[Van Hagar]

Corbin beat South 3-0 in the district, for the first time in school history South has finished with a losing record. North does have a decent record (22-9) going into region, but no way are they beating Clay to win the region. This is the 25th year of fast pitch, North (with 17) and South (with 6) combined to win the first 23 years (they were in the 12th region for the first 10 years or so). Clay Co. broke the string last year and should repeat this year, they are really good. My point is--has softball slipped that much here? Can't see it getting much better at South anytime soon, don't have much coming up. North did have a really, really good middle school team, so maybe they have a better chance of coming back, but will kids play for Gregory? He had probably 7 or 8 kids this year that either quit during the season or played last year and didn't even bother coming out this year. It's sad for me, because these used to be the programs we knew year in and year out would make noise statewide. Now we're just middle of the packers at best.

[UKCC]

It’s no secret that Clay County has an historic group of girls and I know North is not as talented as normal (still pretty good) but to see the district championship never be a game was kind of surprising. The Lady Tigers honestly should’ve won 3 region championships in a row (2016 up in the finals, upset in 2017) so I definitely see where you’re coming from. I don’t think there is a complete changing of the guard. North will likely shift back to the top next year; I’m not as familiar with South.

[Bulldogs4Ever]

Maybe everyone else has caught up.

[Van Hagar]

Maybe everyone else has caught up.

No trust me on this one, I’ve been around it the entire 25 years. This Clay Co. team is the exception, they could compete pretty much in any era. But right now everything else in the 13th, 14th, 15th and now 16th with Fouts graduated, is mediocre. At best. North and South have come back to the pack, the pack hasn’t caught up to them.

[Van Hagar]

It’s no secret that Clay County has an historic group of girls and I know North is not as talented as normal (still pretty good) but to see the district championship never be a game was kind of surprising. The Lady Tigers honestly should’ve won 3 region championships in a row (2016 up in the finals, upset in 2017) so I definitely see where you’re coming from. I don’t think there is a complete changing of the guard. North will likely shift back to the top next year; I’m not as familiar with South.

I actually think South will be the early favorite, especially if Jervis can get back to pitching, they only lose two fringe players. North loses Gregory and Riley, but like I said a really good middle school class coming. Be interesting to see how far Clay drops, even though they lose their core group, they do return several solid players, but not sure what kind of pitching they will have.

[UKCC]

I actually think South will be the early favorite, especially if Jervis can get back to pitching, they only lose two fringe players. North loses Gregory and Riley, but like I said a really good middle school class coming. Be interesting to see how far Clay drops, even though they lose their core group, they do return several solid players, but not sure what kind of pitching they will have.

Good points. I would say Clay will still be pretty competitive, like you said they return a decent group to work with. The region is losing a lot of talent as a whole.

[walterwhite]

Clay has two things that the Laurels used to have, a dominate pitcher and rock solid defense that makes all of the routine plays. Clays senior class is a special group. Next year it will return to a Laurel dominated region once again. North should be pretty good, but young. South will be much improved. Clay will be competitive but not near the level they are now. Look for Whitley County to be in the race next year.

[cchsfan4life]

Watching the middle school program this year........South Laurel was down pretty bad. North had a really good middle school team. Softball all starts with pitching and being able to make the routine plays. North Laurel pitching in middle school was without a doubt the best I saw from any 13 region teams.

[HCS]

Harlan County brings back six starters and their catcher returns after a year of not being able to play. She would have been their second or third best player this year and is a three-year starter. I'm not saying they should be the favorite, but they are a top five team and will have the region at home next year, if I heard correctly.