Lady Panthers advance to district tourney championship game

HORATIO — The Magnet Cove Lady Panthers continue to spark with impressive softball play and have advanced to the championship game of the 2A-7 District Tournament hosted in Horatio. The Lady Panthers topped Murfreesboro 10-3 Thursday in the s emi - final round. The stout pitching of Haylie Helton earned the victory and went five innings, giving up two runs and no earned runs from her performance in the pitcher’s circle. Bella Harville earned the save in relief on the rubber. Murfreesboro took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning and then Magnet Cove had an offensive explosion in the fifth and sixth innings.

Marleigh Mccutcheon, Izzy Sawyer, Kynsli Brashears, Helton and Harville led off the inning with five consecutive hits. Hadley Herrington sparked from a bunt with the Lady Panthers scoring five runs in that inning. In the sixth inning the bats stayed hot for Magnet Cove with Mccutcheon and Sawyer reaching on base from hits and Helton powering a three- run home run.

Magnet Cove softball head coach Hunter Vincent was proud of the effort and his team’s overall execution. “I was very happy with our mental toughness in this game. I felt like we were focused and early on we hit the ball and it would either go right to somebody or they would make a good defensive play. I felt like the offense would come around and it did,” Vincent said.

“Defensively we played very solid, [Haylie] Helton and [Bella] Harville both pitched good and the infield and outfield played good behind them—cara Roberts made several key catches from her right field spot.” Vincent also noted, “This was the first time all season that we had to come from behind in the last few innings for a win and boy did the girls respond.”

“As a coach, you love to see your team grow and this was a game that I don’t think we would have been tough enough to win a year ago. But they responded exactly how you should respond, tighten your cleats and gloves and go get the job done,” he added.

UP NEXT

Today, Magnet Cove will play in the championship game of the district tournament in Horatio at 4:30 p.m. and in the first round of the regional tournament next Thursday.