Landrum’s back is against the wall in the 1A Upper State finals.

In an elimination game on Monday, May 7 it was Taylor Jenkins who stepped up and helped the Lady Cardinals stave off elimination.

The sophomore made big plays on both sides of the ball to help lead the Lady Cardinals to an 8-6 victory over Fox Creek. In the fourth inning, the second baseman came to the plate with a runner on base and two outs. Jenkins hit a shot past the Fox Creek third baseman and left fielder.

“I just saw Hamrick saying, ‘keep going, keep going,’” she said. “I was like where in the world did I hit this ball.”
Jenkins didn’t stop until she reached home.

In the seventh inning, the Lady Cardinals were up 8-6. Jordan Farmer forced a pop up to second base by Brittany Cross and then struck out Kelcey Cook. Hannah Culpepper, however, drew a walk. Ashlyn Wanninger followed with a shot in between second and first. Jenkins broke for the ball, made a diving grab and fired to Meagan Painter at first for the final out.

“It feels really good (to bounce back with a win),” Hamrick said. “They had the right attitude coming in.”

Lauren Pitts and Bre Cuff led the Lady Cardinals. Pitts finished 3-for-3 with a double and three runs scored. Cuff finished 3-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and three RBIs. Farmer won the game on the mound and had eight strikeouts.

Landrum will play at Chesterfield on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. and all Hamrick has his team focused on is themselves.

“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” he said. “We can only focus on what we’re doing.”

The winner of that game will travel to Abbeville High School on Friday, May 11 for Upper State Championship final.