The Patrick County Lady Cougars finished the regular season with a come from behind win over Floyd County on May 20. The Lady Cougars trailed by three runs through four innings but got their bats going to make up the difference, taking the game, 5-4.
Senior pitcher McKenzie Holt got the start for the Lady Cougars and, after loading the bases in the first inning, came back strong, striking out the next three batters and stranding three Floyd runners.
Floyd would take a one run lead in the second, and added three more in the third for a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third.
Lauren Fulcher got things going with a liner to right field. The Floyd second baseman mishandled a McKenzie Holt grounder, driving in Fulcher for the Lady Cougars’ first run.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Lady Cougar bats came alive, starting with Chloe Hubbard reaching and Journey Moore collecting hits and moving into scoring position on a passed ball. A Lilly Hazelwood sacrifice fly to deep center brought home Hubbard and moved Moore to third. Lauren Fulcher brought home Moore with a sacrifice fly, closing the gap to one run at 4-3.
In the sixth, Chloe Hubbard helped keep Floyd County from adding to their lead with a great catch at the fence in center field. A Taylor Lawless RBI double up the middle in the Lady Cougar half of the inning tied the score at four a piece.
Journey Moore led off the seventh with a line drive off the fence for a double. Lilly Hazelwood reached base with an infield grounder, moving Moore to third. With the winning run on third, Lauren Fulcher drove in Moore to complete the comeback win, 5-4.
“We started off slow,” said Lady Cougar Head Coach, Ryan Pendleton, “but we started hitting at the end.” Asked about how his team handled the pressure of coming back from three runs, Pendleton said, “there was no panic. I tried to tell them, if we get a couple of runs, we got this. And we did.”
On the night, McKenzie Holt pitched four innings, striking out six. Journey Moore tossed the final three innings without giving up a run.
At the plate, Moore had three hits and scored twice, including the game winner. Taylor Lawless added two hits.
The win gives the Lady Cougars a 14-5 record in the regular season, going 9-3 in Three Rivers District play.
