BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
SALYERSVILLE — The history-making season continued for the Martin County Lady Cardinals on May 7.
Martin County defeated Magoffin County Hornets 14-12 on the road in a dramatic 57th District showdown, marking the county’s first softball victory over Magoffin County since 2003 when the program competed as Sheldon Clark High School.
The win added another milestone to a season already filled with program firsts for Head Coach Boo Newsome and the Lady Cardinals. Earlier this spring, Martin County earned its first district victory since the school’s opening in 2019 with a win over Paintsville. Now, the Lady Cards have added their first victory over Magoffin County in more than two decades.
“It was a huge district win for us,” Newsome said. “We locked up the three-seed in the 57th tournament for the first time in school history.”
Martin County has had to play top-seeded Johnson Central in every tournament since the school name change from Sheldon Clark.
The Lady Cards battled through adversity throughout the contest, repeatedly leaving runners stranded early before finally breaking through late. Martin County left multiple runners on base during the first three innings and stranded the bases loaded in the fifth inning, but continued to apply pressure offensively.
Brianna Muncy scored Martin County’s lone run in the second inning before the Lady Cards began chipping away inning by inning. Martin County scored three runs in the fourth inning, added two more in the fifth, exploded for four runs in the sixth and then delivered the decisive rally in the seventh.
The final inning provided the biggest moment of the night.
Martin County opened the top of the seventh with consecutive outs as the shortstop threw out Bella Muncy and Haley Robinson was retired at first by the Magoffin County second baseman.
Facing two outs, the Lady Cards mounted a season-defining rally.
Mia Fields ripped a line-drive single into right field and advanced to second on a passed ball. Sophie Harless worked a walk before Brianna Muncy drew another walk to load the bases.
Senior Alyssa Mullins then delivered the biggest hit of the night, smashing a stand-up triple to the right-field fence to give Martin County a 13-12 lead. Raegan Horn followed with an RBI hit to extend the advantage to 14-12.
The Lady Cardinals then held Magoffin County scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to secure the historic district victory.
Martin County finished with 11 hits and 14 walks in the contest.
Makenna Marcum went 2-for-5 with a triple, RBI, run scored and stolen base. Fields finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Bella Muncy went 2-for-5 with a double, RBI, walk and stolen base. She also rounded the bases for a score.
Mullins turned in one of the top performances of the season, finishing 2-for-5 with a triple. She batted in four Lady Cardinals, including the key hit in the top of the seventh that gave Martin County the lead.
Bri Muncy added a hit and three walks. Hallee Preece recorded a hit and two walks. She crossed home for a score. Horn finished with a hit, an RBI, and tacked a run on the scoreboard.
Harless walked three times and scored two runs. KarLee Gillman crossed the plate four times as a pinch runner. Tessa Gantt scored twice for the Lady Cards in the win.
Mullins earned the complete-game win in the circle, striking out five batters over seven innings. She allowed only six hits and only walked five Hornets.