Lexington, Ky For the third consecutive season the Lawrence County Bulldogs will be participating in the KHSAA Softball State Tournament at John Cropp Stadium on the campus of the University of Kentucky.
The Bulldogs ( 23-12 ) will open play against 11th Region Champ Madison Central ( 26-8 ) on Thursday at 5:00.
This will be the fifth appearance for the Lawrence County softball program after winning regional titles in 2008, 2010, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The Bulldogs have an overall record of 3-6 in the state tournament including a final four appearance in 2025.
The Dawgs are led by Senior Taylor Blevins in the circle with a record of 20-6 this season and 105 career wins and is approaching 800 career strikeouts. In 2026 Blevins has tossed over 133 innings, struck out 149, allowed 53 runs but only 29 earned and bolsters a 1.49 ERA and has only walked 26 batters. At the plate Blevins is hitting .378 with two homers and 23 runs batted in.
The Bulldog Bomb Squad has hit 37 home runs this season by 8 different hitters.
Top L to R Ella Smith ( 1 ), Taylor Blevins ( 2 ), Jada Patton ( 10 ), Brinley Baisden ( 5 )
Bottom L to R Emalynn Kitts ( 10 ), Addalyn Woods ( 6 ) Lexi Crum ( 2 ), Skyler Horn ( 1 )
Leading the Bulldog offense is Sophomore Jada Patton with a .477 batting average, a total of 52 hits, 56 runs scored, 49 RBIs and is tied for the team lead with 10 Homers, has stolen 23 bases out of 24 attempts, hit 8 doubles and smacked 5 triples. Sophomore Emalynn Kitts has a batting average of .450 tied for the team lead in home runs with 10, collected 50 hits, scored 49 runs, knocked in 38 runs, doubled 14 teams, tripled 4 teams and is 20-20 in the stolen base department. Sophomore Shortstop Addalyn Woods has come on the second half of the year and was the MVP of the 15th Region tournament is hitting .306 on the year with 6 home runs, 14 doubles, 4 triples, knocked in 30 runs, scored 41 times and is 11-12 on stolen bases. Sophomore Aleaha Gillispie is also swinging a hot raising her average up to .354 for the year. 8th Grader Brinley Baisden is hitting .304 with 5 home runs, 37 RBI’s and is 16-17 on stolen bases. Sophomore Lexi Crum is solid at third base and is hitting .297 with 2 homers, 21 runs batted in and 13-15 on stolen bases. Senior Ella Smith is steady in left field and is hitting .272 with 19 runs batted in and is 11-15 on stolen bases. 8th Grader Skyler Horn started all three games behind the plate in the region tournament and did a great job.
Lawrence Co. went 2-1 in last year’s tournament with a first round win over Marshall Co. 5-4 and a quarterfinal win over Taylor Co. 3-2 before falling to eventual state champion Assumption 7-2 in the semifinals.
The Indians of Madison Central didn’t allow a run in the 11th Region tournament with victories over Scott County, Great Crossing and Bryan Station.
Junior Kate Drury is 20-5 in the circle with an ERA of 1.31 in 155 innings of work, struck out 237, allowed 45 runs with 29 of those earned, walked 25 and picked up 2 saves. At the plate she has hit a team high 5 home runs and is hitting .318 on the year.
The leading hitters are Junior Reille Parks with a .405 average, Junior Devan Stewart hitting .409 and Senior Mollie Neeley at .400 for the year.
Madison Central hasn’t been to the state tournament since 2002 when they went 2-2 in a double elimination format in Hopkinsville.
The winner could face off with the #6 team in the country South Warren who is 41-0 and the #1 team in the state.
State Tournament Bracket
Bulldog Head Coach Sam Sparks
“ It’s exciting any time you win a region title, those are not easy to come by. For our girls to put themselves into that position three times is pretty special.”
“ Top to bottom the 11th region is probably the best in the state. Some other regions will be top heavy but not all the way through. You’re going to see a solid team with a couple lefties at the top of the order with speed and can slap it. Then the pitcher bats third and their best power hitter. In the circle she throws a good rise ball, drop ball and change up. There is a reason they haven’t gave up many runs in the postseason.”
“ This group is gritty and will be ready to play on Thursday, that was the thing with our team last year and then it has carried over to this season as well and have put themselves into positions to be successful and win games.”
“ It’s special for our kids that they get the love that they deserve. Lawrence Co. kids getting coached by Lawrence Co. coaches and representing our community and that doesn’t happen at a lot of places anymore. All the players are homegrown, all of the coaches are LC graduates and that makes it more special. We have had tremendous support all around by everyone involved.”
