Marshall County faced a determined McCracken County squad on Tuesday in Paducah in their second matchup of the season. The Lady Marshals made history in their first meeting on March 21, earning their program’s first-ever win over the Lady Mustangs with a 2-1 victory. McCracken County responded in dominant fashion, earning a regular-season split with an 11-1 win on Tuesday, powered by 14 hits. The Lady Mustangs improved to 26-5, while Marshall County dropped to 22-6.
The Lady Marshals struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the opening inning. Audrey Knisley delivered a double to drive in Emma-Leigh Reynolds, who had reached on an error from the leadoff spot. But McCracken answered quickly in the bottom of the first, plating three runs on doubles from Addley Leidecker and Alyssa Knight, along with a steal of home by Kalynn Cunningham.
McCracken extended its lead to 5-1 in the third, scoring on a Lilly Hamilton RBI single and an error. In the fourth, the Lady Mustangs broke the game open with four more runs – three on a bases-loaded double by Eastyn Walker and solo homer by Knight.
They capped off the win with a run each in the fifth and sixth innings to close out the 11-1 victory in six innings.
Marshall 1 0 0 0 0 0 x | 1 4 3
McCracken 3 0 2 4 1 1 x | 11 14 1
Marshall: Harris 1/3, Knisley 2/3 (2B, RBI), Anderson 1/2
Marshall: Hayden 4.0 (10 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO), Kinsall 1.1 (4 H, 2 R, 1 ER)
McCracken: Lee 1/4, Butler 2/3, Walker 1/1 (2B, 3 RBI), Leidecker 2/4 (2B, RBI), Knight 3/4 (2B, HR, 2 RBI), McDowell 1/3 (RBI), Hamilton 1/3 (RBI), O’Brien 2/3, Dowdy 1/2 (RBI)
McCracken: Leidecker 6.0 (4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 SO)
On Monday, the Lady Marshals completed a regular season sweep of Graves County with an 8-2 victory. Allicen Harris earned the win in the circle, striking out six while allowing just two hits and one run.
Marshall County jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning, sparked by an RBI single from Emma-Leigh Reynolds and double that drove in a run by Harris. The Lady Marshals extended the lead to 5-0 in the fifth, capitalizing on a bases-loaded walk to Audrey Knisley, a passed ball, and a sacrifice fly from Merriel Jackson.
In the sixth, Reynolds drove in another run on a groundout to push the lead to 6-0. Graves County responded in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly by Payton Hayden to get on the board.
Marshall added two more runs in the seventh on a ground ball by Trinlee Anderson and an error, making it 8-1. The Lady Eagles scored once more in the bottom of the seventh after loading the bases, with the lone run coming across during a double play turned by the Lady Marshals to end the game.
Marshall 0 0 2 0 3 1 2 | 8 5 3
Graves 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 | 2 4 4
Marshall: Reynolds 1/4 (2 RBI), McLeod 2/4 (2B), Harris 1/3 (2B, RBI), Knisley (RBI), Jackson (RBI), Anderson (RBI), Cavitt 1/4
Marshall: Harris 6.0 (2 H, 1 R, 6 SO), Hayden 1.0 (2 H, 1 R)
Graves: Martin 1/3 (3B), Hayden (RBI), Ballard 2/3, Fisher 1/3
Graves: Cole 7.0 (5 H, 8 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO)