By JAMES BROWN
WCLU Sports
It took more than nine innings and nearly three hours to decide the winner of the 15th District Softball Tournament game between Barren County and Glasgow.
In the bottom of the 10th inning with one out, Shea Bogue hit a fly ball to center field and that sacrifice allowed Lily Elmore to score the game-ending run from third base.
Before that happened, though, there was a break in action between the top and bottom of the 10th inning. The home plate umpire left the game due to illness. That dropped the officiating crew from three to two and one of the field officials moved behind the plate. The game was delayed about 15 minutes.
After the delay, Elmore led off the bottom of the tenth with a single. Elmore advanced to second on a passed ball, before Josey Moore moved her to third with a sacrifice bunt.
That brought Barren’s top hitter, Norah Shirley, to the plate with the winning run standing on third.
Glasgow coach Steven Murphy made a tactical decision to load the base with two intentional walks, setting up a force-out at all bases.
“We thought if we get a ground ball, it’s easier to get a force out in that situation” Steven Murphy explained. “We talked it over and said let’s go ahead and load the bases. That way we can go [home] if we get a ground ball.”
That brought Shea Bogue to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. She had struck out in her previous three at-bats in the game, but in that moment she hit the ball to center field where it was caught by Ayvah Maxey. Elmore took off from third after tagging up and beat the throw home to end the game.
“Ayvah did everything she could in that situation,” Steven Murphy added.
“It kind of came down to a lucky play, there, with the bunt by Lily,” Trojanettes coach Daryl Murphy said.
He was talking about Elmore’s lead-off single in the bottom of the tenth. She bunted and the ball stayed in the air deep between the pitching circle and the first-base line. Hagan ran from the circle, dove on the ground for the ball and flipped it to first base, but Elmore was able to beat the throw.
“We were trying to get her on because she has great speed. She caught it kind of heavy and it just dropped there between the first base and pitcher,” Daryl Murphy said. “Sometimes in games like this you have to be lucky.”
Both coaches praised the pitching in the game.
“It was probably a fun game to watch with those two pitchers going at it, because Shea and [Hagan] were just matching wits,” Daryl Murphy said.
“Kerrigan went the whole distance and threw about 150 pitches. It was the muggiest night we’ve had all year. She gutted through it,” Steven Murphy said. “Bogue pitched a whale of a game, too. Both pitchers pitched their heart out.”
Bogue threw 113 pitches in the game. She gave up four hits, struck out 13 and walked one.
Hagan allowed six hits, struck out 13 and walked five.
Elmore was the only batter on either team with multiple hits with two. Also for Barren, Shirley, Hadley Elkins, Khloe Westmoreland and Addie Wheeler each had a hit.
Hagan, Kayla Kirkpatrick, Jakylie Green and Kinley Stephens each posted a hit.
The Trojanettes face Warren East tonight at 5:30 in the championship game.
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