North Callaway proved this year is definitely a different year on Wednesday.
In the first round of the Class 3 District 4 tournament at Southern Boone in Ashland, the Ladybirds (21-12) defeated Callaway County rival Fulton 5-3 to notch their first win over the Lady Hornets since 2016 and first victory over them in the postseason since 2011. Fulton (17-9) defeated North Callaway 8-7 on a walk-off home run earlier this season.
Fulton had a 3-2 lead after the second inning and had loaded the bases in back-to-back innings against Megan Schmidt in the second and third innings. Schmidt closed her seven innings with 15 straight outs, finishing with seven strikeouts, five hits, two walks and an earned run. In the fifth inning, Liv Knoepflein tied the game with a RBI single and then Kendra Pennell (2-4 with a triple, double and RBI) hit a go-ahead RBI double to make it 4-3. Faith Cash added a RBI single in the sixth inning, Ella Slater was 2-for-2 with two walks and a RBI double, and Kymorie Myers had a RBI double.
North Callaway faces No. 1 seed and top-ranked Centralia (25-3) at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Ladybirds play Centralia for the second time this season following a 12-2 loss this year.
Look for the full story Friday on the Mexico Ledger website.
