May 6, 2026

Lady Cards mercy-rule South Floyd

**Cardinal Hope Dials slides safely into home April 21 in Martin County.***(Citizen photo by Brittni McCoy)*

BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — Martin County took advantage of patience at the plate and aggressive baserunning to roll past South Floyd 12-0 in four innings, highlighted by an inside-the-park home run from Harper Runyon in Inez April 30.

**Zoe Sammons makes the game-ending tag at home for the Lady Cards April 30 in Inez.***(Citizen photo by Brittni McCoy)*

The Lady Cardinals wasted no time getting on the board, scoring four runs in the first inning without recording a hit early in the frame. Zoe Sammons was hit by a pitch and later came around to score, while Runyon and Maci Callaham each drew walks and crossed the plate. Alice Mae Gilkey was also hit by a pitch and worked her way home as Martin County capitalized on free passes to build a quick 4-0 lead.

Martin County continued to apply pressure in the second inning. Hope Dials reached on a walk and used her speed to steal her way around the bases for a run. Emily Mooney followed a similar path after being hit by a pitch, swiping bases and scoring. Runyon again reached via walk and eventually came home as the Lady Cardinals stretched the lead.

Martin County’s Harper Runyon tosses a shutout with a 12-0 win against South Floyd in Inez. The 6^th grader smashed an inside-the-park homerun in the win on April 30. She also hit a three-run bomb over the fence against Paintsville last week.(Citizen photo by Brittni McCoy)

The offense broke the game open in the third. Callaham, Dials, Mooney and Sammons each drew walks and scored, keeping the line moving and forcing South Floyd to work under constant pressure.

Runyon provided the exclamation point later in the inning, blasting a ball over the outfielders’ heads and racing around the bases for an inside-the-park home run to cap the scoring.

**Martin County’s Kinslee Callaham beats the throw to third in a 12-0 win over the Raiders April 30 in Inez.***(Citizen photo by Brittni McCoy)*

Runyon also earned the win in the circle with nine strikeouts. She kept South Floyd off the scoreboard as the Lady Cardinals secured the mercy-rule victory.