the plate for a walk.
Delaney followed with a long ball, and from the point of contact, its destination was a foregone conclusion. It sailed over the left field fence to give Ashland a 9-4 advantage.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Delaney said. “I never go up there thinking home run. I just want to find a way on every time.”
“Boyd County is a very good team,” Delaney added. “We just didn’t come out hot (in the first game). But we had a very good week of practice. We went to Louisville and played two really hard teams. That really helped us out playing against (Boyd County).”
The victory broke a seven-game midseason losing streak. Scott Ingram knows the tale of a season doesn’t reside in just one week. Even with Laine's return to the lineup, Harmon wasn’t ready to hand the ball off just yet.
“They don't like my stories, but I still tell them all the time,” Scott Ingram said. “We ran Boyd County off the field in 2018 at their place. They came back the next week and beat us at our field. I knew that wasn’t who that Boyd County team was at the time. We didn’t feel that’s who we are last week either. They are a good team. But I can’t say enough about Riley Harmon. She wanted the ball again tonight.”
Boyd County (15-9) opened the game with a run, but the Kittens had a quick answer.
Ashland recorded three RBI doubles in the opening inning. Zoey Smith started the scoring with a double into the right-center field gap, scoring Brookelyn Duckwyler. Laine roped a hit down the third base line past a diving infielder to send Smith home. Abby Lynch connected on a gapper to reach second base to drive in two more. Ingram added a run-scoring single.
“She has come a long way in the batter’s box,” Scott Ingram said of Lynch. “It’s really a collective effort. We have two great seniors, Aniyah Caldwell and Aubrey Foster. They have great leadership. But it’s a collective group. Some of the sophomores are most like the seniors because they have been here since they were in seventh grade.”
The Lions added another run in the second but could not find their way back in the early innings.
“We did not work the counts enough early in the game,” Boyd County coach Lance Seasor said. “It allowed them to have too many quick innings. We swung at a lot of bad pitches. Pitches they want you to swing at. We just weren’t very disciplined at the plate. … When you swing at pitchers’ pitches, it’s hard to string hits together.”
Boyd County’s first four runs were unearned. Ashland errors led to three runs and advanced another to allow Brooke Jacobs to supply an RBI hit in the fifth.
The Lions added two more in the seventh inning. Savanna Henderson posted an RBI base hit and Jacobs knocked in one more run with a double. The hits came after Laine quieted an early threat with a double play.
Ingram stuck with his pitcher. Harmon handled the adversity and struck out the final batter to end the game.
“Riley is always ready to give it her all,” Delaney said. “Her mindset in the circle has gotten so good recently. She could have come out here, afraid to pitch because of that last game. But instead, she came out with a strong mentality and pitched a heck of a game.”
Jaycie Goad returned to the Lions’ lineup over the weekend after missing the first half of the season with an injury. Seasor said she is getting stronger with each game. He was also pleased with how his pitcher, Lacyn Black, responded after the quick deficit. The freshman retired seven of the next eight batters.
“After the first inning, she threw really well,” Seasor said. “In the sixth, I’m sure she was getting tired. I hate it for her that we couldn’t put enough together to get her a win out of that. We did show a little fight there at the end.”
Duckwyler added a sacrifice fly RBI for Ashland (8-10). She scored twice. Lynch tallied a pair of doubles.
Henderson had three hits for the Lions and crossed home plate twice. Grace Stephens was 2 for 4 at the dish.
BOYD CO. 110 020 2 — 6 10 1
ASHLAND 500 103 X — 9 11 4
Black and K. Kouns; Harmon and Foster. W—Harmon. L—Black. 2B—Jacobs (BC), Smith (A), Laine (A), Lynch 2 (A). HR—Delaney (A).
(606) 326-2671 |
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Ashland pitcher Riley Harmon left no doubt who wanted the ball in the circle against Boyd County.
Seven days after allowing 16 runs and 20 hits to the Lions, the junior shined in the sequel. She used an early offensive surge by the Kittens and a timely home run from teammate Jenna Delaney to hold off Boyd County for a 9-6 victory on Tuesday.
“There are so many things that we talk about all the time,” Ashland coach Scott Ingram said. “Jenna Delaney has a couple of errors in the first two innings, then comes back and makes so many phenomenal plays. Then gets the big hit. You have to have a short memory. I think they are starting to pick up on that game to game.
“There are plenty of tomorrows left,” he added. “Even when we get to that point, we have to have the same mindset. We ran through the gauntlet the last couple of weeks. I knew it was going to be. Addi Laine is back, and obviously, it’s a big help to our lineup. We had a lot of good at-bats, one through nine.”
Ashland scored five runs in its first at-bat, but the night's biggest hit came in the sixth. The Lions had started to mount a charge, but the Kittens found the separation they needed with one big swing.
Ashley Ingram led off the frame with a hard-hit single and Brookelyn Duckwyler battled at the plate for a walk.
Delaney followed with a long ball, and from the point of contact, its destination was a foregone conclusion. It sailed over the left field fence to give Ashland a 9-4 advantage.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Delaney said. “I never go up there thinking home run. I just want to find a way on every time.”
“Boyd County is a very good team,” Delaney added. “We just didn’t come out hot (in the first game). But we had a very good week of practice. We went to Louisville and played two really hard teams. That really helped us out playing against (Boyd County).”
The victory broke a seven-game midseason losing streak. Scott Ingram knows the tale of a season doesn’t reside in just one week. Even with Laine's return to the lineup, Harmon wasn’t ready to hand the ball off just yet.
“They don't like my stories, but I still tell them all the time,” Scott Ingram said. “We ran Boyd County off the field in 2018 at their place. They came back the next week and beat us at our field. I knew that wasn’t who that Boyd County team was at the time. We didn’t feel that’s who we are last week either. They are a good team. But I can’t say enough about Riley Harmon. She wanted the ball again tonight.”
Boyd County (15-9) opened the game with a run, but the Kittens had a quick answer.
Ashland recorded three RBI doubles in the opening inning. Zoey Smith started the scoring with a double into the right-center field gap, scoring Brookelyn Duckwyler. Laine roped a hit down the third base line past a diving infielder to send Smith home. Abby Lynch connected on a gapper to reach second base to drive in two more. Ingram added a run-scoring single.
“She has come a long way in the batter’s box,” Scott Ingram said of Lynch. “It’s really a collective effort. We have two great seniors, Aniyah Caldwell and Aubrey Foster. They have great leadership. But it’s a collective group. Some of the sophomores are most like the seniors because they have been here since they were in seventh grade.”
The Lions added another run in the second but could not find their way back in the early innings.
“We did not work the counts enough early in the game,” Boyd County coach Lance Seasor said. “It allowed them to have too many quick innings. We swung at a lot of bad pitches. Pitches they want you to swing at. We just weren’t very disciplined at the plate. … When you swing at pitchers’ pitches, it’s hard to string hits together.”
Boyd County’s first four runs were unearned. Ashland errors led to three runs and advanced another to allow Brooke Jacobs to supply an RBI hit in the fifth.
The Lions added two more in the seventh inning. Savanna Henderson posted an RBI base hit and Jacobs knocked in one more run with a double. The hits came after Laine quieted an early threat with a double play.
Ingram stuck with his pitcher. Harmon handled the adversity and struck out the final batter to end the game.
“Riley is always ready to give it her all,” Delaney said. “Her mindset in the circle has gotten so good recently. She could have come out here, afraid to pitch because of that last game. But instead, she came out with a strong mentality and pitched a heck of a game.”
Jaycie Goad returned to the Lions’ lineup over the weekend after missing the first half of the season with an injury. Seasor said she is getting stronger with each game. He was also pleased with how his pitcher, Lacyn Black, responded after the quick deficit. The freshman retired seven of the next eight batters.
“After the first inning, she threw really well,” Seasor said. “In the sixth, I’m sure she was getting tired. I hate it for her that we couldn’t put enough together to get her a win out of that. We did show a little fight there at the end.”
Duckwyler added a sacrifice fly RBI for Ashland (8-10). She scored twice. Lynch tallied a pair of doubles.
Henderson had three hits for the Lions and crossed home plate twice. Grace Stephens was 2 for 4 at the dish.
BOYD CO. 110 020 2 — 6 10 1
ASHLAND 500 103 X — 9 11 4
Black and K. Kouns; Harmon and Foster. W—Harmon. L—Black. 2B—Jacobs (BC), Smith (A), Laine (A), Lynch 2 (A). HR—Delaney (A).
(606) 326-2671 |
[email protected]
Continue reading...
