Madisonville-North Hopkins centerfielder Zoe Davis robbed what would have been a three-run home run by Allie Felker in the top of the seventh inning, and the Lady Maroons went on to beat Caldwell County 2-1 in eight innings in the championship game of the 7th District softball tournament Thursday night in Princeton.
Madisonville won the district championship for the eighth straight year while Caldwell’s drought continues, going back to 2002.
Lady Maroon pitcher Paige Patterson and Caldwell’s Illysa Stallins allowed just one run each through seven innings to send the game to the eighth.
Patterson struck out 11 and allowed just five base hits.
Stallins allowed 13 base hits but worked out of several jams to keep Caldwell in the game.
Mikayla Baize singled up the middle with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth to win it for Madisonville. She finished 3-for-4 at the plate.
After a one-out triple into the right-field corner by Amber Osborne, Caldwell intentionally walked the next two batters to load the bases and set up a force out at home plate. But Baize drove a ground ball through the infield to bring home the winning run from third.
For Caldwell, Presley McKinney was 2-for-3 with a double while Brylee Butts drove in the lone run for the Lady Tigers with a fourth-inning single.
Madisonville tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out RBI single to center by Kennedy Justice, and that’s where things stayed until the eighth.
Both the Lady Tigers and the Lady Maroons advance to the 2nd Region tournament, which begins Saturday at Christian County.
Caldwell is now 14-14 while Madisonville is 13-14.
