CLAYTON – The Covington Lady Buccs overcame a sluggish start to record a dominating 14-3 win over Ansonia in the Regional Semi-Final on Wednesday at Northmont High School.
Yes, things didn’t go very well in the beginning as the Lady Buccs were outscored 3-0 in the first inning. The key was the two defensive miscues by the Lady Buccs that gave Ansonia additional scoring opportunities. The Lady Tigers took advantage by scoring all three runs after the two mistakes Covington made – one that was an error and another that wasn’t recorded as an error because it was a ball that wasn’t caught outside the sideline.
A perfect conversation from Covington coach Brooke Gostomsky-Menker after the inning reignited the Lady Buccs throughout the rest of the game. It was apparent that the ladies were completely refocused from the second inning on.
Covington scored three runs in the top of the second with the big hit being a powerful double by Kylie Palsgrove. Then, in the top of the third the Lady Buccs scored eight runs with the biggest hits being a home run by Elizabeth Coblentz, another double by Kylie Palsgrove and one by Cassidy Iddings, and plus a triple by Ava Hartwig.
The Lady Buccs continued pounding the ball hard in the fourth inning, but Ansonia was able to make three great plays to prevent any runs. Fortunately, the Lady Buccs were able to push the lead to 14-3 by scoring three more runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Due to the refocused of pitching and defense, the Lady Buccs held Ansonia in check from the second inning through the bottom of the fifth to preserve the run-rule victory.
Some critical defensive plays were made by junior standout third baseman, Jayda McClure. Several times she hauled in hard hits and was able to throw the runners out at first. Plus, outfielders Emalyn Johnson, Nell Rogers and Cassidy Iddings made quality catches in critical situations.
Whitney Burns threw the distance against an Ansonia team that was solid at making contact. She struck out two batters and didn’t surrender a single walk throughout the game. Ansonia did put many balls into play, but the Lady Buccs made the defensive plays needed to prevent more than six hits.
Offensively, the Lady Buccs racked up 13 hits with six of them being extra base hits.
Elizabeth Coblentz, who had a mark on her elbow called RELENTLESS, went 3-for-3 with a home run, a double and three RBIs. She also scored three runs. Kylie Palsgrove also had a huge game as she went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs.
The Lady Buccs are now 20-9 on the season and will face Southeastern in the Regional Final on Friday at Northmont with the game scheduled at 5:00pm.
