Wolverines get two homers, plenty of hits in softball romp past Avery

Jeff Wilson is having a lot of fun coaching this year’s Polk County softball squad. Games like Tuesday’s outing are a reason why.

The Wolverines rolled to an easy 16-0 five-inning win over Avery, building a 12-0 lead after two innings to secure the Western Highlands Conference win at home. Polk County improved to 11-4 overall, 5-3 in WHC play with the win.

Kinsley Jackson and Hayley Kropp each belted homers over the outfield fence as Polk County pounded out 16 hits in its first game in 10 days.

“We’ve been playing a lot of quality softball this year,” Wilson said. “We’ve been able to piece together timely hitting, timely pitching and good defense. It’s definitely been a lot of fun.”

Jackson finished 3-for-3 and homered from the ninth spot in the batting order during Polk County’s 10-run second inning. Kropp finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and homered in Polk’s four-run third.

The hitting standouts were many. Brittany Jones was 2-for-2 with a double, plus two walks. Ashley Kropp and Maddy Foy also each had two hits.

Avery, meanwhile, had no luck offensively against Polk County freshman Ashley Scruggs, who retired the first 11 batters of the game before giving up a hit. Scruggs struck out seven of those 11.

Kassidy Reynolds came on in relief after Scruggs’ perfect game bid ended and gave up two hits in an inning and a third of work.

Polk County hosts North Henderson on Thursday before returning to conference play next week.

In addition to heaping praise on his team, Wilson also singled out assistant coaches Phillip Miller and Jerry Hensley for their efforts.

“I want to thank my assistant coaches for the job they’re doing,” Wilson said. “They’re working hard.”

Polk County scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to earn a 14-13 win in the junior varsity game.

The WHC standings now look like this following Tuesday’s games: