The Middlesboro Middle School Lady Jacket softball team won their district tournament over the weekend. MMS Lady Jackets beat Jackson County 3-2, Clay County 5-4 and then came from behind to beat Clay County again, 6-5 in the championship game.
(Photo courtesy Sheila Durham)
The Lady Jackets rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to beat Clay County 6-5 in the title game.
Trailing 5-2, MMS got base hits from Jessica Carter, Bailey Hensley, Kadi Cordell, Shae Money and Laura Durham as they scored four runs in the fifth.
Money scored the go-ahead run on Lauren Spurlock’s RBI ground out.
Carter allowed just one base runner in the sixth as Lady Jacket held on.
Carter scattered nine hits while giving up five runs over six innings to earn the win. She struck out three and walked one.
Hensley had three hits and scored three runs to lead the Lady Jacket offense in the championship game.
Cordell, Money and Carter finished with two hits each, while Spurlock and Katelyn Arnett also had hits for Middlesboro.
To reach the title game, MMS defeated Jackson County 3-2. They scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to pull that one out.
Durham walked and Spurlock hit an RBI double and came around to score the winning run on an error.
Carter was also the winning pitcher in that game as she allowed just two runs on six hits while striking out seven and not walking a batter.
Money and Spurlock had two hits each to lead the MMS offense while Durham had an RBI double in the first inning and Carter also singled.
In the winners’ bracket final the beat Clay County 5-4.
Makayla Partin’s two-run double in the top of the fifth was the big blow in that game.
Cordell, Durham, Spurlock and Carter all had two hits while Arnett and Money added singles.
Spurlock and Cordell led the Lady Jackets with two runs each.
Carter also pitched that game and held the Lady Tigers to four runs on twelve hits. She struck out two and walked one.
Clay County had the tying run on third and winning run on second in the bottom of the sixth, but Carter got their lead off hitter to ground out to end the game.
Even though schooldays are now a distant memory for me, I enjoy reading about the children and grandchildren (and maybe great-grandchildren)of neighbors and friends I once knew.
Jay Compton, the MDN Sports Editor, has to be some kind of Superman to cover local sports the way he does. His journalistic style, sports vernacular, and his ability to catch those action photos have earned him a gold medal in my book.