[16th Region]

Kittens add seasoning
Aaron Snyder

04/14/2013 12:17 AM
With seven home runs through the first 13 games, Ashland junior McKenzie Vanover actually went two whole games without a long ball on Saturday.
Here’s what her home run drought looked like: 4-for-6, two doubles and eight RBIs.
Instead of towering drives, Vanover settled for lined shots and a game-winner as Ashland extended its win streak to five games with a pair of impressive home victories — the Kittens beat Oak Hills (Cincinnati), 3-2, and then slammed Greenup County, 16-1, in three innings.
“What a great week,” said refreshed Ashland coach Dave Miller. He was referring to a six-day span that also included wins over Ironton, Boyd County and Fairview.
On Saturday, Oak Hills came onto Blazer’s campus fresh off a 7-2 win over Boyd County on Friday night. The Lady Highlanders were 6-0 behind the outstanding pitching arm of Lauren Slatten. Slatten is committed to the University of Texas.
Oak Hills jumped on Ashland early, with two first-inning runs, before Kittens pitcher Megan Hensley settled in in front of a solid defense to hold the Lady Highlanders scoreless throughout the rest of the game. Hensley tallied 10 strikeouts.
Trailing 2-0, Ashland got on the board in the fourth with a run by Sydney Whitt, who had led off the inning with a triple. It was the first hit off Slatten.
Oak Hills’ pitcher, who hadn’t allowed more than two runs in a game all season, ended up with 15 strikeouts and gave up just two hits against Ashland. The second one was her team’s backbreaker.
Vanover, with two strikeouts in her first two at-bats, was admittedly uneasy when she walked into the batter’s box in the sixth inning. Whitt had walked and Katie Baldock reached on an error, which moved the runners to second and third.
“I was real nervous going into it,” said the power-hitting right-hander. “I had confidence I would hit it but in the back of my mind, I was like, oh, I struck out two times before that.”
Facing a 2-2 count, Vanover ripped a two-run single to give Ashland a 3-2 lead and ultimately a win.
“Mack comes up with a big hit there in the bottom of the sixth then Megan comes in in the seventh with 7-8-9 (in the batting order) up and, game over,” Miller said. “I just thought we played like seasoned veterans in that game.”
Vanover said facing Slatten was a tough task.
“She has really good speed, really good spins,” she said, adding that beating a pitcher of that caliber boosted the Kittens’ confidence tremendously.
The good vibes carried over into Ashland’s second game of the day. The Kittens batted around in the first inning and hung an “8” inside the scoring column.
The Kittens added five more in the second and three in the third to end the game with the 15-run mercy rule after three innings.
Vanover continued her high production, with six RBIs on a 3-for-3 effort. Hayley Kilburn matched Vanover with a 3-for-3 stamp that included two RBIs and three runs scored.
Megan Hensley and Katie Caron each went 2-for-3. Caron also supplied a superb defensive play at second base — a diving snag of a liner to her left — to end Greenup County’s second inning.
Sydney Cullop drew two RBI walks to help round out a dominant offensive performance.
Greenup County (6-9) recorded one hit off Whitt, an RBI single by Lexy Traylor in the third.
The Lady Musketeers also fell to Oak Hills, 7-2, on Saturday.
Greenup County hosts Boyd County on Monday night. Ashland (11-4) hosts Russell on Monday.

OAK HILLS 200 000 0 — 2 6 2
ASHLAND 000 102 x — 3 2 1
Slatten and Price; Hensley and Kilburn. W—Hensley. L—Slatten. 3B—Whitt (A).

GREENUP 001 — 1 1 4
ASHLAND 853 — 16 9 1
Johnson, Mitchell (2) and Howard; Whitt and Kilburn. W—Whitt. L—Johnson. 2B—Vanover (A) 2, Kilburn (A) 2, Hensley (A).