King’s Fork’s softball squad usually scored runs in bunches this season, but in its Southeastern District Tournament game against Deep Creek on Wednesday, hits at key times and turning runners into runs eluded the Lady Bulldogs as the Lady Hornets moved into the district semifinals with a 6-3 win.

King’s Fork put runners on the base paths in six of the seven innings and outhit Deep Creek 6-4.

The Lady Bulldogs put together a chance to take the lead in the second inning. With the Lady Hornets up 1-0, Jennifer Delucia and Monica Logwood drew walks to start the top of the second. Thanks to a wild pitch, Delucia and Logwood moved up a bag, still with no outs.

With a fly to shallow left and back-to-back strikeouts, Deep Creek escaped the jam without a KF run and turned the momentum in three runs in its half of the second. DC had a streak of a triple, a double and a double to power what proved to be the big rally of the game.

King’s Fork cut the 4-0 lead in half in the fifth, doing it all with a two-out rally.

Taylor Davis singled and raced around to third when the ball bounced by the Deep Creek outfielder. Davis hustled in on a wild pitch for KF’s first run.

Kristin Moore and Niki Cuevas walked, followed by Delucia lining a single into left-centerfield and Moore scoring from second.

Deep Creek answered and got the two runs back right away with a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the fifth.

Even down by four, the Lady Bulldogs got runners on and the tying run up to the plate with their last at-bats. Logwood singled in Moore with two outs, but that was all Deep Creek allowed.

“(Deep Creek) is a formidable opponent. You know they’re not going to go away and you have to tip your cap to them” said King’s Fork head coach Richard Froemel.

“I told my kids, don’t hang your head about this game here. Any team that wins 10 games in the Southeastern District, you know you’re on the way. We have the same nucleus back next year and we’re very optimistic,” Froemel said.

Chelsea Holcek pitched the first four innings for KF and Brittany Raynor pitched the last two. Holcek and Raynor will return next season, as will seven of the nine Lady Bulldogs in Wednesday’s batting order.

Moore and Katie Connor are the only seniors the Lady Bulldogs are losing.

Moore, the Lady Bulldog first baseman and clean-up hitter all season, is going to play softball at Barton College in Wilson, N.C.

“I know she’s very excited about that. She’s self-motivated. I know she’s got the academics and the ability to do fine all the way around,” Froemel said.

The Lady Bulldogs finished fifth in the district in the regular season and with a 12-9 overall record. King’s Fork won the cross-city crown for the year with a 3-1 record against Lakeland and Nansemond River.