DOMINANCE

    Another week, and another historic milestone reached on the diamond for the Pendleton County Ladycats. This time it would be the dominant pitching exhibited by sophomore Kayley Bruener as she set a new program record with a dazzling 20 strikeout performance against district rival Nicholas County.
    Bruener and her squad notched three more victories to improve to 12-3 and are currently ranked in the top 20 in the state. With a pair of no-hitters already in her bag this season she looked to shutdown Nicholas County on their home field on April 22,  and she accomplished that and more in retiring 20 of the possible 21 outs in the seven inning matchup by strikeout. She gave up five hits and just one walk. Bruener did plenty of damage at the plate as well as she clubbed two home runs and drove in
three runs. Senior Sydney Manor went 3-4 with two doubles and two RBI’s while junior Raegan Carlisle also finished with two hits, two doubles and a pair of RBI’s.
    Pendleton County began its week with a dramatic come from behind victory at home over Highlands on April 19. Trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning, freshman Reagan Anderson stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs, she slapped a ball that was fielded by the Highlands second baseman who threw to home to try nab the runner, Olivia Verst, from scoring. The throw was wide to the left and Verst scored to tie the game, and as the Highlands catcher ran to recover the ball, Sydney Manor rounded third and dashed to the plate to score the winning run and give the Ladycats a thrilling 7-6 win. Catcher Maddy Musk led Pendleton County with three RBI’s in the contest while Bruener went 3-4 and Madison Verst also added a pair of hits.
    On April 20, the Ladycats hosted Bishop Brossart and were able to rally from a six-run deficit in the first inning to pull out an 11-8 win in an exciting slugfest. Brossart was able to tag Pendleton County starting pitcher Kylie Richardson for six runs in the top of the first but that lead wouldn’t last long as the Ladycats promptly responded with eight runs in the bottom frame of the inning. In fact, Pendleton County put those eight runs on the board before Brossart recorded a single out. Bruener came on in relief in the sixth inning and would strike out five of the six batters she face in two innings of work to notch the save.
    Senior centerfielder Olivia Verst fell just a home run short of hitting for the cycle as she singled, doubled and tripled. Maddy Musk, Raegan Carlisle, Sydney Manor and Madison Verst all added two hits each in the win. Following the game, the team would receive bad news regarding Verst as the freshman second baseman suffered a broken bone in her left thumb that is expected to sideline her for at least a month. Verst is currently batting .425 and has quickly established herself as one of the premier hitters on the team.
    This week, the Ladycats travel to face rival Harrison County on April 27, followed by a home date with Robertson County on the 29th and they’ll conclude their week with three games scheduled at Great Crossing in Georgetown.