Special to The Times-Tribune
It wasn’t easy, but the Southern Kentucky Vipers showed a lot of heart and character during their run to capture the Bluegrass State Game’s 8-and-under gold medal this past weekend in Lexington.
The Vipers had a lot of obstacles to overcome to capture the gold medal. First off, they had to defeat defending Bluegrass State Game champion Bluegrass Elite twice, while coming out of the loser’s bracket to defeat Clay County twice in a row in the championship game.
After capturing two wins on Saturday, Southern Kentucky had to play four games Sunday in five hours, but it didn’t seem to bother coach David Byrd’s team.
“This group of girls have busted their tails off this summer to get to this point and they weren’t going to back down,” he said. “Even after we lost in the winner’s bracket finals to Clay County, they didn’t seem worried.
“They showed a heart of a champion by coming back and beating Bluegrass Elite and Clay County twice to win the gold medal,” he added. “Most teams would have folded after getting beat, but this group of girls just keep plugging along. We gained momentum after knocking off Bluegrass Elite and we just kept playing well the rest of the way.”
The Vipers went 5-1 during the tournament and has improved to an impressive 10-2 on the season.
Members of the gold medal team are Tori Byrd, Leslie Dixon, Harleigh Grubb, Abbie Jackson, Kylie McClain, Tori North, Alexis Prewitt, Alyssa Prewitt, Becca Riley, Kenlee Rogers, Bailey Smith, Halia Stidham and Kiana Wine.
Saturday’s games
First round
Southern Kentucky 14, Marion County 3
It didn’t take long for the Vipers to take control of the game against Marion County.
Tori Byrd’s two-run triple in the first inning gave her team a 3-1 edge, while Leslie Dixon’s solo home run in the second inning ignited a seven-run rally that gave Southern Kentucky a 10-2 edge. Becca Riley added a two-run homer in the 11-run victory.
Dixon, Bailey Smith, Kylie McClain and Riley each finished the game with three hits apiece, while Byrd led the way with three RBI. Kenlee Rogers, Riley and Harleigh Grubb each drove in two runs apiece.
Winner’s bracket semi-finals
Southern Kentucky 10, Bluegrass Elite 6
The Vipers stunned the defending champions by scoring seven runs during the final three innings.
Bluegrass Elite jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Southern Kentucky never folded. Byrd’s three-run home run highlighted the win, as she led the way with three hits.
The Vipers’ defensive play proved to be too much for Bluegrass Elite, as Southern Kentucky outscored their opponent 10-2 during the final five innings. Dixon, Smith and McClain each finished with two hits in the win, while Smith also drove in two runs.
Sunday’s games
Winner’s bracket final
Clay County 12, Southern Kentucky 7
The Vipers held their own for four innings against the only team that has beaten them this season.
The game was tied at four apiece until Clay County scored eight runs during the final two innings to pick up the win.
Loser’s bracket final
Southern Kentucky 12, Bluegrass Elite 6
The loss to Clay County didn’t seem to bother the Vipers, as they cruised to a six-run win to eliminate the defending gold medal champions.
Bluegrass Elite took a 2-1 lead in the first inning, but Grubb’s two-run double gave Southern Kentucky a 4-3 edge the following inning and they never looked back.
Grubb also drove in three runs with a home run the following inning, as the Vipers padded their lead to 12-4 with an inning to play. Bluegrass Elite could never recover and managed to only score two runs in their final at-bat.
Dixon and Grubb each finished the game perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3, while Grubb led the team with a five RBI effort. Byrd finished the game with two hits and four RBI. Smith, McClain and Riley each had two hits in the win.
Championship game No. 1
Southern Kentucky 13, Clay County 10
Southern Kentucky had to come from behind to force a second championship game against Clay County. The Vipers were staring a 10-8 deficit with only 10 minutes left to play because of a one-hour time limit, but they answered the call by scoring five runs to pull out the three-run win.
Smith and McClain went 4-for-4 during the win, while Byrd and Dixon each had three hits apiece. Byrd had a home run and four RBI, while Dixon delivered a double and finished the contest with two RBI.
Halia Stidham turned in an impressive effort by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a triple and an RBI, while Abbie Jackson, Tori North, Alexis Prewitt and Alyssa Prewitt each had hits and drove in runs.
Championship game No. 2
Southern Kentucky 11,
Clay County 4
The game was tied at two apiece until the Vipers broke the game open with a six-run fourth inning to pick up the gold medal.
Kenlee Rogers' single ignited her team’s rally in the fourth inning, as Riley delivered a two-run hit, while Grubb, North, Jackson and Dixon each delivered run-scoring hits in the inning.
Clay County tried to rally late in the game, but catcher Kiana Wine made a crucial catch behind the plate to put an end to Clay County’s rally.
Southern Kentucky put the game away with three runs in the fifth inning, as McClain, Riley and Grubb each drove in runs.
Riley and Smith came up big in the title game with a 3-for-3 effort and three RBI, while Dixon was 2-for-3 with two runs scored an an RBI. McClain also finished the game with two hits, while Wine, Stidham, Jackson, Rogers, Byrd and Alexis Prewitt each finished the game with a hit.
