Caldwell County will play in the 2nd Region championship game for the seventh time in school history after shutting out Crittenden County 11-0 in five innings in the semifinals Monday in Mortons Gap.
The Lady Tigers (18-12) will next face Henderson County (29-5) in the regional title tilt on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Hopkins County Central High School. The Lady Colonels, ranked fifth in the state, shut out Madisonville-North Hopkins 14-0 in semifinal round action.
Alexis Wood (15-9) blanked Crittenden on four base hits for Caldwell. Wood struck out five and walked just one.
Meanwhile, the Lady Tiger offense backed her with 11 base hits and sandwiched three-run innings around a five-run second to quickly take control of the contest.
Adley Lewis had an RBI single and Kenzie McConnell knocked in two with a two-out double in the first inning as Caldwell grabbed a 3-0 lead.
Lewis had another run-scoring single in the second inning while Alicia Stanley knocked in two more with a single to left. Stanley later scored on an error while McConnell picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly to left to extend the margin to 8-0.
In the third inning, Lewis doubled home a run to right, and Stanley followed with a two-run double to left to give Caldwell its 11-0 lead.
Lewis was 3-for-3 with three runs batted in and three runs scored. Stanley was 2-for-2 and drove in four while McConnell went 2-for-2 and knocked in three. A.J. Hollowell finished 2-for-4 and scored twice.
Elliot Evans led Crittenden County, going 2-for-3 with a double.
The 5th District champions end the season with a record of 14-16.
It was Caldwell’s third win over Crittenden this season. The Lady Tigers now lead the all-time series 44-12.
Caldwell, the 7th District runner-up, is looking for its first 2nd Region championship since 2002. The Lady Tigers won three titles in a five-year period, also capturing the 1998 and 2000 championships.
Caldwell has finished regional runner-up three times — the last time a 5-3 setback to Christian County in 2018. The Lady Tigers were also regional runners-up in 1996 and 1999.
The Lady Rockets were looking for their first trip to the 2nd Region final in school history.
