Going into Saturday, the amount of district trophies for Paris softball was less than a handful and the amount state Final Fours were nonexistent.
The state No. 8 Lady Coyotes (23-6) changed that by defeating state No. 3 Cairo 8-6 in Paris to advance to the program's first ever Final Four. Paris will have No. 5 Gallatin (23-8) next at 11 a.m. Friday at the Killian Softball Complex in Springfield. The Lady Coyotes came back down 5-0 and then 6-5 to tie both times before Knightlee Mitten hit a game-winning two-RBI double in the top of the seventh inning. Besides pitching all seven innings, Kennedy Ashenfelter finished 2-for-3 with four RBI for the senior's second straight four-RBI game. Ashenfelter cleared the bases with a double in the third inning prior to Reese Sutton hitting a game-tying two-RBI home run to finish 2-for-3. Cairo (24-5) didn't score in the final four innings.
Look for the full story in the Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, edition of the Mexico Ledger.
