Avery Adcock hit two home runs in 2022. This season, the sophomore shortstop is already on pace to hit 35.
Behind a three-run shot to left, four stolen bases, two walks, and four runs scored from the lead-off spot, Adcock led the Christian County High School softball team to a 16-4 win over Hopkinsville on Monday at Lady Tiger Field.
It was the ninth season-opening win in a row for the Colonels, who pounded 12 hits and won via run rule in the sixth inning. Junior Gracie Harned (1-0), who struck out 10 in four innings and earned the pitching victory, hit a pair of doubles and drove in two runs at the plate.
Jada Miller, another CCHS sophomore, also added two doubles and three runs during the offensive outburst. Eight different Colonels accounted for at least one RBI. Eighth-grader Jordan Turner struck out a trio of Tigers and threw two innings of hitless relief to close out the County win.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Hoptown, which actually took the lead in the first inning. After Christian County scored three in the contest’s opening at-bat, the Tigers punched back with four runs of their own. With the bases loaded and nobody out, HHS senior Shaniyah Straight drove in a pair with a double to right. Taylor Joachim scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 3-all and Straight raced home on a CCHS two-out error to put Hopkinsville ahead 4-3.
Hotpwn hadn’t scored a run against County since May 8, 2021; the four runs against the Colonels are the most in a head-to-head matchup since the 8th District Tournament in 2004.
Straight (0-1), who also walked twice, went 1-for-1 and had one of the two Hopkinsville hits. She also pitched all six innings for the host Tigers, allowing 12 hits, 16 runs (nine earned), and five walks. She also struck out three. Jakayla Grubbs had the other HHS hit at the plate — a lining single to center field to start the aforementioned Tiger rally in the bottom of the first inning.
Saniya Shields gave Christian County the lead for good with a two-run single in the top of the third. The Colonels scored five runs during that frame and added six more in the sixth to earn the road win. CCHS (1-0) will play the second of three straight district games Tuesday when it hosts Fort Campbell.
Hopkinsville (0-1) will remain at home for its game Tuesday, taking on Clarksville Northeast. The Tigers will play three of their first four games of the 2023 campaign on their home diamond.
