Twice, Daviess County’s Molly Hancock searched for an inside pitch, and both times she pulled it into right field for a triple. When she stepped into the batter’s box in the bottom of the fourth, she blasted the second pitch she saw over the left field fence for her second homer of the season.
As she rounded third and spotted her teammates crowding around home plate, she launched herself into the awaiting arms of Briley Henry – a new homerun celebration for the team.
“I guess it’s just something we created with how goofy we are and fun this team is,” Hancock said. “We’ve talked about it and do it pregame with ourselves and brought it out tonight.”
Hancock’s homer was the exclamation point on an offensive onslaught that saw the Lady Panthers record 14 runs on 13 hits – a 14-1 win over Muhlenberg County.
Having recently returned from an extended Tennessee road trip where they went 5-0-1, Head Coach John Biggs acknowledged that his team is seeing the ball extremely well.
“We tried to work on some things, specifically that over the last couple of games we have struggled with a little bit,” Biggs said. “I thought they tried to put that in play, but some of them are seeing the ball really well. With the way the wind was blowing the way it was tonight, if you get the ball up and hit it hard, it’s going to go. I was pleased. There weren’t many easy outs.”
It took Annie Newman just five pitches to put her stamp on the game, crushing her first of two homers, this one to centerfield for a 2-0 lead. A Hancock triple and a Callie Smith single made the game 3-0 just five batters in. Daviess County added four runs in the second – highlighted by Kylie Clark’s solo shot and Hancock’s two-run triple.
Slotted as the three and four hitters, Newman and Hancock showcased why they are one of the top hitting duos in the state – crushing back-to-back bombs in the bottom of the fourth and combining for six hits, seven RBIs, and three homers. Awaiting behind them in the fifth spot is Smith, who finished 2-4 with four RBIs.
Pitching with a lead for the majority of the game, Storey Hume was dominant in the circle – holding the Lady Mustangs to three measly hits over four shutout innings. Cain took the ball in the fifth, allowing a solo homer and striking out one.
“I thought Storey was in command of her pitches for the most part,” Biggs said. “It probably wasn’t the cleanest she’s had, and we threw Sophia in the last inning, and we probably didn’t give her the proper warm-up time that she needed, because it just happened all of a sudden. She’s still trying to work on some things, and she’s going to continue to get better. I take my chances with those two.”
In the midst of Spring Break, Daivess County is off for a week, before traveling to Indiana for a tournament.
“I think we all know the end goal is just to keep getting better and win games,” Hancock said. “I think everybody is focused on what the goal is and the break will be good for us to rest our bodies and rest our minds, and then we’re ready to get back at it.”
