One of the state’s best high school softball offenses was basically silent until the seventh inning Monday. That’s when one of the state’s most prolific home run hitters stepped to the plate and showed just how powerful her team can be.
After Lyon County was shut out for the first six innings in a regional showdown at Madisonville-North Hopkins, Sydney Melton belted a two-run bomb — her 12th homer of the season — to spoil a pitchers’ duel and lift the Lady Lyons to their 12th straight win: a dramatic 3-1 victory over the host Lady Maroons.
Melton, who is now tied for second in Kentucky for home runs in 2021, finished the night 1-for-2 with two walks, and flashed her power at the perfect time. With Lyon County trailing 1-0 in the top of the seventh inning, fellow bash sister Calista Collins socked a one-out double to left; two pitches later, Melton’s mash to left field abruptly gave her squad its first lead.
Lady Lyon senior Kaelyn Conger, who started in the circle and went all seven innings in the victory, gave herself a key insurance run with a dinger of her own in the seventh. The back-to-back jacks by Melton and Conger accounted for all three runs for LCHS, which came into the game averaging 9.29 runs per outing — 15th best in the state.
Conger (9-3) continued an impressive campaign, striking out eight and walking just one in the complete-game triumph. Madisonville did manage seven hits off Conger, including Chloe Young’s third home run of the season that gave the Lady Maroons a 1-0 advantage in the second inning, but that was the extent of Madisonville’s damage.
Lyon County looked poised to strike early when Collins and Melton drew consecutive one-out walks in the first inning, but they were both stranded when MNHHS starting pitcher Paige Patterson (2-2) proceeded to induce back-to-back flyouts to end the threat. The Lyons put two more runners on base in the fifth, but one of Patterson’s seven strikeouts once again kept LCHS at bay.
Of the Lady Maroons’ seven hits, Young, Zoe Davis, and Brenna Sherman accounted for two each. Sherman actually tripled to lead off the bottom of the fourth but was stranded there after Conger K’d Patterson and Madisyn Johnson to close out the frame and keep the Lyons with a run.
The No. 26 Lady Lyons (17-6) will try to run their winning streak to 13 games during a doozy of a matchup, May 11 at No. 6 McCracken County. The Lady Mustangs (16-5) have lost three straight but previously sported an 11-game winning streak.
