With temperatures dipping below freezing in Monday night’s season opener, the Todd County Central softball team can be forgiven for taking a few innings to thaw out on the way to a 12-2 five-inning victory over visiting Fort Campbell.
The win is the Lady Rebels’ eighth straight over the Lady Falcons, dating all the way back to the 2007 season. 
However, it looked early on like Fort Campbell might end the streak when the Lady Falcons took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. After an RBI double by Todd Central’s Rylann Griggs tied the game in the bottom of the 2nd, the Lady Falcons again surged in front in the 3rd on Ryleigh Watry’s two-out RBI double.
But the Lady Rebels took control with a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning. The go-ahead run came in on an error, and Naomi Gammon followed with an RBI single ahead of another run on a wild pitch.
Abby McPherson shut down the Lady Falcons the rest of the way. Over the final two frames, she issued a single walk and struck out three to claim the victory in the circle. McPherson finished with 11 strikeouts, walked five, and allowed two hits in five innings.
With the Lady Rebels leading 7-2 in the bottom of the 5th, Addison Woodall led off with a triple, and the next two batters walked to load the bases. Averie Luckenbill brought in a pair of runs with a single, followed by a two-run double for Karli Herrera. McPherson ended the game with a one-out single up the middle to plate Herrera.
Kiley McCrary took the loss for Fort Campbell, working three and a third innings while allowing seven runs, three earned, on three hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Carrie McCrary surrendered five earned runs on four hits with three walks and a strikeout in one inning of work.
Fort Campbell will look to bounce back in a pair of 8th-District matchups, beginning with a trip to Christian County on Tuesday ahead of a visit from Hopkinsville on Thursday.
Todd Central will travel to Hopkins County Central on Friday to try to start the season with two wins for the third straight year.
