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FP
The Pendleton County Ladycats began defense of their regional title on June 6 when they took on 37th district champion Campbell County in quarterfinal action.
The two clubs had not faced each other during the season and with a tumultuous week leading up to the contest, the biggest question going in would be how mentally focused the team would be in their pursuit of another trip to Lexington and state tournament play. Pendleton County got things going early as a pair of back-to-back doubles by junior Raegan Carlisle and senior Olivia Verst to go ahead 2-0. Senior Sydney Manor put together a successful bunt single to score another run and after a Camels wild pitch, the Ladycats found themselves ahead 4-0 after the top of the first inning.
Campbell County responded in the bottom portion of the first with a two-run home run to cut the deficit in half but would pull no closer than that. Ladycat starting pitcher Kayley Bruener found her groove for the duration of the contest as she put the clamps down on the Campbell County offense on her way to notching 17 strikeouts.
Pendleton County broke the game open in the fifth inning as they scored five runs to go ahead 9-2. Kylie Richardson delivered a big RBI double before exiting the contest after a play at the plate that saw her injure her left ankle. Her status is listed as day-to-day. The Ladycats tacked on two more runs in the seventh inning to win by a final of 11-2.
Following the game, interim head coach Jessica Verst, who is an alum of Campbell County High School expressed her delight in getting her first career victory.
“This is extra sweet because I graduated from Campbell County and I’m really proud of our girls for coming in focused and ready to play. We were able to put together a couple of big innings and overall we played well,” Verst said.
The Ladycats racked up 17 total hits as Carlisle led the way going 3-4 with two runs batted in. Manor, Olivia Verst, Bruener, Maddy Musk, Logan Cooper and Avery Himes all finished with two hits each.
Pendleton County advances to take on Bourbon County in the semifinal round.