Lyon County’s offense showed it can put together big rallies in a hurry.
The Lady Lyons banged out 14 base hits — including seven extra-base hits — while turning back fourth-ranked Christian County 16-11 Thursday night in Eddyville.
Down 11-10 going to the home half of the sixth inning, Lyon (4-6) sent 11 batters to the plate while scoring six times.
Allye Culp singled home two runs to put the Lady Lyons up 12-11. She also picked up the win in the circle as Lyon took down the defending 2nd Region champion.
Christian (9-2) held leads of 4-0 and 6-2 early in the contest. But three different Lady Colonel pitchers had difficulty keeping Lyon’s bats in check.
Tyler Shemwell had a two-run double in the top of the first inning to help Christian grab a quick 4-0 lead.
Calista Collins drilled a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning as Lyon cut the gap to 4-2.
Tyler Shemwell doubled home two more runs in the second to give Christian its 6-2 advantage.
But Lyon countered with five runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead for the first time. Kaelyn Conger’s three-run shot to center was the big blow, coming with two outs and pushing the Lady Lyons in front.
Lyon added three more runs in the third to go up 10-6. Rachel Coursey doubled home one run while Sydney Melton had an RBI single.
Christian answered those three runs in the top of the fourth. Tyler Shemwell homered to center with a runner on base and two outs to cut Lyon’s lead to 10-9.
The Lady Colonels knotted the game at 10-10 on a run-scoring double by Tenley Gilbert in the fifth.
Christian used an unearned tally in the fifth to regain the lead at 11-10. Hope Jones picked up the RBI with a groundout, scoring Emmy Blane, who had reached on an error to start the inning.
However, Lyon responded with its biggest inning of the night. Culp singled home two runs to put Lyon up 12-11. Kyra Craft had a sacrifice fly to center to make it13-11. Tori Schenk’s single plated another run to make it a 14-11 ballgame. Collins then singled home two more runs to give Lyon a five-run cushion at 16-11.
Christian put two on with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Culp struck out the next batter to end the game and give Lyon the upset.
Culp was the winning pitcher, going the final six innings in the circle. She allowed six earned runs on eight hits while striking out eight and walking four.
Collins was 3-for-3 at the plate and knocked in five runs while scoring twice. Conger finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and also scored two runs for the Lady Lyons. Schenk was 2-for-5 with three runs batted in. Coursey went 2-for-3 with an RBI and scored three times.
Tyler Shemwell was 3-for-4 for Christian, knocking in six runs and scoring twice. Gilbert was 2-for-3 offensively, picking up an RBI and scoring twice.
The Lady Lyon win came just one day after the funeral for the mother of two Lyon County players. Kendra Craft was buried on Wednesday afternoon. Her daughters, Kerstin and Kyra, are sophomores on the Lady Lyon softball team. Proceeds from Thursday’s game were donated to the Craft family.
The Lady Lyons will play in the Brentwood (Tenn.) Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
Christian will host a pair of games on Saturday, facing Meade County and Massac County (Ill.).
