No. 3 Corydon scores win at SC

Corydon Central scored five runs in the fourth inning Monday to defeat county-rival South Central, 6-2, in softball.
It was the first meeting between the two teams time since 2007, as scheduled games after that time have been canceled due to weather.
The Lady Panthers, who have climbed to No. 3 in Class 3A, utilized speed to score the first run. Lead-off hitter Shelby Short stole two bases after drawing a walk. On Short’s attempt to steal third base, the ball skirted by the bag, allowing the speedster to cross the plate.
From that point, both teams were held hitless through three innings by pitchers Jenna Keinsley (Corydon Central) and Erica Coulter (South Central).
The Lady Panthers broke the game open in the fourth inning. Savanah Cesar and Abby Ellett drew walks, and Annalea Miller singled to load the bases. Kaitlyn Money delivered with a 2-run double. She was then followed, with two outs, by a Chrissy McAfee single that plated two runs. Catherine Day and Short added singles to give the Lady Panthers the 6-0 lead.
‘We didn’t play our best ball today, but we have gotten in 22 games so far,’ Corydon Central coach Kim Briscoe said. ‘I am excited we have played this many games, but not so excited about not getting things done.’
South Central threatened in the fifth inning when Brittany Brown and Carolyn Zipp led off with singles. Samantha Turner later loaded the bases when she drew a walk. Keinsley, however, escaped the jam with a strikeout and forcing a pop out.
‘A few of us battled, but we didn’t win it,’ South Central coach Marty Kuerzi said. ‘Erica did a good job, but we may have missed a few calls. She threw her change-up real well today and kept them off balance.’
South Central was able to get on the board in the seventh inning when Brittany Brown led off with a double to the fence. Zipp added her second hit, a single, and Courtney DeWeese plated Brown with a single that went beyond the outstretched glove of Cesar at second base. Zipp eventually scored on a passed ball, making the score 6-2.
‘Our middle of the lineup hit the ball really well,’ Kuerzi said. ‘Corydon is definitely the best team we played this year. We battled for seven innings and didn’t lay down. There weren’t many errors on our part, which is a goal we set today.’
Keinsley ended the game with three consecutive strikeouts. She concluded with 14 strikeouts.
‘I expect teams to catch up with her sometime in the game,’ Briscoe said of Keinsley. ‘That is the way the game is, but we haven’t realized it yet. A win is a win and life goes on.’
The win snapped a three-game skid for the Lady Panthers, who dropped three games in a tournament at Noblesville Saturday.
‘We weren’t ready to play and left our comfort zone,’ Briscoe said. ‘Our field is under water so we weren’t prepared to go up there, and we just didn’t figure it out all day. We have three weeks to figure this out, and we will. They are taking it a little too casual, and it is a mid-season thing for most teams. We aren’t getting the job done in some places.’
Versus South Central, the Lady Panthers welcomed the return of Cesar, who missed several games with an injury. Catcher Angela Shutters is nursing a thumb injury and will miss the next few weeks.
Corydon Central’s game today (Wednesday) versus Tell City will take place at Tell City at 5. The game was originally scheduled at Corydon Central. Also this week, the Lady Panthers will host Salem tomorrow at 5 p.m. and Meade County on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
South Central will host Holy Cross (Ky.) for a varsity double-header today at 5. The Lady Rebels will resume Southern Athletic Conference play tomorrow at New Washington; game time is 5:30 p.m.