Henry County softball coach Ally Vaughn earned her 75th career district win with a 7-2 victory over Owen County on Thursday, April 17.
Vaughn remains undefeated in 31st District action during her tenure with a perfect 75-0 record, including five straight district championships.
“I feel great, but I have to give all the accomplishment to my team. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible for me to do this, so thanks to all my girls throughout the years and my current team,” said Vaughn in a postgame video posted to Henry County softball’s social media page.
To achieve the feat, the Lady Cats picked up another win over Owen County on the road. After a 12-8 win over the Lady Rebels at home on Tuesday night, Henry County struck first in Thursday’s matchup to take an early lead.
Sophia Lay utilized a line drive to right field to bring in Micah MaGruder for the first run of the night, and Kerragan Bowles added another run on a ground ball to left field by Autumn Shea.
The Lady Cats stranded two Owen County runners in the bottom of the inning to maintain their 2-0 advantage.
After holding Henry County scoreless in the top of the second, the Lady Rebels trimmed the lead to one in the bottom of the frame.
Following a single to third base, Hannah Mason scored on an error by the Lady Cats during Sophia Perry’s at-bat to bring the score to 2-1.
Both teams picked up the defensive intensity across the next two innings to leave the score at 2-1. Lay earned three strikeouts and the Lady Cats picked off an Owen County runner at first in the bottom of the fourth as well.
After two three up, three down outings, Henry County got back into an offensive groove in the top of the fifth inning.
Bri ORourke led off with a single to center field, and two plays later, Kennadie Hamby blistered a hit to left field for a home run to push the lead to 4-1.
MaGruder followed the homer with a double to left field and Lay contributed an RBI double to center field on the next play to extend the margin to 5-1.
Macey McManis kept the momentum going with an RBI single to left field, bringing in Bowles for the sixth run of the game.
Avery McManis capped off the surge with an RBI single to center field to put the Lady Cats ahead 7-1.
Owen County bounced back in the bottom of the fifth and quickly loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a single.
Henry County withstood the attack for a fly out before Owen County drew another walk to send Perry home and trim the lead to 7-2.
The Lady Cats regrouped and struck out the next two batters to end the inning, though.
Henry County had a chance to add to the lead in the final two innings, with several strong hits from multiple players. However, the Lady Rebels held off each opportunity and used a double play to close out the top of the seventh inning.
Henry County matched the effort in the field, though, to contain Owen County down the stretch to secure the milestone win.
Overall, all nine batters for Henry County earned at least one hit, led by Macey McManis with three.
Hamby, Lay and McManis had two RBI each, and MaGruder had a team-high two runs.
In the circle, Lay recorded nine strikeouts in a complete game as well.
With the win, Henry County moves to 8-7 on the season.
