Times staff
sportswriter
The weather has played havoc with the softball season so far. Despite the fact winter tries to stick around a few bright, warm days have made an appearance. The Lady Pirates have been just as persistent. Last week the team dropped two out of three games, but still look to be improving.
Following a mercy rule loss Estill County last Monday, Powell took to the road to play Clark County the following day. The Cardinals picked up three runs in the bottom of the second, third and fourth innings, enroute to an 11-1 win. The hosts picked up 10 runs and took advantage of three Lady Pirate errors to pick up the win.
Powell did manage to score in the fourth. Erika Howard singled and scored from first on a double by Makayla Rucker. Rucker’s shot was deep into left centerfield. Overall the Lady Pirates managed to pick up four hits on the night.
Last Thursday Powell hosted the Nicholas County Lady Bluejackets. The two teams historically have played some close games. This contest was no different. The teams battled back and forth, but in the end Nicholas picked the 7-4 win.
Both teams picked up a run in their halves of the first inning. Then both scored twice in the third inning to make it a 3-3 game. From there Powell took the lead in the fourth when Emily Branham reached base on a two out single to right and then stole second base. Olivia Nickell then doubled to left centerfield, scoring Branham to make it 4-3.
Nicholas took advantage of three big hits in the fifth inning, sending six batters to the plate and scoring three of them. The Lady Jackets added another run in the sixth, while Powell could not see, to mount up a counter attack. Nicholas held on for the 7-4 win.
Nichols scored the seven runs on nine hits, while committing three errors. Powell picked up four hits and three errors. Branham led Powell going two for three at the plate with a walk, two stolen bases and scoring three of Powell’s four runs. The loss was Powell’s fifth straight, following opening the season with five straight wins.
Powell took to the road last Friday to round out the week and play Leslie County. The game was a lot closer than the Lady Pirates had hoped for. For a time Powell had to fight back from a deficit, but the Lady Pirates would not be denied. The team battled hard to pick up a 13-10 win. The victory put Powell back in the win column as the record is now 6-5.
The Lady Pirates game at Owsley County was canceled on Monday due to another blast from Old Man Winter. They were scheduled to travel to Hazard on Tuesday for a game with the Lady Bulldogs. The rest of the week Powell will practice and take time off for the prom set for Saturday. They will hit the diamond again next Monday as they travel to Lee County, before returning home to play Wolfe next Tuesday.