By Nick Brockman, Messenger Sports Reporter nbrockman@the-messenger.com
After months of practice, rain-outs, thrilling wins and defeats, everything will be on line as local baseball and softball teams compete in Monday and Tuesday's 7th District Tournaments.
Dawson Springs will play host to the softball tournament while Caldwell County will hold the baseball tourney at Princeton City Park.
All three Hopkins County softball teams have a solid chance of capturing the 7th District title while Madisonville-North Hopkins enters as the favorite in baseball.
Monday's softball night cap is the best first-round matchup on paper for either tournament with the Lady Maroons (9-20) and Lady Panthers (13-7) set to tangle at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Lady Maroon No. 1 Kyleigh Taylor has missed much of the season with an injured knee, but was recently cleared and the North has posted a 1-1 record since her return.
"It kind of gives them a little more confidence having one of their players back and just kind of raises their spirit a bit," North coach Kacie Jackson said. "They're just excited for her to be back."
Just having Taylor in the lineup does not mean the Lady Maroons are ensured to be competitive though. Jackson said her team will have to play solid defense and put the ball in play offensively.
Dawson Springs will play host to the softball tournament while Caldwell County will hold the baseball tourney at Princeton City Park.
All three Hopkins County softball teams have a solid chance of capturing the 7th District title while Madisonville-North Hopkins enters as the favorite in baseball.
Monday's softball night cap is the best first-round matchup on paper for either tournament with the Lady Maroons (9-20) and Lady Panthers (13-7) set to tangle at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Lady Maroon No. 1 Kyleigh Taylor has missed much of the season with an injured knee, but was recently cleared and the North has posted a 1-1 record since her return.
"It kind of gives them a little more confidence having one of their players back and just kind of raises their spirit a bit," North coach Kacie Jackson said. "They're just excited for her to be back."
Just having Taylor in the lineup does not mean the Lady Maroons are ensured to be competitive though. Jackson said her team will have to play solid defense and put the ball in play offensively.
Dawson coach Kent Workman said he isn't taking North lightly, even after two regular season victories.
"It's the same old adage...'The more times you play a team, the more likely you are of getting beat,'" Workman said. "We've played them twice this year, 6-2, 9-2. It's real easy for us to walk in there thinking we're going to win the game right off the bat and everything go wrong, so that's the main focus."
The Panthers earned both wins without facing Taylor, so her presence could create a different outcome.
Dawson boasts its own power pitcher though in Brooke Randolph. On Saturday, Randolph earned a win against Union County, one of the top teams in Region 2 this season. Randolph struck out nine and walked just two in seven innings.
The Lady Tigers (3-14) and defending champion Lady Storm (20-7) will kickoff the softball tournament at 5:30 p.m. Monday. Caldwell did not win a regular season game against 7th District opponents.
Central has allowed less than one run per game against its district foes. The Lady Storm lost just one game in Region 2, a 1-0 extra-inning contest to Webster County. Pitchers Ali Austin and Taylor Crawley should see most of the action on the mound for Central. Central has tossed eight shutouts thus far with Austin recording a perfect game and no-hitter.
Meanwhile, the Maroons baseball team (22-9) dropped just two games in Region 2 play and finished with an undefeated mark against 7th District schools. Through 31 games, North has recorded an average of nearly nine runs per game. The defending champ Maroons will begin the tournament 5 p.m. Monday in Princeton by playing Dawson (0-21).
The Panthers will try to record the biggest upset of the year and avoid a second straight winless season. Dawson has not won a game since defeating Christian Fellowship 8-3 on May 7, 2007. Since, the Panthers have dropped 47 contests in a row.
Following that game, host team Caldwell (11-14) will battle Hopkins County Central (11-11). Caldwell won the squads' only regular season matchup 10-0 at home.
The Storm have been up and down during the season's final month. After winning five straight, Central has lost six of its last eight. Defense has been a problem in the last two games with the Storm committing 24 errors.
All could be wiped clean though with a win on Monday. Starter Ethan Smith, Central's No. 1, did not pitch in the team's 18-3 loss to Union on Friday and should be expected to throw.
Tuesday's softball championship will start at 6 p.m. while a time has yet to be set for baseball's title game.
"It's the same old adage...'The more times you play a team, the more likely you are of getting beat,'" Workman said. "We've played them twice this year, 6-2, 9-2. It's real easy for us to walk in there thinking we're going to win the game right off the bat and everything go wrong, so that's the main focus."
The Panthers earned both wins without facing Taylor, so her presence could create a different outcome.
Dawson boasts its own power pitcher though in Brooke Randolph. On Saturday, Randolph earned a win against Union County, one of the top teams in Region 2 this season. Randolph struck out nine and walked just two in seven innings.
The Lady Tigers (3-14) and defending champion Lady Storm (20-7) will kickoff the softball tournament at 5:30 p.m. Monday. Caldwell did not win a regular season game against 7th District opponents.
Central has allowed less than one run per game against its district foes. The Lady Storm lost just one game in Region 2, a 1-0 extra-inning contest to Webster County. Pitchers Ali Austin and Taylor Crawley should see most of the action on the mound for Central. Central has tossed eight shutouts thus far with Austin recording a perfect game and no-hitter.
Meanwhile, the Maroons baseball team (22-9) dropped just two games in Region 2 play and finished with an undefeated mark against 7th District schools. Through 31 games, North has recorded an average of nearly nine runs per game. The defending champ Maroons will begin the tournament 5 p.m. Monday in Princeton by playing Dawson (0-21).
The Panthers will try to record the biggest upset of the year and avoid a second straight winless season. Dawson has not won a game since defeating Christian Fellowship 8-3 on May 7, 2007. Since, the Panthers have dropped 47 contests in a row.
Following that game, host team Caldwell (11-14) will battle Hopkins County Central (11-11). Caldwell won the squads' only regular season matchup 10-0 at home.
The Storm have been up and down during the season's final month. After winning five straight, Central has lost six of its last eight. Defense has been a problem in the last two games with the Storm committing 24 errors.
All could be wiped clean though with a win on Monday. Starter Ethan Smith, Central's No. 1, did not pitch in the team's 18-3 loss to Union on Friday and should be expected to throw.
Tuesday's softball championship will start at 6 p.m. while a time has yet to be set for baseball's title game.
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