Tolson Lifts Lady Bulldogs Past Chillicothe, 5-2

The Trenton Lady Bulldogs closed the softball season with an exclamation point on Monday night. Trenton jumped up a class size and defeated Chillicothe 5-2 on the road to close a regular season that saw the Lady Bulldogs run a 23-2 record and win a Grand River Conference championship in their first year in the league.
Trenton pitcher Ainsley Tolson yielded a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but that would be all as the sophomore pitcher continued a special season of her own. The win was Tolson’s 18th of the season in the circle. She allowed just five hits, but the real story was her 10 strikeouts. That number pushed her season total to 186.
Striking out 186 batters in a single season is something only one other Trenton pitcher has ever accomplished – Aubrey Utley. The total also lifted Tolson past Utley’s 2006 total of 183, good for fourth place on the single season strikeout record at THS behind Utley’s other three seasons.
Not only was Tolson moving up the record books at Trenton, she was also helping her cause at the plate. Tolson would finish two-for-three, driving in four of Trenton’s five runs in the game. Tolson singled to center field in the top of the third inning to break a 0-0 tie, driving in Mykah Hurley and Jaylen Neff with the hit. In the top of the sixth inning, Tolson’s first at bat since giving up a two-run home run, she returned the favor, blasting a two-run home run of her own, scoring Tenna Roberts and herself. The shot was Tolson’s second round-tripper of the season and pushed Trenton’s lead to 5-2, which held up to be the game’s final score.
Trenton’s lone run not driven in by Tolson came in the top of the fourth when Neff singled to score Hurley, putting Trenton up 3-0 at the time.
“This was a great win for us heading into districts this week,” Lady Bulldogs’ Head Coach John Cowling said. “Our energy was great and our defense played better. Ainsley had a big night for us at the plate and in the circle.”
The 23-2 mark has earned Trenton the top seed in the Class 2, District 15 Tournament to be held in Lexington. Trenton received a first-round bye and will play the winner of Hamilton and South Harrison in the semifinals on Thursday. The first pitch of that game is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Junior Varsity
Trenton’s junior varsity ended its season with an 8-0 win against Chillicothe.
Trenton (11-2-1) went quietly in the first inning and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom half of the frame. In the second inning, McKayla Blackburn got the offense moving with a one-out triple. The next batter, Mackenzie McAtee, singled Blackburn home to get the Bulldogs on the board. From then it was all Trenton.
The third inning saw Trenton score six runs. The big shot came after back-to-back singles by Kendall Crowley and Kennedy Norton and a sacrifice bunt by Ashten Whitaker. Lexi Whitaker came up to the plate and hit an opposite-field, three-run home run to push the Lady Bulldog lead to 4-0. Later in the inning, after a Sidney Lynch walk and a Blackburn double, Sara Spencer doubled both runners home to make it 6-0 Bulldogs. Sarah Jordan added another single to score Spencer and extend the lead to 7-0. Trenton would tack on one final run in the fifth, taking the game 8-0.
Defensively, the JV was led by Ashten Whitaker and Blackburn who threw a combined five shutout innings. Whitaker went two innings, giving up no runs on only one hit while striking out two. Blackburn went the final three frames allowing no runs, no hits, walking one and striking out seven.
“I’m very proud of this group,” Trenton JV Coach Kameron Cool said. “We did everything well tonight and this was by far our best game of the season and a great way to go out. The girls have worked hard this year and this game showed what kind of team they are capable of being.”