Kennedy Hughes had four hits and picked up the win in the circle for Heritage Christian Academy beat Dawson Springs 17-7 Tuesday at Linda Garris Field. The win was the first for HCA over a KHSAA softball team since having its membership approved last summer.
Hughes was 4-for-4 with three RBI as the Lady Warriors scored in every frame of the five-inning contest. She also struck out five Lady Panthers and allowed six earned runs. Hughes had a strike percentage of 60-percent and threw a first-pitch strike to 16 of the 27 batters she faced.
Heritage struck for three runs in the first inning with Hughes’ two-run single putting the first dent in the scoreboard. Kylynn Tudor drew a bases-loaded walk for the third run.
In the second inning, Tudor and Madison Warren added RBI singles to increase the Lady Warrior lead to 7-0.
Dawson Springs, who was playing without four seniors who were on a school senior trip, answered with a five-run third inning. Racheal Young had an RBI double and Maddie Back and Graclyn Haynes had run-scoring singles.
In the home half, Kailyn Johnson scored a run with a single, and Warren smacked an RBI triple to up the HCA lead to 11-5.
Tudor had a three-hit day for HCA as did Hadlee Hayes. Warren and Rachel Robson each had two hits and two RBI for the Lady Warriors, who improved to 3-6. Johnson added two RBIs and scored four times.
Macy Drennan, who entered the game batting .524 for the Lady Panthers, upped her average thanks to a 3-for-3 afternoon. Young had a double, triple, and two RBI, and Back, Haynes, and Kyleigh Vinson each added a pair of hits.
Heritage Christian Academy now prepares for the KCAA State Tournament with some conference games over the next two weeks. HCA will be hosting this year’s KCAA state tournament.
