A battle between cross-town rival programs took place between the Logan County Lady Cougars softball team and the Russellville Lady Panthers last Tuesday, April 16 at Russellville. The first meeting between the two teams this season saw the Lady Cougars come away with the win on the road, 12-2 in five innings. As both programs look to contend for the district title, each team will look for an edge when the post season arrives making the two regular season meetings that much more important.
The top of the first inning saw the Lady Cougars take a four-run lead. Senior Trinity Case singled putting the first two runs across to go up 2-0. The Lady Cougars then had an explosion of offense in the top of the fifth inning as the Lady Cougars crossed home plate eight more times. Senior Nora Epley hit her fourth home run of the season to put three across to push the lead to 12-0. Epley finished with three runs batted in, three walks, two stolen bases, and going one-for-one in the batting column. Junior Maddie Burgess also had a good day at-bat going three-of-three for the Lady Cougars. The Lady Cougars had a strong performance from their starting pitcher Addison Cartas. Cartas pitched all five innings allowing just one hit, one walk, two runs, and striking out four, good for her seventh win of the season.
Despite a tough start, the Lady Panthers defense held strong before the top of the fifth, but the offense couldn’t find the rhythm it needed to claim victory. Sophomore Chloe “Red” Penrod scored the Lady Panthers lone runs on the day hitting her third home run of the season putting across two to narrow the lead 12-2. It was a tough day for Penrod at the mound, pitching four and two-thirds innings allowing eight hits, eight walks, 10 earned runs, and striking out one.
Speaking with the Lady Panthers head coach, Ryan Davenport, he shared his thoughts about the matchup and how he felt about their performance, “Logan is a great hitting team. Chloe was hitting her spots the first inning, but walked a few despite pitching well. Logan hitters were just disciplined and didn’t chase. You just can’t give Logan any bases or they’ll make you pay. Innings two through four our defense played really well, turning a double play and throwing a runner out at home.”
When talking about what needed improvement Davenport said, “I have to do a better job preparing them. We played hard and made routine plays. The positive side is we only had four strikeouts, putting the ball in play but didn’t have much to show for it.” Talking about the mantra the Lady Panthers have, Coach Davenport said, “You might beat us, but you won’t outwork us. We’ll continue to work hard to get better.”
An important district matchup between these two rivals, Davenport expressed what his focus is in the regular season meetings, “We just take each game as a learning experience and try to grow. You always hope you can figure some things out from playing in the regular season to carry over to the postseason.”
With the win, the Lady Cougars improved to a 18-3 record, second best in the 4th Region. The Lady Panthers record fell to 16-8 for seventh best in the region. The two powerhouse programs are set to meet once again at Logan County on May 7th, in hopes to clinch bragging rights, but above all else, secure the top seed in the 13th District for the postseason.
Wes Elrod can be reached by emailing wpechagolla@gmail.com
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