Preseason region favorites Christian County and Madisonville drew into the same bracket of the Second Region Softball Tournament that begins Monday at Hopkins County Central High School.
Four-time defending region champion Madisonville (15-8) opens play at 11am Monday against Sixth District runner-up Henderson County (9-15). Madisonville is 10-3 against region competition with two of the losses coming to Christian County. The other was to Webster County. The Lady Maroons opened the season March 22 with a 10-0 win over Henderson County.
Henderson County played just eight games against region teams, winning three. The Lady Colonels beat Union County in the Sixth District semifinals before falling to Webster County 3-0 in the title game Thursday. The teams last met in the region tourney in the 2015 championship game, won by Madisonville 6-1.
At 1pm, Eighth District champion Christian County (32-3) will play Fifth District runner-up Trigg County (22-13). The Lady Colonels are looking for their first region title since 2012, while Trigg County has never won a region tourney game.
The teams played on May 4 with Christian County winning 9-6 in eight innings. Trigg rallied for five runs in the seventh inning to tie the game before the Lady Colonels scored three in the eighth for the win. Christian County, ranked No. 4 in the final statewide coaches poll, was 12-0 against region teams in 2018.
Trigg County set a school record with 22 wins but saw their bid for the program’s first-ever fast-pitch district title end with a 15-1 loss to Crittenden County in the Fifth District championship game.
At 3pm, Sixth District champion Webster County (18-9) will play Seventh District runner-up Caldwell County (16-11). The Lady Trojans, who won the school’s first-ever district title Thursday, beat Caldwell County 4-2 in their season opener on March 22.
Webster enters tournament play winners of 11 of their last 14 games, while Caldwell County has won four of six. The Lady Trojans advanced to the semifinals last year, while Caldwell is looking for their first win in the region tourney since 2004.
At 5pm, Fifth District champion Crittenden County (21-7) will play Eighth District runner-up Hopkinsville (7-24). The Lady Rockets won the regular season matchup with the Lady Tigers 20-0 on April 5.
Crittenden has won seven of eight games entering Monday, while Hoptown has dropped 10 of 11. Hoptown will be looking for their first region tourney win since 2001.
The semifinals are scheduled for Tuesday at 5:30 and 7:30 with Wednesday’s championship game scheduled for 6:30.
