When the latest state Class C softball rankings came up, Bishop Ludden was on top, a direct byproduct of its 11-0 start.
And while Bishop Grimes halted the Gaelic Knights’ attempts at a perfect regular season on April 30, it didn’t keep Ludden from resuming its control over the OHSL Patriot division once May got started.
A key part of that package was Thursday’s game against long-time power Pulaski, an exciting battle that saw the Gaelic Knights hang on to beat the Blue Devils 5-4.
With two runs in the first inning and three more runs in the third and fourth innings, Ludden grabbed a 5-1 lead. Korey Kibling ripped a home run, as she and Kayla Kibling each produced a pair of RBIs. Beth Jerome tripled and drove in a run as Grace Rooney also got a triple. Jerome and Rooney had three hits apiece.
Staked to that four-run advantage (partially due to her own bat), Korey Kibling had to withstand Pulaski getting a run in the fourth inning and two more tallies in the bottom of the fifth as the margin shrank to one. But Kibling blanked the Blue Devils in the last two innings to earn the win, her ninth in a row, earning eight strikeouts against just one walk.
Two days earlier, Ludden beat Onondaga, Korey Kibling improving her mark to 8-0 with a 13-strikeout effort as she held the Tigers to a single hit.
A three-run third inning gave the Gaelic Knights all the offense it needed, as Beth Jerome earned a pair of RBIs, with Kim Balla and Kayla Kibling also driving in runs.
Following the Pulaski classic, Ludden went out Saturday and blanked Port Byron 11-0, with Rooney putting on quite a power display.
Five times, Rooney went to the plate — and five times she got hits, three of them solo home runs to fuel a 14-hit attack that scored in four of the first five innings.
Kristen Ryan and Kayla Kibling also drove in runs as Rooney also pitched, holding the Panthers to three hits.
Ludden hosts Cato-Meridian on Thursday, its last regular-season home game and only action this week.
