The defending state champs face fifth-ranked Scott County Friday
“Refuse to lose mentality. A lot of grit.”
This is how Henderson County Lady Colonels Softball Head Coach Shannon Troutman described his team after a strong opening weekend at the 2025 state tournament.
The Lady Colonels began their title defense last Thursday with a 4-1 win over the North Laurel Lady Jaguars.
The Lady Cols had to overcome early adversity as the Lady Jags took the lead with a first inning run. Then, star pitcher Anna Kemp tweaked her ankle attempting to field a ground ball hit back to her. She was removed from the pitching circle and was replaced by Mackenzie Burczyk.
Kemp was able to stay in the game as a batter and wasted no time making an impact. She knocked in two runs with a hard hit double, giving Henderson a lead they would not relinquish.
Braylin Risley added an RBI triple to push their advantage to 3-1. Saniya Shields added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI groundout that allowed Pacey Parker to score the game’s final run.
Burczyk delivered a masterful performance. She did not give up her first hit until the sixth inning. According to KHSAA, Burczyk finished with 5.2 scoreless innings and six strikeouts. The win moved her to 7-3 on the season.
Kemp was able to pitch in the seventh, despite her injury, and closed the game to pick up her third save of the season.
“Before that game, Anna was telling us in times of failure, look for the success. I saw her go down. I told myself this is a failing point right now, runners on, down by one. Get this success and get these last couple outs and we can come in and come right back,” Burczyk said.
Adversity struck again on Saturday, as the Lady Cols’ quarterfinal matchup against the Daviess County Lady Panthers was plagued by poor weather. The first rain delay came five minutes into the game and lasted approximately 22 minutes.
When play resumed, HCHS was able to come up with a run on an RBI groundout by Burczyk, which plated Ayden Bennett in the bottom of the first.
The two teams soon experienced a second pause in action due to rain, which spanned one hour and 23 minutes. The third delay, which occurred around 10:11 p.m. CT, would be too much as after about 22 minutes, the decision was made to postpone the game until Sunday afternoon.
When HCHS resumed action against the state’s #4 team in the KHSAA RPI, the Lady Cols finally got their bats going. A huge sixth inning saw them score four runs, with Bennett and Shields each driving in a run and Risley collecting a two-run single.
Risley finished the game 2-4 with three RBI. Kemp also picked up an RBI in the fifth.
Another highlight of the weekend was the play of Raylee Stanley at first base. The seldom-used sophomore knew playing was a possibility and was called upon about an hour before the game to handle first base duties.
On Stanley’s performance, Troutman stated that she “owned the moment” and “saved us four or five times.”
Stanley played both games at first magnificently, including executing several stretches and digs at the bag to secure important outs.
“I told myself I’ve been working at this all year,” Stanley said. “We always talk about don’t get too low or too high. Stay at that middle ground to make sure you’re ready for any opportunity that comes your way.”
Neither the delays, nor her ankle, proved to be issues for Kemp, who started the game Saturday perfect through four innings. She continued on the mound on Sunday and finished with a complete game, 4-hit shutout, improving her record to 22-3 on the season.
“Initially, I was a little scared. I just wanted to be able to be there for my team and with my team,” said Kemp of her immediate thoughts on her injury. “Thankfully, I finally was able to push through it and bear the pain to close the game.”
Things do not get much easier for the Lady Cols (33-6) who will face the Scott County Cardinals next. They are #5 in the state, while Henderson sits at #6.
The 11th-region champion Cardinals come into the matchup with a 27-6 record. The two teams did not meet in the regular season this year. According to KHSAA’s records online, the two teams have met three previous times dating back to 2005, with Henderson County winning all three matchups.
Senior and Georgia-signee Ada Little leads the way for the Cardinals both pitching and at the plate. KHSAA’s stats show that heading into the state tournament, Little was hitting .431 with a team-high 10 home runs and 40 RBI.
The lefty also owned a 22-6 record, throwing 169.1 innings with a miniscule 0.91 ERA and a whopping 273 strikeouts. So far this postseason, she has struck out 14 over 14 innings, allowing just two earned runs.
“They’re a quality program. Ada Little is very good. But we faced hard pitching the last game, too. It’s most likely going to be a low-scoring affair. We just got to find a way to scratch a few runs across the board on them,” said Troutman.
Awaiting HCHS should they advance to the championship game for the third straight year is either the 7th region’s Assumption Rockets (33-6) or the Lawrence County Lady Bulldogs (26-7) from the 15th region.
Assumption should be favored to win as they are the #2 team in the state and are top 5 in scoring. They defeated the Lady Cols back in April, 7-2, in a game in which Kemp did not pitch.
Henderson County’s semifinal game will be 9 a.m. CT Friday at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington. The state championship game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday.
Fans can purchase tickets online via GoFan on KHSAA.org. A live stream of the state tournament can be viewed on KHSAA.tv with a subscription. Fans can also listen live on WSON.
A team sendoff will be 12:30 p.m. CT Thursday at North Field.
