Lady Patriots Go 3-0 in Holland, Inc., Classic Including Upset of Greenwood
Sophomore Kinsley Byrn (42) saw action in the circle against the Edmonson County Lady Cats Saturday. Byrn faced four batters in her lone inning of action. (Photo by Donnie Meador).
By Don Meador,
Sports Writer
Jacie Rice’s single in the bottom of the ninth inning in the late-night hours last Saturday not only scored Katie Jo Scott to give the Lady Patriots a 3-2 win over Greenwood but also capped a 15-hour day in which AC-S also downed Edmonson County and Eastern.
The dynamic walk-off win finished a nail-bitter with the Lady Gators–a Greenwood team ranked second in the state in the Kentucky Softball Coaches Association poll. AC-S pushed two nuns across in the bottom of the first. After a pitch hit Payton Hopkins, a Brooklyn Oliver double scored Hopkins. Maddie Gray followed with a walk and Kinsley Byrn was hit by a pitch. Oliver’s courtesy runner Kyndell Clark raced home to score on a passed ball to give AC-S the lead.
Greenwood tied the game with a two-run fourth inning. From there, the contest evolved into a defensive struggle until the second extra inning. Scott ripped a one out hit to right and moved to third on a sacrifice by Ally Anderson. Moments later, Rice’s single plated Scott to end the game.
In the circle, the one-two punch of Oliver and Addison Ausbrooks help key the win. Oliver worked seven innings, allowing four hits and striking out six batters. Ausbrooks closed the game with two innings of relief–giving up one hit to the seven batters she faced.
The Lady Patriots had seven hits in the game. Anderson, Oliver and Scott led the way with two each.
Brooklyn Oliver (13) celebrated her 16th birthday in style last Thursday. Oliver blasted a home run, doubled and singled at the plate, driving in five runs. In the circle, Oliver allowed four hits and struck out three batters to help AC0-S to a 10-7 District win over Barren County. (Photo by Donnie Meador).
AC-S started Saturday with a 9 a.m. 11-0 win over Edmonson County. The long ball was a key. Hopkins homered twice as part of her three-hit, five RBI game. Aubrey Williams also went over the fence. Oliver, Rice, and Kinsley Byrn doubled in the game. Defensively, Oliver held Edmonson County hitless in three innings while Byrn allowed a hit in an inning of relief.
The Greenwood and Edmonson County wins bookended a 9-4 win over Eastern. Like was the case in the other two games, a strong first inning set the stage. Two walks and an Eastern error led to a pair of AC-S runs. The Lady Patriots added a run in the second before Maddie Gray’s two-run dinger in the top of the third staked AC-S to a 5-0 lead.
The Lady Eagles countered with a pair of scorers in the third before AC-S took charge with a four-run fourth. Two hit batters, two singles, and a Lady Eagle error contributed to the Lady Patriot runs.
Gray’s three-hit game accounted for half of AC-S’s hits. Oliver added two hits while Ausbrooks doubled as well. In the circle, Ausbrooks held Eastern to three hits in two innings. Oliver threw two innings giving up four hits.
Allen County-Scottsville outfielder Katie Jo Scott (1) beats a throw to the plate to score a run Saturday morning against Edmonson County. The Lady Patriots blanked the Lady Cats 11-0. (Photo by Donnie Meador).
Lady Patriot Softball Off to 18-2 Start
With one month remaining in the 2025 softball regular season, the Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriot are enjoying a very solid season. AC-S stands 18-2, their best record 20 games into the season since the 2012 AC-S squad started 23-2.
Leading the offensive charge is sophomore Payton Hopkins. The talented infielder is batting a team-high .568, has hit nine home runs, and recorded 25 hits. Senior Jacie Rice is batting .519, leads the team in doubles (9), and shares the team high in hits with 28. Freshman Maddie Gray is batting .500, has eight home runs, 28 hits and a team-high 28 RBIs. Also batting .500 on the year is sophomore Kinsley Byrn. Shiloh Knievel (5), Brooklyn Oliver (3), Aubrey Williams (2), and Addison Ausbrooks (1) have also hit home runs.
In the circle, Oliver has pitched in 14 games, throwing 49.2 innings. Oliver has recorded 67 strikeouts, walked 15, and has an ERA of 2.11. Overall, Oliver’s record is 8-1.
Ausbrooks has pitched in 13 games and has an ERA of 2.93. Ausbrooks stands 9-1 on the season, has recorded 27 strikeouts and walked 18 batters.
As a team, the Lady Patriots are hitting .431, have 210 hits, and went deep 28 times. AC-S has 51 doubles and 10 triples. The Lady Patriots has scored 193 runs, an average of 9.7 per game.
Lady Patriot Jacie Rice (27) fields a hard-hit ball to third base. Rice had two hits as AC-S upended Barren County last Thursday. (Photo by Donnie Meador).
AC-S Blanks
Bowling Green 12-0
The Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriot softball team racked up 16 hits in a 12-0 shutout of the Bowling Green Lady Purples on Tuesday, April 15, at Bowling Green.
The Lady Patriots were never threatened in the contest. Ally Anderson opened the game with a double and scored moments later on a double off the bat of Jacie Rice. Kinsley Byrns’ single plated Rice to give AC-S the early 2-0 lead. The Lady Patriots added a run in the second following singles by Addy Law, K.J. Scott and Anderson.
The third inning would see AC-S push four runs across. Shiloh Knievel’s three-run home run keyed the big inning. In the fifth, Rice’s second double of the game plated Scott as the Lady Patriots opened an 8-0 lead. Four additional runs scored in the top of the sixth. A single by Allison Ausbrooks, a double off the bat of Aubrey Williams, and a home run by Brooklyn Oliver gave the Lady Patriots an 11-0 lead. Law also scored in the inning.
Anderson and Rice finished with three hits to lead the AC-S offense. Oliver, Law and Scott added two hits. In addition to Rice’s doubles, Williams, Oliver and Scott also ripped the two-base bits. Oliver threw 55 strikes in her 84-pitch game. The sophomore allowed four hits and struck out nine Bowling Green (8-6) batters in the win.
AC-S’s 14th win in 16 games marks the best start to a season since 2012–a year in which the Lady Patriots opened 18-1. AC-S travels to Barren County (11-3) Thursday afternoon for a District 15 matchup.
AC-S sophomore Payton Hopkins (16) leads the Lady Patriots in batting through the first 20 games of the year. Hopkins is hitting .556. She also leads the team with nine home runs. (Photo by Donnie Meador).
Lady Patriot Softball Downs Lady Lakers
Three home runs from Aubrey Williams, Maddie Gray, and Payton Hopkins helped the Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriots down the Russell County Lady Lakers 12-1 in softball action Monday, April 14 in Scottsville.
AC-S plated four runners in the home half of the first. After Hopkins drove home Jacie Rice, Gray belted her seventh home run of the season to stake the Lady Patriots to the early lead. In the second, a Rice single scored Ally Anderson to lift the Lady Patriots to a 5-0 margin.
The hosts added seven runs in the third to take complete control. Hopkins led off with a homer, Kinsley Byrn reached on a walk, and Gray doubled. Williams launched her first dinger of the season–a three-run homer to lift AC-S to the 9-0 lead. Two singles, a hit batter, and a Russell County (7-8) error led to the Lady Patriots’ final three runs.
AC-S (13-2) finished with 11 hits. Rice, Hopkins, Gray and Allison Ausbrooks each had two hits to lead the team offensively. Ausbrooks recorded the win in the circle, allowing five hits. Ausbrooks threw 86 pitches in facing 24 batters.
