Zack Klemme: Fouts, Salow shining at next level

May 15—Montana Fouts was three times The Daily Independent All-Area Softball Pitcher of the Year, and her impact stretched from Grayson to Owensboro.

Logan Salow claimed All-Area Baseball Player of the Year notice as a junior and a senior at Ashland.

So no one in northeastern Kentucky — especially anyone who tried to lay off Fouts's rise ball in 2018 or hit Salow's lefty offerings in 2013 — should be surprised at their latest exploits.

Three years after captivating the commonwealth's softball community with her dominance in the circle and at the plate, Fouts has been named the Southeastern Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year at Alabama.

Eight years removed from a brilliant career in maroon and white, Salow is one step away from baseball's big leagues.

Fouts's honor was bestowed even before the East Carter alumna tied the SEC Tournament for strikeouts in a game Thursday night by fanning 15 Kentucky hitters in a 5-1 quarterfinal victory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Through the completion of the regular season, Fouts owned a 1.63 earned-run average and a 19-3 record. She's thrown complete games in 17 of her 23 starts and has three saves. Fouts had 236 strikeouts and 40 walks in 155 innings entering the postseason.

Fouts shared SEC Pitcher of the Year honors with Mary Haff of Arkansas. Fouts was also an all-conference first-team pick.

The Los Angeles Dodgers assigned Salow to Oklahoma City, their Triple-A affiliate, out of spring training.

As of Thursday, he had pitched in one game and thrown one inning, with two strikeouts on 16 pitches. He didn't allow a hit or a walk.

Salow sports a 2.39 earned-run average in his professional career, with 196 strikeouts in 143 innings pitched.

Cats Coming to NEKY

Kentucky's men's basketball annual summer satellite camp tour will make two stops in northeastern Kentucky.

Camp Cal will come to Boyd County Middle School on June 3 and West Carter High School on June 7. Both run from 3-6 p.m.

The camp, open to boys and girls age 7-17, features "hands-on skill instruction" from Kentucky coach John Calipari, the Wildcats coaching staff and available players, according to a news release. Calipari will be present and conduct a Q-and-A session.

Cost to attend is $99. That includes a T-shirt and photo and autograph opportunities with UK staff and players.

An online registration link is available at ukathletics.com. Camps open one hour before check-in for registration.

Kentucky will run nine total satellite camps from June 1-24 within a 100-mile radius of campus, as allowed by NCAA rules.

Spradlin Extension

After piloting Morehead State back to the top of the Ohio Valley Conference and into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years, Eagles coach Preston Spradlin received a contract extension through 2025.

Morehead State won 23 games, including 17 in OVC play and 12 in a row at one point, last season as Spradlin was named league Coach of the Year.

"Coach Spradlin and his staff have worked tirelessly to build a championship program. We feel like he is the right person to not just have short-term success, but to continue to have championship success for the next several seasons," Eagles athletic director Jaime Gordon said. "He and his staff have shown a commitment to building this program the right way with high-character individuals. Preston is a true Kentucky proud individual, and we know with him leading our men's basketball program we can sustain success on and off the court for many years to come."

Top Marks

As of last week, 18 performances by northeastern Kentucky track and field athletes ranked among the top 10 in Class 2A in the state for the season.

Ashland's Lillian Sebastian had posted the top time in the 100-meter dash (12.67 seconds) and in the 200 (26.32) and rated fifth in the 400 (1:02.43).

Boyd County's JB Terrill was first in the 1,600 (4:27.80) and the 800 (1:59.42) and is one-fourth of the second-bast 4-by-800 relay, along with Gavin Brock, Grant Chaffin and Hudson Cox (8:41.33).

Terrill was also fifth in the 400 (52.49).

Boyd County's Sophia Newsome ranked fifth in the 800 (2:23.91), ninth in the mile (5:30.95) and 10th in the 3,200 (12:32.19).

The Lady Lions' Amelia Hoffman rates second in the discus (105 feet, 9 inches) and eighth in the shot put (30 feet, 10.5 inches).

Greenup County's Lauren Hannah is third in the discus (103 feet, 1 inch) and Ashland's Emma Latherow sixth (98 feet, 8 inches).

Ashland's Thomas Skaggs tallied second in the pole vault (12 feet). Rowan County's Autumn Egleston came in third in the two-mile (11:59.37).

Russell's 4x800 relay of Nate Sabotchick, Elijah Pridemore, Davis Brown and Elijah Grubb is rated eighth (9:05.2). Rowan County's AJ Barker, Jonah Stanley, Trad Egleston and George Thacker are ninth (9:07.06).

Westward Leading

Noah West has been named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Offense.

The Lawrence County graduate caught eight passes in six games for 87 yards, including a 36-yard reception, during East Tennessee State's spring football season.

West also returned a kickoff 15 yards for the Buccaneers, who went 4-2 in an abbreviated COVID-19-postponed campaign.

Run by the River

Registration is open for the 44th annual Run by the River.

The 5K, 10K and half-marathon event will be virtual again, race director Tim Gearhart said, because rules for live races due to COVID-19 would strip the races of their usual atmosphere.

Participants can run anywhere they live and any time from when they register until midnight on Saturday, June 12 — the race's usual date — then report their time.

Last year's virtual race attracted participants from California, Georgia and Japan, Gearhart said.

Registration is open until June 12 at midnight on tristateracer.com. Times must be reported by noon on June 13. Results will be posted on tristateracer.com as submitted.

The cost is $25 plus a processing fee. Runners will receive a T-shirt and commemorative medal in the mail.

Race proceeds fund an annual scholarship to a senior Key Club member at both Raceland and Russell.

For more information, contact Gearhart at timgearhart204@att.net or text (740) 532-9688.

Hensley Heaps On

Russell alumnae Kierstin Hensley and Maci Ferguson have been named All-Mid-South Conference in women's tennis.

Hensley, a graduate student at Shawnee State, completed her final season of eligibility after her the culmination of her senior campaign at West Virginia State was cut short by the pandemic.

The Russell grad went 12-0 in singles play and 10-3 at doubles with Claire Carruthers.

Hensley earned first-team all-conference honors in every season of her collegiate career. She was First-Team All-Mountain East Conference from 2017 to 2019 at West Virginia State.

Ferguson is a junior at Georgetown. The Tigers' website doesn't have updated statistics.

Greenup County grad Madison Hill was honorable mention All-Mid-South at Campbellsville.

All About That Bass

Paintsville's Bryce McDonald caught the biggest bass in the state tournament last weekend, hauling in a 5-pound, 12-ounce specimen at the Kentucky Dam Marina in Calvert City.

McDonald and Ethan Elliott combined to finish fourth in the two-day tournament, collecting 24 pounds and 4 ounces' worth of bass.

Muhlenberg County's Lane Tooley and Camden Harris won the event with 30 pounds, 8 ounces.

West Carter's Landon Reynolds and Dylan Roe placed 11th (22 pounds, 2 ounces). Johnson Central's Reece Collins and Drayden Duff were 15th (21 pounds, 4 ounces). The Golden Eagles' Joseph Burchett and Seth Jackson netted 17th (21 pounds, 0 ounces). The Comets' Tayten Barker and Caleb James finished 18th (20 pounds, 3 ounces). Rowan County's Evan Barker and Gabriel Alan Perkins were 21st (19 pounds, 9 ounces).

Reach ZACK KLEMME at zklemme@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2658. Follow @zklemmeADI on Twitter.