FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. — An old rivalry was renewed on Monday when the North Laurel Lady Jaguars Fastpitch program faced-off against the Owensboro Catholic Lady Aces.
The two teams battled each other during the late 90s and early 2000s to see who would be crowned state champion.
They are also two of the winningest fastpitch programs in the state.
Owensboro Catholic was able to pull off the win on Monday as Tyranda Stuart’s three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth sealed a 6-3 win for the Lady Aces.
“Tough loss today but teams like this, and games, is exactly why we come down here,” North Laurel coach Chris Edwards said. “We got beat on a walk-off in extra innings to a very good Owensboro Catholic team.
“Their pitcher was fantastic today,” he added.” Kept us off-balanced all day. It was scoreless for a long time and eventually we found ourselves in a 3-0 hole in the seventh.”
Despite being down three runs heading into their final at-bats in the seventh inning, the Lady Jaguars (4-4) showed a lot of fight.
North Laurel tied the game at three apiece after Katie Keen, Katie Sams, and Saige McClure each drove in a run.
“We showed some fight today,” Edwards said. “We tied it up in the top of the seventh with a couple of hits and a couple of other girls that found their way on.
“Tessa Monhollen started and pitched into the seventh inning,” he added. “Went toe to toe with Hannah Robbins. She pitched a great game and only allowed four hits. A very good outing for her. She is only getting stronger and better as the season progresses.
“Again, to lose any game can be tough and certainly we need to clean up some little things that can be the difference in a game like this,” Edwards continued. “Pitching and defense for both teams was very good today. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully we will be ready for it.”
