The final day of the 10th Region softball tournament was nothing short of a roller coaster ride.
Harrison County defeated Mason County 6-1 in the first semifinal. Then, in a thriller, Campbell County rallied to beat Montgomery County 7-2—less than an hour before returning to the field for the championship game. That’s where the Fillies took control, shutting out Campbell County 8-0 Thursday night in Falmouth.
Emotions ran high all day, largely due to previous rain delays that forced both semifinals and the final to be played on the same day. Just preparing for their biggest game of the season to that point proved to be a challenge.
“We didn’t even really get to enjoy the semifinal win,” Campbell County head coach Sandi Kitchen said. “Forty minutes. We were supposed to get an hour after the game, but it ended up being 40 minutes because that’s how far it was from the 7:30 time. It’s hard because of the rain. Pendleton County did an outstanding job trying to get the fields ready. My only wish is that we could have enjoyed the game against Montgomery.”
That semifinal matchup with Montgomery County was a thriller in its own right.
Down 2-0 after the first inning, the Lady Camels were quiet until the sixth, when their bats came alive. They scored all seven of their runs in that frame—highlighted by Faith Whitford’s RBI triple, Moriah Price’s RBI single and a bases-loaded walk, before Josie Feebeck capped it with a grand slam.
From there, Campbell County quickly shifted gears, moving from one dugout to the other and squeezing in a short warm-up before facing one of the top 25 teams in the state—Harrison County.
Though it wasn’t by much, the Fillies had a bit more rest—and another clear advantage in tournament MVP Bella Persinger, both on the mound and at the plate. She launched a solo home run in the first inning to give Harrison County an early 1-0 lead.
“When she gave us that 1-0 for the first five innings or so with that home run, that was pretty special,” Harrison County head coach—and Bella’s father—Chad Persinger said. “She’s been getting pitched outside for weeks, and I guess that’s the scouting report for her. She finally got one over the plate and didn’t miss it.”
Though the Lady Camels had taken time to get their bats going earlier in the day, there was still hope they’d come alive again late in the title game. But they never quite reached that same spark.
Campbell County managed just five hits and nearly matched that total with four errors.
“We had a couple hits here and there, but couldn’t lump enough together,” Kitchen said. “We needed the momentum, we just ran out of gas.”
What had been a 1-0 game early turned lopsided in the fifth and sixth innings, when Harrison County added two runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth. That final burst included three doubles, a single, and a costly Lady Camels error.
“It takes everybody,” Persinger said. “Just to name a couple, Owyn McCoy made one play after another, and then our catcher Baylee Hudgins played a heck of a game. I’m proud of all of them.”
Campbell County ace Hope Hamilton gave all she had—and then some.
She threw a complete game in the semifinal against Montgomery County, allowing just three hits, two walks, and striking out two. In the second game, she went 5.1 innings, striking out four and walking just one—all while taking a line drive off her hand in the first game and off her leg in the second.
“She’s pitched back-to-back games, but to do it in the same day is a really tough ask,” Kitchen said. “She faced it like a warrior.”
The Lady Camels end their season at 19-6 as 10th Region tournament runners-up, making their first region final appearance since 2017. And despite the loss, it was still a night to be proud of.
“I’m so very proud of these girls for what they did,” Kitchen said. “I hope they understand. We played against two of the top teams in Kentucky, in my opinion, and battled them as much as we could.”
Hope Hamilton, Josie Feebeck, and Sam Perry were named to the All-Tournament Team for Campbell County. The program graduates three seniors: Jayci Kramer, Moriah Price, and Breanha Tate.
Harrison County (33-6) advances to the KHSAA state softball tournament and will face 9th Region champion Holy Cross in the first round on June 6 at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington.
CAMPBELL COUNTY VS. MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOX SCORE
LADY CAMELS 7, LADY INDIANS 2
MONTGOMERY COUNTY — 200-000-0 — 2-3-0
CAMPBELL COUNTY — 000-007-x — 7-5-2
RBI — (CC) Feebeck 4, Griffen, Price Whitford
3B — (CC) Whitford
HR — (CC) Feebeck
WP — Hamilton. LP — Hill.
Records: Campbell County 19-5, Montgomery County 19-6
CAMPBELL COUNTY VS. HARRISON COUNTY BOX SCORE
FILLIES 8, LADY CAMELS 0
CAMPBELL COUNTY — 000-000-0 — 0-5-4
HARRISON COUNTY — 100-025-x — 8-8-1
RBI — (HC) B. Persinger 3, Hamm 2, Dye, Roe
2B — (HC) Dye, Hamm, Newbee
3B — (HC) Hamm
HR — (HC) B. Persinger
WP — B. Persinger. LP — Hamilton.
Records: Campbell County 19-6, Harrison County 33-6