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CANNONSBURG Opening Day for the 2025 King’s Island season was still a week away on Saturday, but Boyd County managed to take its fans on a roller coaster ride in the last game of the Tri-State Showcase.
The Lions went from comfortably leading a shutout, to staving off a mid-game comeback, to ripping off an incredible six-run inning, to nearly giving up a seven-run lead, to escaping with a 10-8 victory against Mercy Academy.
“It was a great team win,” Boyd County coach Lance Seasor said. “I forget how many players we used, it was a bunch, but everybody contributed. I think we saw a glimpse of what we can be tonight, we just have to put the pieces together.”
The Jaguars posted five runs on five hits in the final at-bats of the game, but ultimately came up just short of the comeback win.
“We made a few errors out here tonight,” Mercy Academy coach James Brentlinger said. “And we hadn’t seen fast pitching the last couple of outings so it took us a little bit to catch up to the pitching. Once we made adjustments, we got going but we can’t wait until the sixth or seventh inning to get those things going.”
Brentlinger’s squad was down 10-3 with their backs against the wall when Ava Reinhart stepped up in the lead-off position.
She immediately blasted a double into left field before Haley Rupe mirrored the shot, sending one into right field for an RBI double.
Summer Sabo then reached on a walk and her courtesy runner, Carly Shepherd, eventually stole home on a wild pitch.
Emerson Shively and Madison DeGrella hit back-to-back RBI singles in the seven and eight spots, before Boyd County made a change at pitcher, Jordan Fraley for Brooke Jacobs, at the top of the lineup.
Lacyn Black started the night as pitcher, but was pulled in favor of Hayleigh Sharp in the sixth. Sharp was then exchanged for Jacobs to start the seventh frame.
Fraley, who was making her first appearance in a varsity game, was put into a precarious situation.
The Lions had seen their lead diminish from 10-3 to 10-7 by that juncture but were just one out away from securing the victory.
Unfortunately for Boyd County, the first batter Fraley saw, KK Szabo, drilled one to centerfield to bat in another run.
Fraley walked the next batter, which put a force-out on every base, but it brought Rupe back to plate with a chance to repeat her performance from earlier in the frame and potentially take the Jags’ first lead of the game.
Instead, Fraley stood tall, got Rupe to a 1-2 count and then got her to hit into a fielder’s choice down the third base line for the final out of the game.
“She might’ve come in a little shaky, but she came through huge for us tonight,” Seasor said of Fraley. “Her and Haley Sharp both came into the game in key situations; neither one of them have a lot of varsity experience. But they came up big for us and that goes a long way in giving them confidence.”
Mercy Academy couldn’t quite manage to dig out of the hole, which was made extremely deep by the Lions’ sixth-inning explosion.
Boyd County had jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the contest, but Mercy Academy slowly climbed back, trailing just 4-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth and looking to take the momentum the Jaguars’ way.
Grace Stephens opened the frame with a standup double, the first multi-base hit of the game to that point.
MKinzi Kouns batted Stephens and Black, who was walked, in with a two-run RBI double in the nine spot.
Her big sister, Kyli Kouns, got MKinzi home with a ball sent into shallow centerfield.
Kyli Kouns nearly got caught in a rundown between third and home after Jadyn Goad got a hit at the next at-bat, but an errant throw by the catcher allowed her to score unimpeded.
Elyn Simpkins then batted Goad in before plating herself on a shot sent to the warning track by Savanna Henderson.
All told, the Lions had six runs on five hits and one Jaguars error.
The Lions early runs started in the bottom of the second when Lacyn Black boosted a ball into right field that got Savanna Henderson and Grace Stephens home.
The Lions posted more runs in the bottom of the third.
Kyli Kouns laid down an expertly executed bunt to reach in the lead-off spot.
Kouns soon trotted home as Savana Henderson, with two outs on the board, rocketed a two-run home run over the left field fence.
Trailing 4-0, Mercy Academy didn’t find pay dirt until the top of the fifth inning to cut the lead in half.
Madison DeGrella reached on a single to left field. After advancing to third following an error off Madison Thornbury’s bat, Allie Strebel got DeGrella to plate with a fielder’s choice to second that was erroneously thrown to first.
Strebel scored in her own right after an RBI single from Ava Reinhardt that went into right field.
The Jaguars chipped one more away in the sixth inning when Streble posted an RBI single, outrunning the throw after sending a ball back to newly entered pitcher Hayleigh Sharp.
“The biggest thing for us, we have to get our pitching going,” Brentlinger said. “Pitching has been a bit of a struggle for us. It doesn’t help that my number one pitcher doesn’t like to throw in the cold, so she looked like she was dying out here. But I have a bunch of young kids who are going to fight, it’s just the little bitty things that, once we clean up, we’ll be all right.”
The win breaks a five-game skid for the Lions. Seasor says despite the run of losses, he’s seen the team’s growth and is glad they got the win on the night to reward that growth.
“Our attitude and our atmosphere this weekend seems to have really turned a corner,” Seasor said. “Yeah, we lost five in a row, but four of those were by one run. So, we knew we were close. Now, by no means do I think we’re in postseason form, but you can see the pieces coming together. I want to put them in high pressure situations like tonight. I want to test them so they won’t be surprised later on.”
Mercy A. 000 021 5 - 8 10 1
BOYD CO. 022 006 X - 10 12 2
Colebank, Ballou (6) and Messer; Black, Sharp (6), Jacobs (7), Fraley (7) and K. Kouns. W - Black. L - Colebank. 2B - Stephens (BC), M. Kouns (BC), Reinhart (MA), Rupe (MA). HR – Henderson (BC).
(606) 326-2658 |
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The Lions went from comfortably leading a shutout, to staving off a mid-game comeback, to ripping off an incredible six-run inning, to nearly giving up a seven-run lead, to escaping with a 10-8 victory against Mercy Academy.
“It was a great team win,” Boyd County coach Lance Seasor said. “I forget how many players we used, it was a bunch, but everybody contributed. I think we saw a glimpse of what we can be tonight, we just have to put the pieces together.”
The Jaguars posted five runs on five hits in the final at-bats of the game, but ultimately came up just short of the comeback win.
“We made a few errors out here tonight,” Mercy Academy coach James Brentlinger said. “And we hadn’t seen fast pitching the last couple of outings so it took us a little bit to catch up to the pitching. Once we made adjustments, we got going but we can’t wait until the sixth or seventh inning to get those things going.”
Brentlinger’s squad was down 10-3 with their backs against the wall when Ava Reinhart stepped up in the lead-off position.
She immediately blasted a double into left field before Haley Rupe mirrored the shot, sending one into right field for an RBI double.
Summer Sabo then reached on a walk and her courtesy runner, Carly Shepherd, eventually stole home on a wild pitch.
Emerson Shively and Madison DeGrella hit back-to-back RBI singles in the seven and eight spots, before Boyd County made a change at pitcher, Jordan Fraley for Brooke Jacobs, at the top of the lineup.
Lacyn Black started the night as pitcher, but was pulled in favor of Hayleigh Sharp in the sixth. Sharp was then exchanged for Jacobs to start the seventh frame.
Fraley, who was making her first appearance in a varsity game, was put into a precarious situation.
The Lions had seen their lead diminish from 10-3 to 10-7 by that juncture but were just one out away from securing the victory.
Unfortunately for Boyd County, the first batter Fraley saw, KK Szabo, drilled one to centerfield to bat in another run.
Fraley walked the next batter, which put a force-out on every base, but it brought Rupe back to plate with a chance to repeat her performance from earlier in the frame and potentially take the Jags’ first lead of the game.
Instead, Fraley stood tall, got Rupe to a 1-2 count and then got her to hit into a fielder’s choice down the third base line for the final out of the game.
“She might’ve come in a little shaky, but she came through huge for us tonight,” Seasor said of Fraley. “Her and Haley Sharp both came into the game in key situations; neither one of them have a lot of varsity experience. But they came up big for us and that goes a long way in giving them confidence.”
Mercy Academy couldn’t quite manage to dig out of the hole, which was made extremely deep by the Lions’ sixth-inning explosion.
Boyd County had jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the contest, but Mercy Academy slowly climbed back, trailing just 4-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth and looking to take the momentum the Jaguars’ way.
Grace Stephens opened the frame with a standup double, the first multi-base hit of the game to that point.
MKinzi Kouns batted Stephens and Black, who was walked, in with a two-run RBI double in the nine spot.
Her big sister, Kyli Kouns, got MKinzi home with a ball sent into shallow centerfield.
Kyli Kouns nearly got caught in a rundown between third and home after Jadyn Goad got a hit at the next at-bat, but an errant throw by the catcher allowed her to score unimpeded.
Elyn Simpkins then batted Goad in before plating herself on a shot sent to the warning track by Savanna Henderson.
All told, the Lions had six runs on five hits and one Jaguars error.
The Lions early runs started in the bottom of the second when Lacyn Black boosted a ball into right field that got Savanna Henderson and Grace Stephens home.
The Lions posted more runs in the bottom of the third.
Kyli Kouns laid down an expertly executed bunt to reach in the lead-off spot.
Kouns soon trotted home as Savana Henderson, with two outs on the board, rocketed a two-run home run over the left field fence.
Trailing 4-0, Mercy Academy didn’t find pay dirt until the top of the fifth inning to cut the lead in half.
Madison DeGrella reached on a single to left field. After advancing to third following an error off Madison Thornbury’s bat, Allie Strebel got DeGrella to plate with a fielder’s choice to second that was erroneously thrown to first.
Strebel scored in her own right after an RBI single from Ava Reinhardt that went into right field.
The Jaguars chipped one more away in the sixth inning when Streble posted an RBI single, outrunning the throw after sending a ball back to newly entered pitcher Hayleigh Sharp.
“The biggest thing for us, we have to get our pitching going,” Brentlinger said. “Pitching has been a bit of a struggle for us. It doesn’t help that my number one pitcher doesn’t like to throw in the cold, so she looked like she was dying out here. But I have a bunch of young kids who are going to fight, it’s just the little bitty things that, once we clean up, we’ll be all right.”
The win breaks a five-game skid for the Lions. Seasor says despite the run of losses, he’s seen the team’s growth and is glad they got the win on the night to reward that growth.
“Our attitude and our atmosphere this weekend seems to have really turned a corner,” Seasor said. “Yeah, we lost five in a row, but four of those were by one run. So, we knew we were close. Now, by no means do I think we’re in postseason form, but you can see the pieces coming together. I want to put them in high pressure situations like tonight. I want to test them so they won’t be surprised later on.”
Mercy A. 000 021 5 - 8 10 1
BOYD CO. 022 006 X - 10 12 2
Colebank, Ballou (6) and Messer; Black, Sharp (6), Jacobs (7), Fraley (7) and K. Kouns. W - Black. L - Colebank. 2B - Stephens (BC), M. Kouns (BC), Reinhart (MA), Rupe (MA). HR – Henderson (BC).
(606) 326-2658 |
[email protected]
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