State softball quarterfinals: 'They just play': Perkins extends Vikings season after walk

LEXINGTON Rowan County struggled to find separation from Johnson Central on Saturday, but was able to eek ahead late in the state tournament quarterfinals to get the win at John Cropp Stadium.

"We made a lot of mistakes that we hadn't been making," Rowan County coach Larry Slone said. "Fortunately we’ve dug out of a lot of jams on the way here. They really handle the pressure well. They just play."

The Vikings secured the 4-3 victory in the bottom of the seventh. Rowan County managed to turn Johnson Central away quickly in the top of the inning, giving the Vikings the opportunity to win the game in walk-off fashion.

And that's exactly what they did.

The Vikings started the frame at the top of their lineup and loaded the bases. Senior Haven Ford occupied one of the bases after a free pass. She had walked three times during the game without getting a hit.

"We’ve faced it a few times this season where they walk around her," Slone said. "But the other kids are able to come through like they did today."

"I know that if they walk me, I have teammates behind me that can drive in just as many runs and hit just as good," Ford added." "When I get walked, I don't look at it like an "aw man" situation. I’m just like this is good, this is great because I know they can knock me in."

With one out on the board, Kassi Perkins found a gap to send a hit into left field. It brought Malana Hamm home for the winning run.

Perkins was 2 for 3 at the plate and collected three RBIs. Hamm had three hits in four at-bats and scored twice.

Ford didn't create any dynamic plays with her bat, but she did manage her 47th stolen base of the year during the game.

Ford has yet to be thrown out during a steal attempt this season, creating another avenue for the Vikings to rack up runs.

"It's a great tool that I have," Ford said. "It automatically puts you into scoring position. You don't have to get up and hit a double. You can just take the walk and move to the next base. Each moment out there, I’m giving it my all and getting into situations where my teammates can drive me in and do whatever the team needs."

The Golden Eagles found pay dirt early in the top of the first inning, putting up a run with the combo of a Randi Delong double and a sacrifice shot from Madelyn Vaughn.

"She's always been a tough competitor, despite whatever jams she might get in," Estep said of Vaughn. "She's a bulldog out there. She fights and competes and always gives us a chance to win. That's what happened today. She fought and kept us in the game. She's our lone senior and we’re certainly going to miss her. I have no doubt she’ll have a good college career."

Rowan County pulled back even in the bottom of the second frame with a sac fly from Brynlee Walker that brought Perkins to the plate.

The Vikings kept cooking in the bottom of the third, loading the bases in the first three at-bats.

Perkins stepped up and hit a single into left field that drove in two more runs to give Rowan County a 3-1 lead.

Johnson Central struggled to find any sort of rhythm after the opening frame, recording just one hit across the next three innings.

In the top of the fifth, the Golden Eagles found some of that rhythm, starting the inning with three straight hits.

Lambert looked like she was going to keep the damage to a minimum, striking out the next two batters, but an error at first got another run across and tied things at 3-3.

"I’m just proud of the girls and what they’ve been able to achieve," Johnson Central coach Phillip Estep said. "We try to encourage our girls to get better from Day 1 and we told them that if they did that, good things would happen and we could make it back here. That was their goal and they set out to make that happen."

It seemed that the Golden Eagles were going to keep the fire burning in the top of the sixth after loading the bases following an intentional walk with just one out.

Lambert put that fire out, however, striking out the last two batters to get out of the inning with the tie game still intact.

"I trusted my pitcher," Slone said. "That's why I loaded them on the walk. She's been able to throw strikes and get them out. I have all the confidence in the world in her. and even if they had hit it, I felt like we could make the play."

The pivotal strikeouts were Lambert's 10th and 11th in the game to that point.

"One of the goals we put on the board before the season started was to put 110% into every pitch, every bat, every play," Lambert said. "I just try to take it one pitch at a time. I know the girls have my back so I just go out there and do my part. I try to cancel out the noise and just pretend it's me and Lauren (Eastham) back there trying to work around the batters."

Rowan County's freshman ace would finish the game with 13 punchouts.

"She's fantastic," Slone said. "When we get above 10 (strikeouts), we’re having a great day. It was a big win for her."

The loss brings an end to Johnson Central's season. The Golden Eagles (28-10) took the 57th District and 15th Region crowns this year.

For Estep, the team has unfinished business to take care of and he's ready to get back to work.

"It's always our goal to win our region," Estepp said. "We have a rich tradition at Johnson Central with softball that dates back well previous to me. We’ve always worked hard to do what we can to make this a reality. I asked the underclassmen who wants to come back, and, naturally, everybody raised their hand. We’ll take a little break. We have several girls playing and traveling during the summer. Then come next spring, we’ll be at it again."

Rowan County (35-4) will move on to the semifinals to play defending state champion Ballard on Friday at 11 a.m. at John Cropp Stadium.

"We want to put the ball in play and force them to play," Slone said. "Then we have to put the bat on the ball against their pitcher because she's awesome."

J. CENTRAL 100 020 0 — 3 8 1

ROWAN CO. 012 000 1 — 4 4 2

Vaughn and M. Delong; Lambert and Eastham. W — Lambert. L — Vaughn. 2B — R. Delong (JC).

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