With six outs to go, Caldwell County’s first district softball championship in 22 years was within sight.
Two runs in the top of the sixth inning had given the Lady Tigers a 4-2 lead over top-seeded Madisonville-North Hopkins Tuesday night.
However, the Lady Maroons found some offense when they needed it most. Madisonville hammered a pair of home runs as part of a four-run frame that swung the game back in the Lady Maroons’ favor.
Sydney Skeen’s two-run shot to center put Madisonville up 5-4. Sadie Kirk followed with her second homer of the game, this one on a line drive to right field, to give the homestanding Lady Maroons their 6-4 lead.
Down to their final at-bat in the top of the seventh, the Lady Tigers got a one-out single from Adley Lewis to get the potential tying run to the plate. But a pair of pop-ups ended the contest.
Both the Lady Maroons (19-12) and the Lady Tigers (19-16) will play in the 2nd Region tournament next week at Christian County.
Madisonville got an unearned run to take a 1-0 lead in the third.
Caldwell grabbed the lead in the top of the fifth on back-to-back RBI doubles from Alicia Stanley and Adley Lewis.
But the Lady Maroons tied things at 2-2 on Kirk’s first homer of the game to the left field in the bottom of the fifth.
The Lady Tigers countered with two runs in the top of the sixth. Daelen Kizzee drove in a run with a bunt single. Brylee Butts followed with an RBI groundout to give Caldwell its 4-2 lead.
Madisonville, though, won it in the bottom of the sixth.
Kirk finished 3-for-4 with the two homers and two RBIs. She scored twice. Skeen was 2-for-2 with a home run, two runs batted in and two runs scored.
Jaela Bottoms and Nevaeh Lindle were each 2-for-3.
For Caldwell, Lewis was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Madisonville held a 12-6 advantage in base hits.
Kirk was the winning pitcher for the Lady Maroons. She tossed the final 1.2 innings in relief of starter Mackenzie Stoltz. Stoltz struck out 13 in her 5.1 innings while allowing four runs on five hits.
It’s the 11th straight district championship for Madisonville.
