Millie Roberts lined two homers to center field and finished with four RBIs to pave the way to another region title game for Daviess County. Led by Roberts, the Lady Panthers used a steady attack to fend off Hancock County for a 9-5 victory in Tuesday’s 3rd Region softball tournament semifinal at Vastwood Park.
Roberts led off the game for Daviess County (23-12) with a solo home run, adding a three-run bomb for a 6-2 lead in the fourth inning. It moved her to 16 home runs on the year, but head coach John Biggs said her other two at bats were just as meaningful.
Roberts also had a single to lead off the third and drew a leadoff walk in the fifth. She finished 3-for-3 and reached base in all four plate appearances, with all four times leading to runs.
“She was able to get those two shots for us, but she was also patient enough to take the walk and get herself on base,” Biggs said. “That creates some things when that happens.”
The Lady Hornets (29-10) had three home runs of their own, with all five runs coming via the long ball. They took a brief lead with a two-run bomb by Shelby Harpenau in the second inning, and a homer by Ella Staples to lead off the bottom of the fourth cut their deficit to 6-3.
Another two-run shot by Harpenau in the sixth got them within 9-5 but they couldn’t get any closer. A final threat with runners on the corners in the seventh ended with Daviess County winning pitcher Emily Stanley inducing a groundout to end the game.
“It was a tough ball game,” Biggs said. “It was a battle. The way they were hitting the ball, we knew that last at bat was key. If we didn’t get her out, they had a girl (Staples) coming up that had already hit a home run.”
Stanley went the distance in the circle for the Lady Panthers, balancing out seven hits with eight strikeouts and a lone walk.
“Emily may not have had her best stuff, but she gutted it out,” Biggs said. “She didn’t really have her changeup so we couldn’t mix that in, so we had to rely on her spotting her pitches. I thought she did a pretty good job with that.”
Daviess County scored in five of seven innings, and a two-run third frame gave them the lead for good. With two on and one out, Cameron Hamilton reached on an error that allowed both runners to score.
Roberts’ home run in the fourth pushed the lead to 6-2, and back-to-back RBI hits by Stanley and Kelsey Whistle put the Lady Panthers up 8-3 in the fifth. Hamilton drove in courtesy runner Sophie Simone — on base for Roberts after the walk — for a 9-3 advantage in the sixth.
“Every time we needed a hit we got one,” Biggs said. “We had people on base. We had a lot of traffic going on.”
Abby Newman also went 3-for-3, while Hamilton finished with three RBIs.
The Lady Panthers advance to the championship game at 7 p.m. Wednesday, where they will face Muhlenberg County (15-22). The Lady Mustangs knocked off defending champ Apollo 13-5 on Tuesday after upsetting Meade County 3-0 in the first round of the region tournament.
“I know they’re swinging a hot bat,” Biggs said of Muhlenberg County. “They’re putting a lot of balls in play. They’re not going to be intimidated coming in here. They’re going to fight and claw, so hopefully we bring that same intensity.”
DCHS 102-321-0—9-10-1
HCHS 020-102-0—5-7-2
WP: Stanley. LP: McFarling. 2B: Howard, Whistle (DC). HR: Roberts 2 (DC), Harpenau 2, Staples (HC).
