Lady Titans Softball Still Working Through Early Struggles
The Harrodsburg Herald/Casey Roberts
Ashley Howard wound up for the pitch against Bourbon County during the Lady Titans’ 10-3 loss Monday night. Howard returned to action after sitting out much of last season due to injury.
Casey Roberts
Herald Staff
Sports@harrodsburgherald.com
The Mercer County Lady Titans softball team made their long awaited debut on their brand new field Monday night. Unfortunately the first game on the new turf wont be remembered for a win. The team appears to be still finding their rhythm early in the year. The Lady Titans suffered their sixth loss of the season after losing an early lead and struggling to contain the high-powered Colonel offense, giving up ten runs en route to a 10-3 defeat.
Mercer pitcher Ashley Howard returned to the circle after missing most of last season due to injury. Howard came out on fire, retiring Bourbon’s first three batters. In the bottom of the first inning, Hanna Beasley ignited the Lady Titan’s offense by stealing both second and third base after being hit by a pitch. Head Coach Ron Tharp called for one of the riskiest plays in the sport, the suicide squeeze. Emily Worthington laid down a perfect bunt to score Beasley from third, giving Mercer the early 1-0 lead.
To begin the second inning the Colonels wasted little time evening the deficit. Katie Witt smashed a ball into deep right field for a stand up triple. Kendall Fowler was credited with an RBI for Bourbon after scoring Witt from third on a hard hit ground ball to Mercer’s shortstop Peyton Boyd.
After being held scoreless in the bottom of the second, Jersey McGinnis helped jumpstart Mercer’s offense by drawing a base on balls. Hanna Beasley also caught a lucky break by a Bourbon error that advanced McGinnis to second. The Lady Titans would then jump back ahead 3-1 thanks to Emily Worthington’s double that scored both McGinnis and Beasley.
Bourbon would not go away however, evening up the score again at 3-3 in the fourth inning on the backs of two singles, an RBI groundout and a Mercer error.
In crunch time, Mercer’s bats went cold while Bourbon heated up.
