LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Boyd County scored in four of its seven offensive innings on Saturday, while North Laurel tallied in only one frame.
And yet, the Jaguars are advancing to the KHSAA state softball tournament semifinals, while the LionsƵ campaign is over.
Down 4-0 and three outs away from potential elimination, North Laurel mounted a stunning rally to beat Boyd County, 5-4, in the state quarterfinals at John Cropp Stadium at the University of Kentucky.
A reporter opened a postgame interview with Jaguars coach Chris Edwards with a deadpan joke about the seeming improbability of that comeback.
ƵI never had a doubt,Ƶ Edwards played along, then straightened up. ƵI was really concerned, I ainƵt gonna lie to you.Ƶ
He was right to be. The Lions, playing in their first-ever fastpitch state tournament, knocked off Mercy 2-1 in the first round on Thursday. And, with eighth-grade hurler Elyn Simpkins working on a four-hit shutout through six innings on Saturday, Boyd County held what seemed like a big lead entering the top of the seventh.
The Jaguars, one batter at a time, first imperiled it and then erased it. North LaurelƵs first four hitters of the seventh inning Ƶ their sixth- through ninth-place batters Ƶ all reached base.
The last of those, Katie Keen, ripped a two-run double into the left-field corner to get the Jaguars within two, with still no outs, two runners on and the top of the order up.
ƵWe told the girls at the seventh inning, give it to the next girl,Ƶ Edwards said. ƵPass the bat, so to speak. The first girl got on, next girl gets on, next girl walks; it just kinda mushroomed from there.Ƶ
Boyd County made a pitching change, but back-to-back hit batters forced in another run. Lions reliever Lacyn Black got a strikeout and then got a ground ball to shortstop from Braylee Fawbush, but Keen beat the throw home to tie the game.
A bases-loaded walk by Ellie Adams plated Katie Sams to put North Laurel in front in a game it had trailed by four runs just minutes earlier.
Lions coach Lance Seasor summoned Simpkins back to the circle, and she got the next two outs, but North Laurel had done its damage.
ƵWe just ran out of gas,Ƶ Seasor said of the top of the seventh. ƵI canƵt say enough good things about our kids. They gave it everything, absolutely, they had out there. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesnƵt. But they got absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.Ƶ
Simpkins singled with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but she was erased at second in a Jadyn Goad fielderƵs choice. Jaguars hurler Emma Carl Ƶ like Simpkins and Black also an eighth-grader Ƶ induced a groundout to strand Goad and end the game.
The Lions (23-18) painstakingly built their lead with one run in the first, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
Jaycie GoadƵs first-inning double into the left-field corner scored Savanna Henderson from first base.
Boyd County loaded the bases in the fourth with no outs, but North Laurel right fielder Bella Finley caught a fly ball and found Fawbush, the catcher, to throw a runner out at the plate.
ƵWe know sheƵs capable of that,Ƶ Edwards said of Finley. ƵWe see it every single day in practice. And I knew when she was coming in for the ball, if she threw it to where the catcher could catch it, as long as she didnƵt airmail it or something, we were gonna have a real shot at getting her out, and that was exactly what happened.Ƶ
But Boyd CountyƵs Grace StephensƵ flare to shallow left field dropped in to plate Jaycie Goad and double the LionsƵ lead.
Boyd CountyƵs Elise Sparks scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the fifth, and Kyli Kouns doubled in Jaycie Goad in the sixth.
Seasor said the LionsƵ piecemeal, run-manufacturing offensive approach is one theyƵve used effectively all year.
ƵAnd it worked for 6 1/2 innings today,Ƶ Boyd CountyƵs first-year coach said with a rueful chuckle.
Jaycie Goad went 3 for 3, scored two runs and doubled. She was named to the all-tournament team after the game.
Simpkins scattered seven hits and allowed four runs, all earned, over 6 2/3 frames. She walked three hitters and fanned four. Black took the decision in relief.
Finley, Keen and Bella Sizemore each had two hits for North Laurel (29-9). Keen drove in two runs. Sizemore also made a pair of web gems at second base, laying out for an inning-ending popout in the first inning and then beginning the bottom of the second by ranging far to her left, diving to make a stop and throwing out a runner.
Carl got the win, allowing four runs, three earned, on nine hits. She had three strikeouts and no walks.
Boyd County pitchers put six runners on via walks and hit batters, while Carl only allowed one free pass, hitting a batter.
The Jaguars, who last won their first two games in the state tournament in 2008 in the old double-elimination format, advance to meet Ƶsumption on June 14 in the semifinals. The Rockets took down Daviess County 2-0 earlier Saturday.
NORTH LAUREL 000 000 5 Ƶ 5 7 1
BOYD COUNTY 100 111 0 Ƶ 4 9 0
Carl and Bra. Fawbush; Simpkins, Black (7), Simpkins (7) and Henderson. Hitting leaders: NL Ƶ Sizemore 2-4; Finley 2-3; Keen 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; BC Ƶ Jay. Goad 3-3, 2R, 2B.
