Coming off a big loss to Crittenden County in the 5th District championship game, the Lyon County Lady Lyons were looking a quick turnaround to avoid having their season end in the opening round of the 2nd Region softball tournament against the Christian County Lady Colonels.
The two teams had split their regular-season matchups, so this one appeared to be a toss-up heading into Monday afternoon.
The Lady Lyons used a six-run fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie and take firm control of the game as they rolled on to take a 9-3 win and advance to Tuesday night’s regional semifinals against Henderson County. For Christian County, the loss was the closing chapter for the historic softball program.
The Lady Colonels had taken a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI double from B.B. Rodriguez, only to see Lyon County take advantage of a Christian County error in the top of the second to tie the game at 1-1.
The game stayed deadlocked until the top of the fifth inning when Lyon County made its move. With one out in the inning, the Lady Lyons strung together six hits and a walk to score six runs and run out to a 7-1 lead. The big hit in the inning was a three-run double from Olivia Moore that capped off the rally.
Lyon County added a run in the sixth on an RBI single from Jaylen Tackett that made it 8-1.
Christian County came up with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning, but that would be the end of the offense for the game for the Lady Colonels.
Olivia Moore was a force for the Lady Lyons, going 4-4 with a double and three RBIs. Jenna Coursey, Jaylen Tackett, and Ava Prow added two hits each as Lyon County outhit Christian County 12 to 3 for the game. Tackett also added two RBIs.
Alyssa Petterson, B.B. Rodriguez, and Jordan Turner had one hit each for the Lady Colonels, who finish their final season at 19-13-2.
In the circle, Ava Prow had another big game for the Lady Lyons. She went all seven innings, giving up three runs, two of them earned, on three hits, striking out six, and walking none.
Lyon County improves to 24-15 with the win and will now face Henderson County in the region semifinals Tuesday night at Lee S. Jones Park. It is the Lady Lyons first trip to the regional semifinals since 2021 when they lost to Henderson County 2-0 at Christian County High School.
