Henderson County looked very much like the No. 5-ranked team in the state by tearing through the 2nd Region softball tournament.
After beating Fort Campbell 15-0 and Madisonville-North Hopkins 14-0, the Lady Colonels finished off their third-straight regional championship with a 13-0 win in five innings over Caldwell County Wednesday at Hopkins County Central in Mortons Gap. The Lady Colonels are the first team in region history to win its three tournament games by the mercy rule.
Anna Kemp struck out 12 and held Caldwell to just three singles while pitching Henderson to the 2023 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Softball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare, which gets underway next week in Lexington.
Meanwhile, Henderson (30-5) pounded out 14 base hits in the regional title tilt.
A six-run second inning and a four-run fourth were the big frames for the Lady Colonels.
Taylor Troutman slammed a two-run home run to right field as part of the big second inning. Anna Willett singled home two runs in the inning as Henderson took a 7-0 lead.
Mackenzie Burczyk doubled home a run in the fourth inning.
Jamaya Byrum had an RBI double in the fifth inning to make it 13-0.
Willett finished 2-for-3 with three runs batted in while Byrum was 2-for-4 and knocked in two. Hallie McCracken went 2-for-2 and drove in a run while Kendal Hargrove and Burczyk were each 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Caldwell got singles from A.J. Hollowell, Adley Lewis, and Alicia Stanley.
Henderson has not allowed a run in the postseason. The Lady Colonels beat Union County 12-0 in the 6th District championship game.
Henderson will face 11th Region champion Great Crossing (30-4) in the first round at state next Friday, June 2, at 9 p.m. Eastern time at UK’s John Cropp Stadium.
