The Engineer softball team seniors were the recipients of a special send-off party before they left for their senior trip to Washington, DC early in the week.
by Lindsey Wood
The Lady Engineers softball team had an excellent weekend in the 5th annual Wizard of Odd Classic hosted by Letcher County. Despite losing 2-1 against an undefeated Clay County team, Estill scored back-to-back victories against Letcher County Central (11-1) and Belfry (9-1). Unfortunately, Estill had a tougher week leading up to the Classic: they lost to Madison Central and Wolfe County.
With several starters absent, the Engineers struggled to contain Madison Central, losing 8-1. Senior Lindsey Wood put Estill on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning.
The following day, the Engineers returned to their usual lineup, but their game against the Wolfe County Wolves was anything but usual. Sarah Wiseman got Estill an early lead in the first, batting in one run. However, the Engineer lineup was strangely silent the rest of the night despite Wolfe County’s relatively weak pitching. Eventually, in the sixth inning, Wolfe County managed to pull ahead of the Engineers through a combination of both hits and errors. This was the first regional loss of the Engineers’ season.
After these tough losses, the Estill softball team regrouped and came to the Letcher County Wizard of Oz Classic with a more focused and determined state of mind. Their first game against Clay County reflected this new approach. The Engineers played tough defense but couldn’t get their offense back to its usual performance this game. In the end, they fell 2-1 in six innings.
The next day, Estill’s offense finally returned as they took on both Letcher County Central and Belfry. Against Letcher, Estill’s offense got going quickly; they scored two runs in the first inning and racked up nine in the third, putting away the Cougars in five innings. Sarah Wiseman, Kaylee Riddell, and Wood led the offense, each going two-for-three. Also, Elizabeth Hardy and Alyssa Sparks went one-for-two, Hardy having two RBI’s. On the mound, Kaylee Covey had ten total strikeouts.
The Engineers stayed hot as they took on Belfry. They slowly built their lead throughout the first five innings, ultimately scoring nine runs. Again, Covey had a great performance; she held Belfry to one run and struck out seven batters.
Overall, the Lady Engineers lulled a bit this week but managed to get back on track. After their last five games, they stand 9-5 on the season.
Coming up, Estill takes on Powell County at home on April 30th at 5:15 p.m., Lincoln County at home on May 1st at 6:00 p.m., and Rockcastle County at home on May 3rd at 6:00 p.m.