The Lady Engineers congratulate one another for their victory over a tough Madison Southern team. L-to-R: Lindsey Isfort, Sarah Wiseman, Taylor Duechle, and Lindsey Wood
By LINDSEY WOOD
CV&T Reporter
The Estill County Lady Engineers softball team improved their record to 4-1 this past week, winning big against district opponents Lee County and Powell County and securing a 4-0 shut-out victory against a solid Madison Southern team.
Last Tuesday, the Lady Engineers traveled to Lee County and secured an 11-1 win over the Bobcats. To begin the game, Estill put one run on the board. Lee’s three-spot hitter answered with a home run in the bottom of the inning, tying the game 1-1 at the end of the first. However, the game would not stay this close forever; the Lady Engineers quickly found their hitting groove and put the Bobcats away in six innings.
This game, pitcher Kaylee Covey racked up 13 strikeouts and drove in three runs, the most of anyone that night. Another big offensive player was junior Kiely Flynn, who had two RBI’s. Lindsey Wood also had a good night at the plate; she had two RBI’s and led the team in hits and runs scored. The team was collectively very effective against Lee’s less-than-dominant pitching, batting .464 as a whole.
Estill’s next match-up was their first real challenge since their premier game of the season against Dunbar. The Lady Engineers faced with the best pitching they had seen all season. Sarah Wiseman got the offense going with a walk, and Kaylee Riddell later drove in that run with a hard-hit RBI.
With a 1-0 advantage, Estill held off Southern’s runners from scoring with mentally tough defense as their own lineup struggled to catch up with Southern’s fast pitcher, who also threw a tricky change-up.
The Engineers got on the board again in the fourth, thanks to an RBI shot by junior first-baseman Taylor Duechle. Estill maintained their lead once again for two more innings and finally broke away in the seventh.
Eighth-grader Mia Hale scored the Engineer’s third run of the game with a solo home run, the second of her high school career. Later on in the inning, Wood scored the go-ahead run with an RBI base hit to right field.
Estill held Southern 4-0 through the bottom of the seventh, grabbing a great, tough win against a good team.
The following Monday, the Lady Engineers faced off against district rival, Powell County. Estill had an uncharacteristically slow offensive start against the Pirates but eventually opened the flood gates.
The Lady Engineers got off to a 1-0 lead to start, which Powell constantly looked to challenge. Thankfully, Kaylee Covey managed to keep the game under control until Estill’s offense could heat up. The Lady Engineers’ breakout inning was the third: they scored five runs in all, batting all the way through the lineup. They played add-on the rest of the night, scoring one run in the fourth and five more in the sixth, to get the mercy-rule victory.
Seniors led the impressive offensive effort this game. Wiseman, Isfort, and Wood went three for four at the plate. Wiseman had four RBI’s, followed by Isfort with three.
Despite the end result, Estill was reminded that they cannot take anyone lightly. The Pirates had a pretty decent showing overall. Their veteran team hopes to dethrone the Lady Engineers more than ever, and this year could be their best chance. That said, Estill’s girls are more than capable of beating Powell by a wide margin every time; it might just require a bit more focus this year.
Coming up, Estill will take on several tough opponents on their home turf. Thursday, they face Montgomery County at home at 6 p.m. On Friday, they battle Madison Central at home at 5:30 p.m. They finish out the week with two Saturday home games, one against Lexington Catholic at 12 p.m. and the other against Perry Central at 4 p.m. The last game in the Lady Engineers’ homestead is against Lee County on Monday at 5:30 p.m.