13th REGION SOFTBALL

Corbin Lady Redhound Coach Chris Hart hoped he would draw away from regional foes, North Laurel and South Laurel in the 13^th Region Softball pairings at Whitley County today. He got his wish when the two power houses along with Middlesboro drew in the lower bracket for this week’s tournament set to begin Monday at Whitley County High School.

Corbin will be the highest ranked team in the upper bracket, making them a favorite to reach the finals scheduled for Wednesday.

The Lady Redhounds will play Clay County, a team they have defeated twice this season. Corbin defeated the Lady Tigers, 10-0 and 6-0 on the way to a 18-11 record this season.

“I am very pleased with the draw,” said Hart. “I knew we would be away from South Laurel with the way the district turned out and I wanted to make sure we stayed away from North Laurel as long as possible because they are definitely the favorite in this tournament.”

“It doesn’t mean we don’t have to come ready to play,” said Hart. “We have to play Clay County and we have played two fairly tough games against them and it’s hard to beat a good team three times.”

Clay County comes into the tournament, 17-8 after playing a light schedule. The only ranked or even close to ranked teams they have played this year was Pulaski Southwestern, who defeated the Tigers, 10-2 and Corbin, who they have yet to score on.

Clay County is 5-6 on the road this year.

“If we don’t come out to play, we could be going home early with an upset,” said Hart.

The Lady Redhounds will be led by seniors Andria Shirar and Kendra Igo. Both have played well late in the season. Corbin upset number one seed South Laurel in the district finals and played North Laurel to a 1-0 loss late in the season.

The tournament opens Monday with Pineville, a surprise winner over Knox Central in the 51^st District finals, 8-5. The Lions come to the region with a 7-9 record.

Pineville lost a pair of regular season games to the Lady Bears. The have one of the region’s top pitchers in junior Chatman Taylor.

Harlan County comes into the region with a 13-7 record, having lost to Middlesboro in the 52^nd District finals, 9-1.

In the bottom bracket, the region’s second highest ranked team, South Laurel, will take on Middlesboro in what could be the best first-round game of the tournament. The Lady Cardinals are led by the hard-hitting, tough pitching of junior Emily Gaines. Gaines hitting over .400 is a tough out for any team.

The nightcap will see the Knox Central Lady Panthers have the task of facing 4^th ranked North Laurel, 28-7, the state’s winningest program since fast pitch began. The Lady Jaguars have played a grueling schedule which should prepare them for a state title run if they can get out of the 13^th region. They will more than likely have to go through cross-town rival South Laurel and Corbin to do that.

North Laurel is led by all-state candidates Rachel Akins, catcher, Courtney Brock, center fielder and Megan Taylor, a junior pitcher. The Lady Jaguars have a stingy defense that allows only 1.7 runs per game. They are one of the top defensive teams in the state.

The 13^th Region winner will play the winner of the 10^th Region (Montgomery, Clark Co or Harrison Co) next Friday at 10:45 a.m. at Jack C. Fisher Park in Owensboro.