When Lyon County begins pool play Saturday at the All A Classic state softball tournament, one of the teams in their pool should be a fairly familiar foe. For the third consecutive tournament, the Lady Lyons will be in the same pool with Louisville Holy Cross.
Additionally, since the 2014 tournament, a matchup of the Lady Cougars and the 2nd Region champion has almost become a tournament tradition. Over that time span, the 2nd Region champion has played Louisville Holy Cross in every tournament except in 2017. Of course, due to COVID-19, there was no tournament in 2020.
Last year, the Lady Lyons handled Holy Cross in pool play 16-4 in a game where the Lady Lyons pounded out 24 hits. The Lady Lyons would go on to win the state title the next afternoon.
In 2019, the Lady Lyons met up with the Lady Cougars in pool play. This time it was Holy Cross coming out on top 8-1.
The 2nd Region representative in 2018 was Caldwell County, This time Holy Cross was waiting in the quartefinal round where they ended the Lady Tigers’ appearance in Owensboro 6-3.
The 2016 tournament saw a change in format due to weather conditions. Still, the 2nd Region winner, which was Lyon County, had to deal with the Lady Cougars. Lyon County and Holy Cross would meet in the semifinals, with Holy Cross coming out on top 8-2. Holy Cross would then defeat Hancock County for the title.
In 2015, weather again altered the format of the tournament, but could not prevent a meeting between Holy Cross and the 2nd Region champion, University Heights. Holy Cross would blank the Lady Blazers 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the tournament, and then go on to beat Hancock County for the championship.
The first time Holy Cross squared off against the 2nd Region champ came in 2014, and the matchup came with the highest stakes. Livingston Central took on Holy Cross in the title game, and it was not much of a contest, as the Lady Cardinal won the championship 10-0. That Livingston Central team gave up just one run in six games during the tournament.
So with play getting ready to start Saturday morning at Jack Fisher Park in Owensboro, the fact that Lyon County is going to have to play Louisville Holy Cross is no big stunner, in fact it’s sort of becoming expected.
