A famous quote from Henry Ford applies to the Lawrence County High School softball team.
ƵWhether you think you can or think you canƵt, youƵre right,Ƶ said Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company.
The Bulldogs (26-7) think they can, and they have. Lawrence County has won its first two games in the KHSAA high school state tournament. The Bulldogs will take on Louisville Ƶsumption (33-6) at 1 p.m. on Friday in the semifinals at the University of KentuckyƵs John Cropp Stadium in Lexington.
ƵThis team never quits,Ƶ Lawrence County coach Sam Sparks said. ƵTheyƵre gritty. They have a lot of heart and donƵt panic.Ƶ
Nothing displayed the BulldogsƵ never-say-die attitude better than a 3-2 triumph over Taylor County on Sunday in the quarterfinals. Lawrence County was down to its last three outs and trailed 2-0 when freshman Jada Patton smashed a three-run home run to give the 15th Region champion the victory.
The heroics were nothing new for Patton, who knocked in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of a 4-3 win over Pike County Central on May 29 in the region tournament championship game.
Sparks said Lawrence County has flourished in similar situations throughout the season. It edged Marshall County 5-4 in the first round of the state tournament. The Bulldogs outlasted Hilliard (Ohio) Davidson 11-10 April 19 in the Valley of Thunder showcase at Symmes Valley. They topped Tri-County North of Lewisburg, Ohio, 6-5, and Vandalia (Ohio) Butler, 3-2, in the Cal Ripken Experience in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Lawrence County also came from behind to beat Symmes Valley 12-8 when the Vikings, who went 27-3, were top-ranked in OhioƵs small-school classification.
ƵWeƵve been in a bunch of these situations,Ƶ Sparks said.
The Bulldogs didnƵt always come out on the winning end. Lawrence County lost 6-5 to Johnson Central, 6-5 to Rowan County and 9-8 to Boyd County this season. Sparks said the Bulldogs have learned from those games and it shows in their 11-game winning streak.
Sparks credits Patton, junior pitcher/first baseman Taylor Blevins and others for developing the can-do attitude.
Plenty of players have earned praise. Freshman Emmalyn Kitts leads the Bulldogs with a .481 batting average. SheƵs hit five home runs, driven in 44 runs and stole 18 bases in 20 attempts. Patton has a team-best six homers, 47 runs batted in and is batting .437 with 19 steals in 20 tries. Seniors Bree Jones and Gracie Preece are hitting .417 and .409, respectively. Six others sport batting averages of better than .302.
Six Bulldogs have double figures in stolen bases, of which Lawrence County has 105 in 121 attempts.
In the circle, Blevins is 22-4 with a 2.36 earned run average. In 148 innings, sheƵs struck out 137 and walked 24 as foes have tallied 120 hits.
Ƶsumption, the Seventh Region tournament champion and winner of six games in a row, has hit 31 home runs and stolen 84 bases. Senior Lauren Satterly has 11 homers and 47 RBIs and is batting .453. Junior Maleya Giddens sports a team-best .455 average and is 37 for 42 on stolen base attempts. Paige Craine has six home runs and 38 RBIs and is batting .446. Twelve more Rockets own batting averages of at least .300.
Ava Lou Mattingly, a junior, and senior Satterly are nearly identical pitchers. Each has a 3.29 ERA and has thrown 108 innings. Satterly is 16-1 and Mattingly is 12-4. Satterly has signed with Western Kentucky.
Sparks said he and his players are thrilled to represent eastern Kentucky and the stateƵs smaller schools. Ƶsumption has about 900 girls, while Lawrence County boasts about 370.
ƵWe enjoy getting to play with these big-city schools,Ƶ Sparks said. ƵWeƵll go compete and see what happens.Ƶ
The winner of the Lawrence County-Ƶsumption game advances to the title contest at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against the victor from FridayƵs 10 a.m. semifinal featuring Scott County (27-6) and Henderson County (33-6).
