Special to The Sentinel-Echo
LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. —
STANFORD—The Southern Kentucky Vipers 12U fastpitch travel team followed up their runner-up finish in the ISA World Series by capturing the T.S.T. championship by going 5-1 while improving to 25-17 overall.
“This is a huge accomplish for this group of girls,” coach Les Dixon said. “They dropped their first game on Saturday and battled back and won five straight against some of the best teams in the state.
“This is the best hitting and pitching we’ve received during our five years as a team and things just keep getting better for us,” he added. “We continue to show that we’re one of the best 12U teams in the state.”
The 12-0 win over the Shelbyville Power in the finals of the T.S.T. Summer Classic also marked the Viper program’s 100th victory since the team formed in 2008.
“The 100th win for this program is huge,” Dixon said. “We went from a team that played in some tournaments here and there in 2008 to a team that has accomplished many feats along the way. It starts and ends with the players. We have always had great kids throughout the years and it isn’t any different now. The kids are the reason why we have been successful.”
Southern Kentucky didn’t get off to a good start to open pool play by losing to Shelbyville, 5-1, but responded with a 15-0 win over the Lincoln County All-Stars and an impressive seven inning 7-3 victory over Full Throttle South.
“The girls showed a lot of character by coming back after their loss to Shelbyville,” Dixon said. “They could have folded right then, but didn’t. They responded with a win over Lincoln County and came out ready against Full Throttle and picked up a big win for the program.”
The Vipers opened tournament play with an impressive 16-1 win over the Central Kentucky Vixen and advanced to semifinal action against the Lake Cumberland Breeze.
Southern Kentucky and the Breeze were tied at two apiece late in the game until an inside-the-park home run by Harleigh Grubb wrapped up a 3-2 win for the Vipers.
“That was a big win for us,” Dixon said. “We had lost two games to the Breeze earlier in the season, but the girls responded big time to pick up the one-run win.”
The win over the Breeze set up a rematch against Shelbyville in the championship game and it didn’t take the Vipers long to show who was going to win.
Southern Kentucky scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back, as they handed the Power a 12-0 loss while capturing their fourth championship in four tries in Stanford while improving to 20-2 in the tournaments during the process.
“Once again we were solid on offense, defense and the mound,” Dixon said. “Brianda and Courtney were superb on the mound and as a team, we really hit the ball. This was a total team effort. We received solid defensive play again from everyone.”
On offense, Tori Byrd led the way with an 11-of-15 effort at the plate, which included a three-run homer, while Becca Riley (8-for-16, one triple, one double, six RBI), Leslie Dixon (8-for-16, three doubles, five stolen bases), Lauren Smith (8-for-17, two doubles, three RBI), Harleigh Grubb (7-for-14, one homer, six RBI, five stolen bases), Brianda Owens (8-for-17, eight RBI), Maddie Frazier, (four hits and four RBI), Courtney Foley (two hits, three walks, four stolen bases, three RBI), Hannah Vires (two hits, four walks, four stolen bases and three RBI), Kaitlyn Riley (one hit, four runs scored, one RBI and two stolen bases) and Kenlee Rogers (two hits, two RBI, three stolen bases) followed.
Both Owens and Foley brought their ‘A’ games to the mound, as Owens posted an impressive 4-1 record while allowing only 18 hits and five earned runs in 29 innings pitched while striking out 31 batters.
Foley posted a 1-0 record with one save in three innings of work while allowing only one hit and no earned runs.
