Walton-Verona builds momentum heading to All ‘A’
- Bearcats are 11-5
- W-V won the Eighth Region All “A” tourney
- Bearcats are 2-0 in 32nd District play
WALTON – Spring Break and Easter baskets offered no rest for the Walton-Verona High School softball team, who are in a stretch of nothing but high-stakes games of late.
The Bearcats are preparing to go to Owensboro this weekend to take part in the All “A” Classic state tournament. W-V will play in pool play Saturday, April 26, hoping to eventually play for the state title Sunday afternoon. Sixteen regional champions are in the field.
W-V is in a pool with Green County, Middlesboro and Jenkins.
“They’re excited,” said head coach Marlin Gregg. “They’re into it. They’re hitting the ball real well and they have a lot of confidence. I tell them every day they have a choice. We get to choose how we play every day. They take that stuff to heart and they’re working hard.”
Gregg said Green County is a veteran of All “A” tourney play and has beaten the Bearcats a couple of times in past state tournaments. Two of the four teams will advance to single-elimination play Sunday.
“I think we can play with (Green County),” Gregg said. “They’re strong hitters, they’re well-coached. We need to win two of the three games to move on to Sunday. They all have good records.”
The state tourney comes right after a stretch in which the Bearcats played all their seeding games in the 32nd District in a seven-day span. After beating Williamstown 12-1 and Simon Kenton 8-7 on consecutive days, the Bearcats were set to play SK again April 21 and at Grant County April 24. Only the first meeting between each team counts for the tournament bracket, and the Grant game completes W-V’s portion.
The Bearcats, 11-5 entering the second SK game, are used to coming through of late. In the All “A” regional final, W-V edged Gallatin County 5-4. W-V came from behind to win on a game-ending two-run single by Lexie Rouse in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Walton pitcher Hannah Thacker nailed down all three regional wins. Thacker, Julann Ginn and Emily Quatkemeyer were named all-tournament, and teammate Olivia Dezarn was MVP.
Against Simon Kenton, W-V held on after leading 7-0. The win avenged the Pioneers’ shutout in last season’s district final as Simon Kenton swept all three games last year. After that, W-V split two games with Collins April 19, losing 10-0 and winning 6-2. Gregg said Collins was the second-best team in the Eighth Region.
Despite the close wins, the Bearcats are still a work in progress.
“The one thing that can put us over the top is our situational play,” Gregg said. “Our game knowledge is not where it needs to be. We’ve lost four one-run games. We’re still pretty young and learning how to win.”
The Bearcats aren’t done after the All “A”. They play at defending Ninth Region champ Notre Dame April 28 then plays at Gallatin April 30.