The Russell County Lady Lakers picked up two wins Monday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Playing in the Cal Ripken Experience, the Lady Lakers first took on North Bullitt (1-9), winning 4-2.
The scoring for both teams happened early, with North Bullitt jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning, before Russell County answered with two runs apiece in the bottom of the second and third innings.
Junior Emma Popplewell and sophomore Addie Davis both had multi-hit games at the plate, with seniors Payton Kinnett and Tarryn Reynolds and junior Jadyn Mann adding one hit apiece.
Reynolds had two RBI, and Davis also drove in a run. Popplewell scored two runs for the Lady Lakers, and Mann and Reynolds each crossed home plate as well.
Reynolds picked up the win in the pitcher’s circle, allowing only one hit and striking out eight in five innings of work. Eighth-grader Kiara Kemp started the game in the circle, going two innings with three hits and two runs (none earned) allowed and striking out one batter.
The Lady Lakers followed the game with another victory on Monday, winning by a score of 2-1 over previously unbeaten Boyd County (9-1).
Russell County was on the base paths throughout the game, accumulating 11 hits but not scoring until the final inning. The Lady Lakers even had their first three batters — Kinnett, Sophie Shearer, and Mann — on base with no outs in the first inning but were unable to bring in any runs. The Lady Lakers had at least one hit in every inning but the third and sixth.
Boyd County took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, scoring on an error, but Reynolds’ work in the pitcher’s circle helped keep the Lady Lions’ bats at bay. Reynolds went all seven innings, allowing four hits and one run (none earned) and striking out six Boyd County batters.
After being held scoreless for six innings, the Lady Lakers finally broke through in the seventh and final inning.
After a Lady Laker strikeout, Kinnett recorded a single on a hard ground ball to left field, and Shearer followed that up with a double to center field to put runners on second and third. A pop-out to third left Russell County in a must-score situation with two outs and two in scoring position.
Popplewell was intentionally walked to load the bases, which put senior Caroline Wells at the plate.
Wells answered the call with a walk-off triple on a line drive to right field. Officially, the hit scored Kinnett and Shearer but would have also brought home Popplewell if the game hadn’t ended with the second run.
The Lady Lakers’ Kinnett, Shearer, Mann, and Reynolds all recorded multiple hits, with Popplewell, Wells, and Davis adding one hit apiece for the team total of 11.
Russell County’s next game will be against a 7-3 Marshall County squad at 1 p.m. today, Tuesday, April 5.
