The Hopkinsville High School softball team possessed a pair of early leads during Thursday’s matchup at Russellville, but the Panthers eventually took advantage of seven Tiger errors and pulled away to win 11-2.
Hoptown, which has dropped nine of its last ten games, remained scrappy out of the gate and jumped ahead in the top of the first inning when Jakayla Grubbs walked to open the contest and scored on Hannah Thorson’s sacrifice fly.
After Russellville (15-5) tied the game at 1-all, the Tigers once again pulled in front on Keniya Manson’s suicide squeeze that plated Faith Dansbury for a 2-1 HHS lead. That’s the last time the visitors would have an advantage, however, as the host Panthers would strike for three runs in the bottom half of the second and take control for good on the way to their fourth straight victory.
Madison Penrod, who went 1-for-5 with three RBIs, used her lone hit — a one-out, two-run double — to break a 2-2 tie and put RHS ahead for the remainder. Russellville’s No. 9 hitter, A’miyah Collier, also had a big night. She finished 2-for-4 with three runs, two RBIs and her 10th home run of the season. Collier is now alone for second-most HRs hit in Kentucky in 2022.
Hopkinsville, which was looking for its first winning streak of the year, had four hits — all singles — from Grubbs, Kaitlyn Kaetzel, Taylor Joachim and Esther Pepple in the loss. Thorson (0-8) went the distance and struck out three in six innings, but did surrender eight hits, nine walks and seven earned runs.
Russellville starter Addie Mosier (4-0) stayed unbeaten with a complete-game performance of her own. She fanned a half-dozen and scattered the four hits in seven innings in the circle. Of her 83 pitches delivered, 63 were strikes.
