Thomas Thornton wins 600th as Head Coach

It took until the 9th game of year 22 at the helm for Thomas Thornton to win his 600th game as the Georgetown Softball Head Coach. After a slow start to Sunday's doubleheader in Pikeville, the bats came alive and the pitching delivered in a 9-3 win to split the day and give Thornton the milestone win.

UPike tiook a 1-0 lead after 1, but Georgetown answered back in the top of the 2nd. Alanna Pierce laced a triple to left field to start the inning and scored a moment later on a wild pitch. Ella Forish followed Pierce with a double to keep the momentum going. 2 batters later, Forish scored on a ground ball error to give Georgetown a 2-1 lead.

The bats kept coming in the 3rd. With 1 out, Kaylyn Barnett, the game's starting pitcher, reached on an infield single and promptly stole second. Barnett moved to third on a groundout and was brought home on a single by Stevie Shepherd for a 3-1 lead. Alanna Pierce followed with a single to left and ultimately reached third after a UPike error. Shepherd came home on the chaotic play to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead. Elle Prewitt took over on the mound for Barnett in the bottom of the inning and was able to wiggle out of a bases-loaded jam with a double-play to keep UPike at bay.

After a scoreless 4th, the Tiger bats came through again for Coach Thornton in the 5th. Stevie Shepherd led off with a walk. 2 batters later, Ella Forish grounded back to the pitcher but a poor throw to first allowed Shepherd to come all the way around and sent Forish to 3rd. Kinley Lucas followed with a solid single to center to score Forish and push the lead to 6-1. 2 batters later, Elle Prewitt helped her own cause with a single to left to score Lucas. Prewitt moved to 2nd on a wild pitch and came home on a RBI single from Ellie Price. In total, Georgetown scored 4 runs in the inning for an 8-1 lead. UPike got 2 runs back in the bottom of the inning and threatened for more, but Emma Cummings came out to get the Tigers out of another bases-loaded spot to keep the lead at 5 going to the 6th.

The Tigers' final run came via a Stevie Shepherd sacrifice fly in the top of the 6th. Ainsley Herron scored after drawing a walk, stealing 2nd, then taking 3rd on a wild pitch. UPike again threatened but Cummings was able to induce a fielder's choice with 2 runners on to close out the 6th. The right-hander then struck out 2 of the last 3 batters in the bottom of the 7th to end the game and deliver Coach Thornton his 600th win since becoming the Tigers' head coach in 2002.

The win also makes Thornton the 18th active coach in the NAIA to surpass 600 coaching wins.

The Tigers are slated to finally make their 2024 home debut on Tuesday against Pikeville. The doubleheader is slated to start at 1:00pm at the Tiger Softball Complex on East Campus.