One week after its seasons started, and just before spring break, both the George Rogers Clark Cardinals and Lady Cardinals were back on the baseball and softball field respectively. 

As is often the case, results were mixed. 

The Cards went 2-1, with victories over Powell County and Lexington Christian, plus a narrow defeat to Henry Clay. 

The Lady Cards, despite losing their first game of the year, went 3-1 to advance their record to 7-1. 

For the Cards, the week began with a victory over Powell County (4-3). 

With seniors Ben Fulks and Maddox Campbell combining for six shutout innings and eight strikeouts, the Cards’ pitching was more than reliable. 

Just as well, the team got off to an early start offensively on an RBI single by sophomore Abe Mullins, scoring senior Kamden McAlpin. 

The Cards added to their lead in the third and fourth inning on RBI singles by sophomores Jacob Todd and Abrahm Howard, before breaking the game open with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning – led by a triple from sophomore Carson Watkins. 

The game ended in a convincing 8-0 GRC victory, with senior Evan Crowe throwing a scoreless final inning.

“I feel like every game, we’re taking steps to start hitting the ball a little better and get more comfortable day-by-day,” said Fulks, who often plays right field for the Cards. “Pitching [is] something I’ve been working on forever. This offseason, I really had a big implementation of just trying to throw more strikes.” 

The Cards’ next game was another convincing win, this time by a 12-6 score over Lexington Christian (5-5). 

Despite an excellent defensive play by McAlpin, the Cards could not keep the win streak going as they fell to Henry Clay (7-2) by a 5-4 score to end the week. 

With school on spring break, the Cards head to Panama City Beach for a four-game road trip beginning with a matchup against Lake Park (IL) High School on Monday, March 31. 

The Lady Cards, who finished 8-24 in 2024, have already nearly equaled their win total from the previous year and end the week with a 7-1 record under new head coach Matt Puckett. 

Though a scheduled matchup against Bryan Station on Tuesday, March 25, was postponed due to weather concerns, the Lady Cards showed no signs of slowing down when they took the field just twenty-four hours later. 

A dominant 16-1 victory over Nicholas County (1-4), in which eighth grader Zyniia Tichenor recorded four RBIs, followed. 

The Lady Cards looked to continue their win streak to open the season against Bath County (5-3). 

Unfortunately, the Lady Cats had other ideas and stymied the Lady Cards to the tune of a 5-0 defeat. 

GRC rebounded with a 2-0 win over Bourbon County (2-6) during which Tichenor led the team with two hits, and RBIs were added by freshman Kyleigh Chestnut and senior Amyah Maxwell. 

The Lady Cards concluded the week with a 15-5 win against Collins (3-3) – their fourth victory of 10+ runs so far this year. 

Sophomore Arabella Guinn had four RBIs, while Maxwell and eighth grader Jayda Grigsby each had three. 

The Lady Cards’ season continues beginning with a 6:00 p.m. matchup against West Carter High School on Thursday, April 3, at 6:00 p.m. 

More information about the Cards’ schedule can be found at 

https://scoreboard.12dt.com/scoreboard/khsaa/kyba25/93386. 

More information about the Lady Cards’ schedule can be found at https://scoreboard.12dt.com/scoreboard/khsaa/kyfp25/?id=93647.