Last week the Lady Laker softball team went 1-1 in 16th district play as they defeated Cumberland County 9-4 and fell to Metcalfe County by the same score.

In the Cumberland County game, Abby Adams was 1-4 with a triple and 2 RBI, Sara McClure was 1-2 with three stolen bases and Tessa Potter was 1-3 with 2 RBI.

"We were excited that the rain held off long enough to get the Cumberland game in, as it was a district game," said Lady Laker coach Stephanie McGowan. "The girls came out of the gate hot with two runs scored off of Abby Adams triple in the first. They played a pretty sound game and then put a rally together in the 5th where they scored six runs."

The 5th inning was a big inning for Russell County as they were aggressive on the bases, went after good pitches and made good contact.

"Overall, we're happy with the win," McGowan said. "I think we could have done better but still happy with the win. There are still some things we need to improve on."

The Lady Laker JV also defeated Cumberland County, 13-4.

"They played amazing," she said.

"When JV stepped onto the field, I could see on their faces they meant business and they weren't going to let up for any reason. It was by far, the best our JV has played so far this year. Their defense was solid and their bats were on fire. Brittany Simpson pitched an amazing game and Raven Helm was a beast behind the plate. Hard to remember they are just 7th and 8th graders."

In the 9-4 loss to Metcalfe, Abby Adams was 1-4 with a triple and an RBI while Baylee Hadley was 1-4 with two stolen bases.

"That was a very interesting game," McGowan said. "There were several calls, that in my opinion were questionable, but those calls didn't lose the game for us. I would like to see those calls taken away, along with a couple other things here and there and see what kind of game would have actually came out, but we can't play the 'shoulda, woulda , coulda' card. We just didn't do it."

Metcalfe had several key hits and were aggressive on the bases as were the Lady Lakers.

"Our first run scored by Baylee Hadley getting on base, stealing two bases and scoring on a passed ball," McGowan said. "We took advantage of a center field bobble and stretched Abby Adams double into a triple. We were pulling some key things together, they just had a big inning and we didn't."

She said her club was disappointed in the loss but again, they still had improvement in areas they had been struggling with.

The Lady Laker JV turned around and beat Metcalfe 9-4.

"Jamie and I have been very impressed with our JV girls," she said.

"They have been bashing the ball and the defense overall has been pretty solid. Brittany Simpson has been doing a great job on the mound. Raven Helm collected two more stolen bases. Tessa Potter, Emily McGowan and 7th grader Susie Roy have been bashing the ball. The JV is feeling pretty confident right now. They observe and encourage the varsity when they play and we always point out learning moments in the game for them to build on. When the JV plays the varsity has been watching and doing the same. Right now, they are learning from each other. There are different key things that both of them are excelling in."