The Middlesboro Lady Jackets are traveling to Owensboro for the State All “A” Classic tournament this weekend. On Saturday, the Lady Jackets take on the Raceland Lady Rams in their first game at 9 a.m. and the Carroll County Lady Panthers in game two at 4 p.m.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do,” said Middlesboro coach Petie Gilbert. “I think we are going to see some good competition in Owensboro. Raceland finished as the runner-up in the All “A” last year, so I know they will be ready to go. Carroll County has a few players on that team that will be playing at the next level. I think it’ll be good for us to play against such good competition. It’ll make us better.”

Middlesboro’s road to the state tournament was a relatively easy one. In the opening round of the 13th Region All “A” Classic, the Lady Jackets took down reigning 13th Region All “A” champion Williamsburg, 23-6. They followed that performance up with a 19-9 victory over Lynn Camp on March 19 in the semifinals.

Middlesboro reclaimed their throne as 13th Region All “A” champs when they defeated Harlan 15-2 in the championship game on March 22.

“I’ve seen a lot of good things from our team this year. When we play our brand of softball, we are a pretty good team. We’ve had games where we have hit the ball very well and games where we have played really well in the field and pitching. If we can bring all of that together, I like our chances moving forward this season.”

The Lady Jackets currently sit at 9-9 on the year, prior to their trip to Owensboro. The Lady Jackets are averaging 9.6 runs per game so far this season, while giving up an average of 6.9 runs per game.