LEXINGTON — North Laurel has a reputation for possessing dominant pitchers at the state tournament level since the beginning of fastpitch in 1995.
Now, eighth grader Emma Carl can be added to that list.
Carl showcased her skills in the pitching circle, holding Letcher Central to just three hits and no runs while striking out nine batters over six innings. Although she faced some challenges in the seventh inning, the Lady Jaguars secured a 6-4 victory.
“She really turned in a great performance tonight,” North Laurel coach Christina Edwards said. “She struggled in the seventh but again, Letcher Central is a really good team. She did give up five hits in the seventh inning but three of those didn’t get out of the infield. Only three hits through the first six innings. She’s been a real warrior lately.”
North Laurel’s 19th appearance in the KHSAA Fastpitch State Tournament unfolded as expected, with strong pitching, solid defensive play, and timely hitting leading to a 38th state tournament win for Chris Edwards’ squad.
“What can I say about these girls,” Edwards said. “They absolutely came to the field tonight and were ready to go from the very beginning.”
The Lady Jaguars (28-9) advance to Saturday’s Elite Eight against Boyd County at 1 p.m. thanks to Carl’s pitching effort, an error-free game by her teammates and key hits from Bella Sizemore, Braylee Fawbush, Katie Keen, Morgan Edwards, Saige McClure, Ellie Adams, and Katie Sams.
“This is the first State Tournament win for North Laurel since 2017,” Edwards said. “That is a goal that my coaches and I had when we took this job was to get North Laurel back on the winning side in the state tournament. Now we have to game plan for Boyd County and see what we can do Saturday. Go Jags.”
North Laurel scored two runs in the second inning while adding and run in the third inning and another run in the fifth inning to build a four-run cushion and that’s all Carl needed.
Edwards got the Lady Jaguars going with a run-scoring single that scored Adams to give her team a 1-0 edge. Keen followed with a run-scoring hit, pushing North Laurel’s lead to 2-0.
McClure led off the bottom of the third with a triple while Bella Sizemore followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring McClure to give the Lady Jaguars a 3-0 advantage.
McClure led off the bottom of the fifth with a ground ball that was misplayed, allowing her to reach second base. She scored on a hit from Fawbush, giving North Laurel a 4-0 edge.
Sizemore and Sams both had hits in the bottom of the sixth to give the Lady Jaguars a 6-0 advantage.
Carl continued to dominate until the bottom of the seventh.
The Lady Cougars pushed across three runs, but the damage was already done, as Carl improved to 16-5 and now has over 100 strikeouts this season.
She pitched a complete game while allowing five hits and one run. Carl also had 10 strikeouts.
Adams led North Laurel at the plate with a 2-for-2 effort while scoring once. McClure had two hits and scored twice while Sizemore finished with a hit and a team-best two RBI. Edwards had two hits, an RBI, and scored twice while Katie Sams, had a hit and RBI, and scored once. Fawbush and Keen had a hit and an RBI apiece.
“Offensively, we had 10 hits with multiple hits from Saige McClure, Ellie Adams, and Morgan Edwards,” Edwards said. “Four extra base hits as well. Letcher Central has a tremendous pitching staff so I think those numbers speak to how we have been seeing the softball.”
