By Keith Taylor

Sun Senior Correspondent

The George Rogers Clark High School softball team saw its season come to an end following a 4-3 loss to Pendleton County in eight innings Tuesday in the semifinals of the 10th Region Tournament.

The Lady Cats (23-14) advance to the regional finals and will take on the winner of the Bourbon County-Campbell County fame in the finale set for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Campbell County. The Lady Cardinals ended the season with a 14-18 record.

“My team played their guys out from the start to the finish. Pendleton county had luck on their side today and we did not,” Clark coach Daniel Rogers said.

Clark collected 10 hits compared to nine for Pendleton County and scored three runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by Ashley Martin’s two-run home run.

“Ashley Martin’s two-run bomb kept us in the game,” Rogers said. “We had opportunities to score and Pendleton County stopped us.”

Emily Schooler took the loss for Clark and pitched in the circle for three and two-third innings. She allowed three runs on three hits and struck out six batters. She walked one Pendleton County batter.  Courtney Miles tossed the remainder of the contest. She scattered six hits and struck out nine batters, while walking three.

Kendall Harrison and Christina Young paced the Lady Cards with two hits each. Marly Rogers, Miles, Schooler, Martin, India Taulbee and Carpenter had one hit apiece.

Samantha Verst scored the winning run for Pendleton County. Verst Kayley Bruener and Maggie Burgemeir each had more than one hit for the Lady Cats. Verst had three hits in five plate appearances.

Bruener started and went the distance, giving up 10 hits, three runs and seven strikeouts.

Clark seniors Young, Lauren Carpenter, Lydia Farmer and Miles played in their final game.

“Our seniors really played their hearts out today and I’m very proud of what they accomplished this year along with the rest of the team,” Rogers said. “As a whole the program has made great strides to being one of the top programs in the region again.

“We are competing for the title again and that’s something for these girls to be proud of. Our seniors can look back and say they left everything on the field and they were part of the class that began the climb back to the top.”