The Garrard County Golden Lions were too much for the Cardinals to handle as they were defeated 12-2

GRC lasted through five innings before getting run-ruled in five innings.

Courtney Miles started on the mound for the Cards and lasted two innings before Ashley Martin took over for the remainder of the game.

Miles allowed nine hits, eight runs and struck out two.

The Cards gave up those eights runs in the bottom of the second inning.

Marly Rogers came through big for GRC as she hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to give GRC its only two runs of the game.

Rogers went 2-2 at the plate to lead the team.

Garrard marked 18 hits for the day and did not commit a single error.

GRC tallied five hits.

Head coach Daniel Rogers said he thought his team started strong but quickly collapsed as Gerrard’s bats never cooled down.

“Garrard County hit the ball and that’s all I can really say,” he said. “I wasn’t disappointed in our girls tonight because they played hard. Marly hit that two-run home run but give it up to Garrard. They figured out Courtney.”

Martin, who is in eighth grade, said she feels like her team worked together tonight but could not manage to pull out the win.

“We played like a team, but they kept hitting our gaps,” she said. “Whenever a team is able to do that it makes it really difficult. We made plays whenever we could but Garrard got the best of us.”

Rogers said that his team has gotten punched in the mouth a couple times this season but their strength of schedule will be rewarding in the end.

“We’re playing some of the better teams in the state,” he said. “We’ve played through the 11th region and we’re playing teams like Garrard County. All that is making us better. We’ve taken some knocks on the chin, but we’re seeing the best. Hopefully when it comes district time that we are not going to be surprised by anything. That was one of the better pitchers we’ve seen and we hit her pretty decent.”

Rogers said it was difficult to pull Miles off the mound so early in the game.

“They were hitting her pretty hard,” he said. “Everything was right up the middle and they had her timed right. She’s a great pitcher but when the other team times your pitches right then you have to change it up some and that’s what we did. Ashley came in and held her own and it was just a different look for Garrard County to see.”

Martin said it is an adjustment to come in and relieve pitch sometimes, but that it is part of the game.

“It’s really difficult. Whenever you have a defense that you know has your back it can work out pretty great.” she said.

The Cardinals will have a short turn around as they will head to Boyd County on Saturday.

“We’ve talked all year about how losing is not okay, but tonight’s game is different.” Rogers said. “We’re just going to pretend like tonight did not even happen and we did not even play it to be honest. It’s just one of those nights and it happens. It has happened a little bit more than I have liked this year, but we’ve grown as a team, they’ve gotten better as a team and we have progressed. Our bats are looking better and we’ve cut our errors way down. We just ran into a juggernaut tonight.”

Martin said she’s glad she can experience playing against good teams as an eighth grader and knows that it will make her and her team better.

“It will make us more aggressive in the future,” she said. “Since we’re playing these times right now it will only make us better as we finish out the rest of the season and even in the future. It’s going to make me stronger physically and mentally whenever I’m a senior.”

GRC has one of the most diverse rosters in the state with the players’ ages ranging from eighth

graders to only three seniors.

Rogers has complete faith that the experience will come into play soon enough.

“At this point in the year, I’m looking at my eighth graders as freshmen,” he said. “They’ve grown and you can still kind of see the pureness in them. They have gotten better and better. A few games we’ve had four or five eighth graders in the starting lineup. They have really played well and progressed over the course of the year. The future is bright and there’s no question.”

GRC will head to Boyd County Saturday to face Belfry and Boyd with the games beginning at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.