BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Lady Cardinals softball team went 1-1 on the road last week. The ladies rallied to take down Betsy Layne by a score of 10-8 and dropped a close one 13-11 in district play versus Magoffin County.
The following is a recap of last week’s action:
MCHS vs. Betsy Layne
The Lady Cards traveled to Floyd County to take on the Bobcats May 2. Martin County blasted off four runs in the final inning and held Betsy Layne in the bottom of the stanza for a 10-8 win.
The red birds came out of the box swinging. Junior Kaylee Endicott laid down a sacrifice bunt with Bella Muncy and Sophie Harless on base. Hard hitter Alyssa Mullins slapped a double. The Cards finished the inning with a 3-0 lead.
Betsy Layne clawed their way back to end the second inning 3-3.
The Cards answered back in the top of the fourth. Muncy singled and provided some clutch base running. She crossed home plate after two errors to retake the lead 4-3.
The Lady Cards committed two errors and gave up a hit allowing Betsy Layne to tie the score 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth.
The next inning put the Cards back to work. Muncy, Raegan Horn and Harless all singled. Mia Fields and Keilan Jewell saw a ball four. Endicott hit a fielder’s choice and Harless rang up another single. Martin County regained a 6-4 lead.
The Bobcats surged again to knot the score at six apiece heading into the final inning.
Hallee Preece connected for the leadoff single. Horn reached first base on a fielder’s choice. This set up a clutch hit from Jewell with two outs. The junior blasted a shot to outfield that nearly cleared the fence and drove in three runs.
Harless rounded out the scoring column after a single scored Bella Robinson from third. The Cards took a 10-6 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
The Bobcats managed two more runs. The late surge was not enough to give the Lady Cards the 10-8 region victory.
Martin County head coach Boo Newsome said, “My kids never quit. They believed they could win and stayed focused and battled until the very end. I’m so proud of them for believing in our team. They are starting to learn to fight through adversity and keep making plays.”
Muncy went 3-3 at leadoff with two singles and a double. She crossed home four times. Harless hit three singles and one RBI. Horn and Addison Duncan went 2-4. Mullins recorded two hits and an RBI. Jewell was .333 on the day with her clutch-time double and three RBI. Endicott and Preece slapped a single each.
MCHS vs. Magoffin
Martin County (7-9, 0-2) traveled to take on the Hornets (7-8, 2-2) in a district matchup May 1. The high-scoring affair saw 20 hits between the two teams. The Cards could not recover from a slow start and dropped a 13-11 decision.
Magoffin took an early lead 8-0 by the end of the second.
The Lady Cards erupted in the sixth inning.
Sophie Harless led off with a single. Hallee Preece drove a zinger to right field scoring Harless. Bella Muncy got in on the action with a single and a stolen base. Keilan Jarrell followed up with a hit and the Cards took an 11-8 lead.
The Hornets stormed back and scored five runs to take the win.
Coach Newsome said, “We got off to a late start. I’m proud of my kids for battling back and taking the lead. We got ourselves back in the game. We are getting better and starting to compete. Kids are starting to step up and make plays. We just need to finish.”
Harless was 3-4 and drove in three RBIs. Muncy hit two singles and one RBI. Jewell racked up a double, single and RBI. Raegan Horn hit two singles. Preece had a single and one RBI.
The girls are back in action May 9 on their home field with a rematch versus Betsy Layne. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
