Kennedy Ashenfelter stepped in the circle and delivered yet again for Paris on Saturday.

Paris vs North Shelby Photo Gallery

All three Lady Coyote pitchers did their part as the team finished third in the Paris Tournament and earned the program’s fourth trophy in the 27 years of the tournament, according to head coach Collin Huffman. Ashenfelter struck out seven and allowed one unearned run in five innings in a 12-1 win over Mark Twain, Reese Sutton allowed four hits and two earned runs in six innings pitched in a 5-4 loss to Community R-6 and Ava Crain had eight strikeouts, six hits and one unearned run in five innings of a 2-1 victory over North Shelby.

“This trophy means a lot just because we played in the games but have not won a trophy,” Huffman said. “Even though it is the third-place, it still is important to us.”

Ashenfelter set the school’s career strikeout record earlier in the week at home against Scotland County and then added 10 on Saturday to her career 457 strikeouts and counting. The senior’s two strikeouts against North Shelby happened with two runners in scoring position and no outs in the sixth inning, helping Paris hold to a slim lead.

“I went into the last inning cold so it was just throw as many strikes as I can and the other girls will back me up,” Ashenfelter said.  “The spin makes all the difference. There are girls that their velocity is pretty high, but their spin isn’t there, which makes them easier to hit.” 

Huffman said Paris (15-4) and North Shelby know each other well after playing three games against each other, with the Lady Coyotes winning the previous two meetings 4-0 and 2-1. They are district opponents so he said there is a good chance they’ll meet yet again. Crain pitched well, Huffman said, but was coming out after two times through the lineup to avoid too much familiarity.

North Shelby attempted to squeeze home a run with a runner at third, but Huffman knew the Lady Raiders couldn’t do it. The bottom of the order was at the plate to make the situation even more obvious to Huffman.

“If we can get in on them, they’re probably not going to be able to bunt it and then we’re at 0-2 and I’ll take our chances every time on 0-2,” Huffman said. “I know she can get me the strikeouts that I need in that situation, and she did. That’s because she’s a senior pitcher.”

Ashenfelter took the record away from Gracie Hatton, who went on to pitch in college and pitched for Huffman with the Lady Coyotes. Hatton broke the record, but Huffman said he thought Ashenfelter could earn the record after Hatton had to miss 12 starts during her senior year due to a broken hand.

This is why the record has been on Ashenfelter’s mind since her freshman year. She said she had the opportunities to pitch varsity from the beginning and could couple that with her work ethic for a memorable senior year.

“It means everything,” Ashenfelter said. “It’s something that my family has talked about every night, and I’ve worked a lot for it. It’s from confidence that all the girls give me and lots of practice, throwing constantly every night.”

“It just shows how good Kennedy is and how she’s grown,” Huffman said. “She understands where to throw the ball, how to throw the ball, when to change the speed and who the hitters are. She can find her strikeouts when she needs them but understands she doesn’t always need them.”

Sutton had five RBI in three games to be among Paris’ most valuable bats during the day and hit a two-RBI home run in the first inning against North Shelby. She said it felt “solid” and reaped the benefits of the advice given by her grandfather, Terry Sutton.

“He told me to get back in the box,” Sutton laughs as she recalled the time her grandfather pointed at her after crushing the home run.

Ashenfelter and Sutton both expected another tough game against North Shelby due to each team having good defenses and a “never give up” attitude. Even during last year’s Paris tournament, the Lady Coyotes’ lone victory during that day was a 2-1 11-inning marathon against the Lady Raiders.

Huffman said he is proud overall how Paris did as it played rematches in every round of the tournament. The Lady Coyotes beat Mark Twain for the second time, then lost to district foe Community for the second time in three meetings and finally beat North Shelby for the third time.

“We had a (defensive) miscue against Community that cost us three runs early in the game,” Huffman said. “It’s tough when you have to see teams over and over. It’s nice we have multiple pitchers so it helps us throw different looks at them.”

Paris plays at Lewis and Clark Conference foe Westran (9-8) at 5 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Coyotes are excited and ready to earn more victories.

“We have more wins now than our whole season last year so I think we are really improving,” Sutton said.