‘Why not us?’ Bryan Station looking to earn top seed in 42nd District softball tournament.

Last season, Bryan Station’s softball team made history by ending a 34-game losing streak to 42nd District-rival Scott County.

This year, the Defenders (14-8, 5-1 in district play) hope to end the Cardinals’ 17-season reign as district champions and also contend for the 11th Region title.

They’ve got a good start on that.

Bryan Station swept Scott County in their regular-season series for the first time with a 3-1 win on March 28 and a 3-0 victory on April 29.

“I feel like everybody has more fire to them this season than we did last season,” said Bryan Station sophomore pitching ace Karsyn Rockvoan, who has gone 11-6 with a 1.98 ERA and 216 strikeouts so far this season. “I just feel like everybody’s coming together as a team and doesn’t worry about anything else that’s happening.”

The sweep of the Cards has been a long time coming for Bryan Station and its three seniors — Michelle Moore, Kynedi Birdsong and Audrey Greenberg.

“I’ve been on this team since seventh grade, and I can’t tell you how many times we had our butts whooped by Scott County,” Moore said.

With three wins out of four games now against the Cardinals, Bryan Station coach Hector Urbaneja said his team should be in the conversation for district and region titles.

“We see ourselves up there. Why not us?” he said.

With a win against Frederick Douglass at The Farm on Thursday, Bryan Station could earn the top seed in the upcoming 42nd District Tournament — another first.

But the Broncos won’t be easy prey. Douglass knocked off host Bryan Station 3-2 on April 26. If Douglass can do it again, it would likely mean a three-way tie for the top spot to be settled by tiebreaker rules that include fewest runs allowed in the district.

Bryan Station committed three errors in the loss to Douglass. And while the Defenders have played close games with a number of top-25 teams, they’ve also had some head-scratching losses.

“It’s been a roller coaster to be honest,” Urbaneja acknowledged. “Sometimes we’re up. Sometimes we’re down. But this is fine. It’s a struggle that every coach goes through. Every season is like that. I’ll take my girls against anybody.”

Moore leads the team with eight homers and 37 RBI. She went 4-for-4 with seven runs knocked in Monday against Henry Clay that included a walk-off inside-the-park homer in the 11-0 victory. Junior shortstop Tiahna Bowman leads in runs scored with 32 and hits for a team-high .456 average.

And Rockvoan continues to develop as one of the region’s top pitchers. She struck out 15 of the 17 Henry Clay batters she faced Monday and recorded the 700th strikeout of her career during the game.

“She’s doing amazing,” Urbaneja said. “She’s got speed. She’s got movement. She’s not afraid to throw the ball inside. She loves competition.”

But the Defenders also proved they could win a close game without Rockvoan as they did Friday with a 9-7 victory over a very good Taylor County team (20-8). Six Defenders scored against the Cardinals as sophomore pitcher Imani Metoyer got the win. Bryan Station trailed after the first and sixth innings but rallied each time.

“The biggest thing is just keeping our heads up, because sometimes when we get down, it’s hard for us to get back up,” Moore said.

Bryan Station was two outs away from winning the district championship last season. Scott County rallied to win 3-2 in eight innings. The Defenders aim to close out this season strong and make another run at it.

“I want to win districts so bad. … and we got really close last year,” Moore said. “If we could have that and we keep on going, that’d be great.”

42nd District standings

Through Monday’s games

1—Bryan Station, 14-8, 4-1

2—Scott County, 13-8, 3-2

3—Frederick Douglass, 13-12, 2-2

4—Henry Clay, 3-21, 0-4

Remaining 42nd District schedule

Thursday’s games

Bryan Station at Frederick Douglass, 6 p.m.

Henry Clay at Scott County, 6 p.m.

Monday, May 13, game

Frederick Douglass at Henry Clay, 6 p.m.

43rd District standings

Through Monday’s games

1—Lexington Catholic*, 18-2, 7-1

2—Lafayette*, 17-10, 6-1

3—Tates Creek, 12-17, 4-4

4—Lexington Christian, 7-12, 1-6

5—Paul Laurence Dunbar, 6-14, 0-6

* Tiebreaker rules will settle top seed if Lafayette wins Tuesday.

Remaining 43rd District schedule

Tuesday’s game

Paul Laurence Dunbar at Lafayette, 6 p.m.

Thursday’s game

Paul Laurence Dunbar at Lexington Christian, 6 p.m.

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