Loss came after Friday opening round win over Pulaski County
The season came to an end for Henderson County on Saturday night in Lexington as the Lady Colonels fell to George Rogers Clark, 2-1, in the state tournament. Runs were at a premium, in front of a large contingent of GRC fans, as both pitchers delivered masterful performances.
“All year they’ve shown grit. I’ve never heard any complaints. They’ve just been a joy to coach,” head coach Shannon Troutman said. “I love Henderson’s fans. We’ve had such incredible support from the community, the faculty, the staff and the superintendent. The athletic director stayed with us and did everything with us this weekend to make my job easier. Henderson County is a great place to work and a great place to play softball.”
Kamryn Timmons pitched all seven innings, allowing two runs, just one earned, while striking out five, but took the loss as GRC’s Lilli Hill also threw a complete game, allowing just one run to earn the victory. Timmons was named to the Morgan & Morgan All-Tournament Team.
“She pitched a great game and she wanted it,” Troutman said of Timmons. “She swung the bat well too…It’s just incredible and it’s a good experience. I hate leaving on a loss, but only one team gets to leave with the win.”
An error on the first play of the game by HCHS third baseman Jacelyn Wallace allowed Arabella Guinn to reach second base. She advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Addison Matthews, then scored on a short flare to left field by Hill. Timmons struck out the next batter and induced a fly ball out to right field to limit the damage to one run.
“I was feeling a lot of adrenaline. I definitely didn’t want this to be our last game,” Timmons stated. “After we won the region, I definitely changed something in my mindset about pitching. I was definitely locked in because I needed to show up for my team.”
After going down in order in the first inning, the Lady Cols tied the game in the bottom of the second. Timmons walked and was replaced by the courtesy runner, Pacey Parker, who scored from first on a RBI double by Lilly Bennett.
In the bottom of the third, Saniya Shields reached on a single to center field and stole second base. A throwing error by the catcher coupled with a defender slipping in the outfield gave Shields an opportunity to go home, but she was thrown out at the plate.
GRC looked on the verge of scoring in the top of the fourth, but a diving catch in center field by Braylin Risley and a baserunning error by the Lady Cardinals ended the threat.
Henderson’s good fortune would run out in fifth, however. Guinn doubled and moved to third on a single by Matthews. With runners on the corners, Hill hit a possible double-play ball, but was able to beat out the throw, allowing Guinn to score and giving GRC a lead that it would not relinquish.
Hill retired the last six Lady Cols in a row, as the Lady Cardinals claimed the 2-1 victory.
“We left it all out on the field. We were prepared and knew what was coming. We just didn’t produce with our bats. We fought hard and that’s about all we could do,” Maggie Grogan said of her team’s efforts.
Henderson will graduate two seniors from this year’s team in Ayden Bennett and Braylin Risley. Both seniors have been to the state tournament six years in a row. Bennett posted a .453 batting average and led the team with 41 stolen bases. Risley was a .346 hitter and outstanding defender in center field. Bennett will continue her career at the University of Evansville, while Risley has signed to play at Frontier Community College.
“I’m just so proud of those two and I just wanted them to have good memories of Henderson County softball. They represent us the right way,” Troutman said of his seniors.
Henderson finished the season 28-9, while GRC moved to 38-5 and will advance to the state semifinals to face Bullitt East next weekend.
Lady Cols survive late rally from Lady Maroons
It was a wild opening game for Henderson County in the 2026 state tournament as the Lady Colonels were able to withstand a comeback bid by Pulaski County to win 6-5 and advance to the quarterfinals.
After falling behind by a run in the top of the first inning, HCHS made several timely plays to take control of the game.
In the bottom of the first, Saniya Shields reached on a double and moved to third on a single from Ayden Bennett. A base hit from Maggie Grogan would drive in Shields, before a two-out, two-run double by Kamryn Timmons would extend the lead to 3-1.
The Lady Cols added to the lead in the fourth inning when Jacelyn Wallace collected a single and then scored after three consecutive wild pitches by Pulaski County’s Brooklyn Thomas.
An error by Wallace gave the Lady Maroons life in the fifth. However on the next play, center fielder Braylin Risley fielded a sharp single hit by Thomas and proceeded to throw out Rilee Ross at the plate. Pulaski County would score one run in the inning, cutting the lead to 4-2.
Henderson scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. A walk, passed ball, and wild pitch allowed Ayden Bennett to reach third base. Grogan followed with a walk and stolen base before Lilly Bennett sent a sacrifice fly to right field to bring Ayden in to score. Then it was Timmons again who came up with a big, two-out double to score Grogan and push the lead to 6-2. As it turned out, the two insurance runs proved to be crucial.
The two best hitters for the Lady Maroons nearly willed their team to a huge comeback in the top of the seventh. First, Thomas came through with a two-out, two-run home run. Then, Ryann Sowder immediately followed with a solo home run of her own to trim Henderson’s lead to 6-5.
A double by Kynslie Crabtree represented the tying run, forcing Head Coach Shannon Troutman to replace Timmons in the circle with Lilly Bennett. Lilly got the next batter to line out to right field allowing Henderson to breathe a collective sigh of relief and advance with a 6-5 victory.
Timmons earned the victory striking out seven over 6.2 innings. She was also 2-for-3 at the plate with two doubles and three RBI. Grogan scored twice and had one RBI, while Lilly Bennett also collected an RBI and her 13th save. Henderson moved to 28-8 on the season while Pulaski County ended its season 18-17.
