The softball teams located on either end of Rhea Stadium are very evenly matched. In the first Clash of the Cats, the Russellville Lady Panthers edged Logan County 3-2, scoring the winning run in the seventh inning at RHS. Tuesday, the Lady Cougars scored a pair of runs in the seventh to win 4-3 at home.
It doesn’t get much more even than that!
Junior Maegan Ferguson provided much of the heroics, pitching the win and driving in classmate Torrie Pollard with the game-winning hit in the Lady Cougars’ final at-bat.
Logan scored half its runs in each of the bookend innings. In the first inning, Logan’s leadoff hitter—seventh grade shortstop Brea Croslin—walked, advanced when sophomore Macy Meacham reached on an error, and scored on Pollard’s single. Pollard came home on junior Sierra Morrow’s sacrifice fly.
In the seventh, Croslin doubled with two outs and scored on Pollard’s double. Ferguson then singled in Pollard for the walk-off game winner.
Coach Brandy Trimble’s Lady Panthers had taken a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a solo home run by RHS sophomore standout Tara Gilbert, who also pitched well.
The Lady Panthers added a run in the fifth inning and then again in the sixth.
In the fifth, sophomore catcher Tiffany Gray singled as the leadoff batter, advanced on groundouts by Malynn Ray and Brooklyn Ray, and scored on Gilbert’s single for her second RBI.
The next inning, junior Johnea Pendleton led off with a single, sophomore Cierra Collins was hit by a pitch, and Pendleton scored on sophomore Allison McDaniel’s groundout. That was going to be the winning run before Logan’s sixth inning comeback.
Ferguson gave up eight hits but didn’t walk a single Lady Panther. She struck out six, and had a 66-32 strikes-to-balls ratio.
Gilbert also gave up eight hits in taking the loss. She walked three and struck out the same number of Lady Cougars. Only two of the runs were earned. Her strikes-to-balls worksheet was 78-47.
Croslin, Pollard and Ferguson each had two hits for the winners with seventh grader Sydney Lee and sophomore Tristan Hales adding one each. Junior catcher Reagan Cole worked two of the three walks with Croslin getting the other.
Gilbert went 3 for 4 with the homer and two RBIs for Russellville. Gray had two hits with eighth grader Tonisha Hampton, Pendleton and McDaniel getting one each.
In recording their fourth win in five games, the Lady Cougars improved to 8-12 on the season. The Lady Panthers fell to 7-6.
Lady Cougar coach Michael Crawford said afterwards, “What a great game tonight! Both teams played well and made a lot of great plays. Glad we came out on top against Russellville this time. District is wide open this year.”
The Lady Cougars are scheduled to host McLean County at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Panthers will go to Barren County the same evening.