Senior Brooke Hamilton delivered one of the best pitching performances in 3rd Region history on Sunday, throwing a perfect game as the Lady Aces defeated Meade County 2-0 to advance to the 3rd Region Semifinals.
Owensboro Catholic set the tone for the game early, taking advantage of a two-out rally. Senior Addison Tignor was the one who kicked it off with a two-out walk, but it was an RBI double from junior Ruth Jones the following at-bat that gave them a 1-0 lead.
Hamilton then got right to work, striking out three of the first six batters she faced to keep the Lady Waves off the board for the first two innings of play. She took that momentum to the plate as well, leading off the third with a solo home run to left to make it a 2-0 game.
From there, she and Owensboro Catholic never looked back. Hamilton saw 21 batters on Sunday and sat every single one of them down, with 10 of them coming via strikeout, en route to the 2-0 3rd Region First Round win.
It’s not everyday that you get to see a perfect game, nonetheless in postseason play. But at Grayson County High School on Sunday, Head Coach Jeremy Phelps will be the first one to tell you that there was plenty of whispering throughout the park.
“You’re not allowed to talk about it,” Phelps said. “One of the umpires said ‘has anyone been on base?’ I said ‘we don’t talk about that’ and he said, ‘that’s why I whispered it to you.’ I came into the dugout and one of my senior girls that keeps book with me, she noticed it and was like ‘we don’t talk about it.’… That’s just an awesome feeling for her and the team.”
When she was asked about what was working for her in the circle the answer was simple—everything. Hamilton said that mixing speeds, putting spin on the ball and just trusting her defense was what allowed her to have the mentality to just go out and get the job done.
“I’d say it’s 50-50,” Hamilton said. “I’m looking to get it done. I have total trust in the defense behind me. But also, I’ve been close so many times that I get it in my head. This game I tried not to think about it and tried to just play for the team and get the win.”
Along with the perfect outing, Hamilton joined Jones with the lone RBIs of the day. Phelps has often said that Brooke has a bulldog mentality and that competitive edge showed once again to keep the Lady Aces season alive.
“She’s just got that drive to compete,” Phelps said. “Some girls got it. Some girls just have that drive. When the lights are on, how big can you play? It took that whole defense back there.”
Owensboro Catholic will be back in action on Tuesday, as they are set to take on Edmonson County at 8 p.m. at Grayson County High School.
