Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

The 2012 Rawlings/KHSAA Fast-Pitch Softball State Tournament will get underway at 5 p.m. CT (6 ET) at Jack C. Fisher Park in Owensboro.

With four fields surrounding the press box, I’ll do my best to keep you up to date on what’s happening. (See below!)

(Also follow on Twitter: @MarkMaloneyHL )

Today’s (Thursday’s) schedule opens with Nicholas County facing Estill County; Boyle County versus Oldham County; North Laurel against Ashland Blazer; and Christian County taking on Ryle.

Late games, scheduled for 7 CT, have Mercy against Bullitt East; Scott County versus Greenwood; Owensboro Catholic facing Johnson Central; and Lone Oak tackling Green County.

The double-elimination tournament continues Friday, starting at 9 a.m. CT (10 ET). Saturday, play begins at 9 a.m. CT, with the winners’ bracket champion taking on the losers’ bracket survivor at 1 p.m. If necessary, a second game would immediately follow.

Score updates

Scott County and Greenwood are just about to get underway.

Meanwhile, Mercy leads Bullitt East 2-1 through one inning; Owensboro Catholic leads Johnson Central 1-0 in the second; while Lone Oak and Green County are scoreless in the third.

* Greenwood leads Scott County 1-0 through three complete innings.

Johnson Central and Owensboro Catholic are tied 1-1 through five complete.

Mercy is battering Bullitt East 12-1 in the third.

Lone Oak and Green County are tied 2-2 in the sixth.

* Mercy has finished off a 16-1 rout of Bullitt East.

* Greenwood adds a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth and goes on to beat Scott County 3-0.

* Owensboro Catholic edges Johnson Central 2-1, and Lone Oak tops Green County 4-3.

Early games

Boyle County 1B K.K. Davis takes the throw for the first out in the Lady Rebels' game against Oldham County.

North Laurel is the first team to score in the tournament, taking a 1-0 lead over Ashland Blazer through one inning.

* Boyle County strikes for a run in the bottom of the second inning and leads Oldham County 1-0. The Rebels used two walks, an error and a hit to score. Hannah Chadwell drew a two-out bases-loaded walk for the RBI.

On other fields, Nicholas County and Estill County are scoreless in the fourth, as are Ryle and Christian County. North Laurel still leads Ashland 1-0.

* Ashland Blazer has rallied to tie North Laurel 1-1 on McKenzie Vanover’s RBI single in the third inning. Play is now in the fourth inning.

* Boyle County is holding on to a 1-0 lead over Oldham County in the fourth inning. Nicholas County and Estill County remain scoreless in the sixth, while Ryle and Christian County are 0-0 in the fifth. Ashland Blazer and North Laurel are still tied 1-1, heading to the fifth.

* Nicholas County pushed a pair of runs across in the top of the sixth to break a scoreless tie against Estill County. Ryle and Christian County remain scoreless in the fifth. Boyle County leads Oldham County 1-0 in the middle of the fourth. And Ashland Blazer remains tied with North Laurel, 1-1, through five complete.

* Boyle County scored three runs to increase its lead to 4-0 over Oldham County through four complete innings.

Ryle also has broken through, taking a 1-0 lead over Christian County in the sixth.

North Laurel scored twice to take a 3-1 lead over Ashland Blazer in the middle of the sixth.

Nicholas County leads Estill County 2-0 in the seventh.

* Estill County rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh, capped by Shelby Arthur’s two-run, two-out walkoff double, to edge Nicholas County 3-2.

Meanwhile, North Laurel closed out a 3-1 victory over Ashland Blazer, and Ryle claimed a 1-0 victory over Christian County.

Boyle County leads Oldham County 4-1 in the middle of the sixth.

* Boyle County closed out a 4-1 victory over Oldham County, completing the round of four early games.

Covington Catholic’s and Highlands’ girls won the KHSAA Class 2A State Track and Field Meet Friday night.

CovCath scored 67 points, six more than Louisville Central. West Jessamine was another six points back, followed by eight-time defending champion Tilghman with 48.

Highlands eked past Lloyd Memorial, 62.5-61 for girls’ honors. Louisville Central had 53, followed by Rockcastle County with 48.

Initial post

It hasn’t taken long for some surprises at the Class 2A State High School Track and Field Championships, which are underway at the University of Louisville.

Tilghman’s Denzel Powell, the defending champion in the boys’ 100, false-started.

Tilghman’s DeAudrea Horne, defending champ in the girls’ 100, placed second to Abigail Torian of Trigg County — last year’s winner in Class A.

Torian clocked in at 12.44 seconds, Horne at 12.60.

Tilghman did pick up a 10-point victory in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles. Caric Denson, a junior, defended his title in 15.04, ahead of Louisville Central’s Diaz Bolden (15.17).

Johnson Central senior Andy Lewis took advantage of Powell’s absence to win the boys’ 100 in 10.97. Stephon Robinson of Louisville Central was second in 11.02.

Other early winners include Calloway County in the boys’ 4-by-800 relay (8:11.35), South Oldham in the girls’ 4-by-8 (9:51.46) and Nathelie Zetrenne of Central in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles (15.56). In the latter event, defending champion Sarah McKinney of Rockcastle County wound up fifth.

A West Jessamine sweep

West Jessamine seniors took both the boys’ and girls’ 1,600-meter runs.

Adrianne Shearer built a 20-yard gap on the field over the first 400 and maintained about the same gap throughout the race. Shearer finished in 5:22.93, with South Oldham’s Jessie Murner second in 5:26.11. Defending champ Helen Heines of North Bullitt took sixth.

West’s Will Stratford employed a different tactic to win the boys’ 1,600. Sitting comfortably off the pace for the first 1,000 meters, Stratford surged with a lap-and-a-half left. He held off Franklin County’s Robert Sandlin, 4:27.20 to 4:27.56.

Other boys’ winners include Tilghman in the 4-by-200 relay (1:30.22) and Calloway County’s Tyrell Willis in the shot put (50-9.25).

Rockcastle County’s Samantha Smith won the girls’ long jump (17-2.75) and Jackie Stevens of Bullitt East won the discus (111-5). Trigg County’s girls swept the 4-by-200 (1:43.68) and 4-by-100 (49.72) relays.

Late events

Anna Goetz was the only individual winner for Highlands, taking the triple jump (35-3.75).

Western Hills eighth-grader Alisha Adair won the 200 (25.26), beating defending champion Horne (25.31) and Trigg’s Torian (25.66).

Other girls’ winners included: Donnell Nocero (Lloyd), high jump (5-4); Bullitt East’s Stevens in the shot (37-9.5); Cheyenne Evans (Boyle County), 800 (2:19.83); Jessica Gabhart (Elizabethtown), 300 hurdles (45.25); Erica Mills (Boyle County), pole vault (9-0); Michaela Hunter (Rockcastle County), 400 (59.33); Tenny Ostrem, Powell County (11:42.37); and South Oldham in the 4-by-400 relay (4:06.63).

CovCath’s lone individual title came from Alex Connelly in the high jump (6-4).

Other boys’ winners included: Robert Sandlin (Franklin County), 3,200 (9:38.21); R.J. Fields (Harlan County), long jump (22-5); Greg Phillips (Knox Central), pole vault (12-6); Thomas Washington (Logan County), triple jump (45-4); Ken Holbrook (Western Hills), 129-11; Andy Lewis (Johnson Central), 200 (21.78); Stephon Jackson (Louisville Central), 400 (49.88); Thomas Canary (Lexington Catholic), 800 (1:54.94); Chip Clark (Fleming County), 300 hurdles (39.85); Tilghman, 4-by-100 relay (43.67); and Highlands in the 4-by-400 relay (3:26.16).