Henderson County, last year’s state runner-up, didn’t need much of a chip on their shoulders this year as they make a run at a fourth straight region softball title.
That chip was delivered on May 9 when Livingston Central beat the Lady Colonels 3-1 – their first win over Henderson since the 2013 region championship.
Henderson County provided a strong response in Tuesday’s region semifinal at Christian County, hammering five home runs en route to a 10-0 win.
“We wanted to get out to a good start on them and we knew we had a bad game when we played them earlier. I didn’t throw my ace (Anna Kemp) against them, and we knew we just didn’t play well,” said Henderson County coach Shannon Troutman of the May 9 contest.
The win was Henderson’s fifth straight region tournament win via the mercy rule – outscoring their opponents 69-0 in those games.
“That’s ultimately what you want to do. You kind of want to be the big brother in the region. We know we have a target on our back and when you give in and you have bad games and you get beat by people in your region, that gives teams hope and you kind of don’t want that,” Troutman said.
His daughter Taylor is one of the top 20 ranked softball players in the nation and provided proper bookends for the win. She smacked a solo home run in the first inning to stake the Lady Colonels to an early lead and ended the game with a solo shot in the sixth inning for the final 10-run margin.
Troutman, who has signed with Mississippi State, upped her season home run total to 11 with a .541 batting average.
Hallie McCracken followed Troutman’s home run with a rocket over the left field fence – her team-leading 14th homer of the season.
It was the start to the game that Livingston Central coach Matt Hargrove didn’t want.
“We had our chance early. We had runners first and second, but Anna Kemp is just a good pitcher. We knew we had to get to her early and try to scratch early and then just go out to try to hold them rest the game,” he said.
Maggie Grogan launched a third-inning grand slam to increase the lead to 6-0. Mackenzie Burczyk added a three-run shot in the fifth to set up Troutman’s walk-off homer in the sixth inning.
Ayden Bennett and McCracken each had a pair of hits for Henderson County, who was able to get to Livingston Central pitcher Addison Tramble early. The 7th grader allowed just four hits and didn’t walk a batter in their May win over the Lady Colonels.
Things didn’t go as smoothly on Tuesday. Tramble lasted three innings, allowed five earned runs, and walked four batters.
“We try to work the corners a lot and I’m not making any excuses, but it just felt like the strike zone tonight was a lot tighter,” Hargrove said. “You’ve got to really be on your game because when you get it in their wheelhouse, they’re going to hit it.”
Kemp meanwhile improved to 19-1 and lowered her ERA to 1.53. She allowed singles to Victoria Joiner and Tramble and was helped by two double plays.
Livingston Central, winners of the All A Classic state tournament, finished the season with a 32-5 record with no seniors on the roster.
“A year ago, we made it to the All A, and the first day didn’t play well and we got a bad hangover from it. We got upset in the first round of the district tournament. We set goals in the offseason and started checking them off one by one this year,” Hargrove said. “I told the girls in the huddle it’s time to get to work and get better.”
Henderson County (31-5) moves into Wednesday’s region championship where they get a rematch with Union County, who they beat 11-0 in the 6th District championship.
The Lady Colonels will be looking to become the first school since Madisonville (2014-17) ti win four straight region titles. It’s that experience that Troutman feels gives them an advantage against the Bravettes.
“I think our experience has helped us so far and I think it’ll help us there too. All the girls on my team just about have been here before and they know what it takes and they don’t falter under pressure. So I think we’ll be fine.”
