Softball Recap: Monday's Victory Is Knox Central's Fourth in Last Five Outings

Knox Central had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 16-run drubbing they dealt Barbourville on Monday. The Panthers never let the Tigers get on the board and left with a 16-0 win. The Panthers not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since March 27th (when they won 20-2).

Blakely Castle

Batters Struck Out

04/28/25 @ Barbourville	5
04/24/25 @ Harlan County	1
04/22/25 vs Pineville	4
04/18/25 vs Cumberland Gap	3
04/14/25 @ Leslie County	2
+ 3 more games

Blakely Castle was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. What's more, she posted five strikeouts, the most she's had since back in March. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one home run and one double.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Hannah Melton, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four runs, and two stolen bases. Those three hits gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jayme Swafford, who went 2-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and two doubles.

Knox Central has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won four of their last five matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 8-6-1 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Barbourville, they are on an eight-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-9.

Coming up, Knox Central will head out on the road to take on Clay County at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. As for Barbourville, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Harlan County at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.