For four innings on Saturday, Caldwell County’s Illysa Stallins held the high-powered Henderson County Lady Colonels at bay, but three homers and nine runs scored over the final two frames gave Henderson a 10-2 victory in the 2nd Region quarterfinals at Christian County.
In the top of the first, Ali Felker singled and Hannah Holeman followed with a double to put runners in scoring position with one out. Felker came home on a fielder’s choice and Alicia Stanley came through with a two-out RBI single to give Caldwell a 2-0 lead.
Henderson got a run back in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Anna Willett, but the 2-1 Caldwell advantage held until the bottom of the fifth.
Willett’s three-run home run put the Lady Colonels in front for good at 4-2, before Julianna Hibbs followed with a solo shot for a 5-2 lead.
Three-straight two-out singles loaded the bases for Henderson in the bottom of the sixth and Willett came through again with a three-run triple to stretch the margin to six runs. Taylor Troutman capped the scoring with a blast over the right-field fence to score two.
Stallins’ final line didn’t do justice to how well she pitched, allowing ten earned runs on fourteen hits with a walk and a strikeout. Felker and Holeman each had two hits for the Lady Tigers, with Brylee Butts and Stanley each driving in a run.
Anna Kemp went the distance in the circle for Henderson, yielding two earned runs on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
Willett was 4/4 with seven RBI for the Lady Colonels, with Hibbs collecting three hits and driving in a run. Troutman had two hits and drove in a pair of runs.
Caldwell ends the season at 14-15 overall. Henderson advances to a semifinal matchup with Lyon County on Sunday.
