Daviess County softball fell just short of their first state championship, falling to Butler 13-2 after a solid season.
It was a major pitchers duel through the first three innings, as neither team could touch the opposing pitcher.
Raylee Roby and Maria Peguero had continued their postseason success, making sure this would be a game that went down to the wire.
Butler was able to finally put one up on the scoreboard in the top of the 4th, cracking things open with a frozen rope from Emily Williams off the wall in left for a single.
Peguero then helped herself with a single before Sadie Werner singled off the wall, scoring one with a bang-bang play at the plate.
Despite having runners on first and second with one out, Roby got a big strikeout followed by a pop-up to keep it a 1-0 Bearettes lead.
After a quiet bottom of the fourth, Butler nearly broke things open in the top of the fifth. Addisyn McNeill slapped one just in fair territory to left for a one-out double. Kennadi Thompson singled the following at-bat, putting runners on the corners with one out.
Kyndal Tinnell then sent one in the left field gap for a double, scoring one to make it a 2-0 Butler lead and leaving runners in scoring position with one out.
But Roby shut the door once again, getting a pop-up and a fly-out to limit the damage to just one run. Then the Lady Panthers finally came through with the answer they’d needed all game.
Greysee Whitaker drew a leadoff walk to start the bottom half of the fifth, with a bunt single from Katie Mewes following her. Kelsea Roby popped up the next bunt, stunting the rally for the first out of the inning.
But on a bunt attempt from Sophie Simone the next at-bat, the third baseman’s throw sailed past first allowing two runs to cross and tie things up at 2-2 going into the sixth.
While it seemed like momentum had swung completely, the Bearettes had an answer. With runners on first and second with two outs, McNeill singled to left to make it a 3-2 game. The following at-bat a pop-up in foul territory fell on the right side because of the Lady Panthers miscommunication.
Shortly after, Roby was drilled on the arm in the circle and with no play to be made the bases were loaded.
Tinnell then came to the plate battling before second a laser to left-center, sailing over the wall and making it a 7-2 game with the grand slam.
That missed foul ball proved to be a costly error, one of four they made on the day, something that Head Coach John Biggs Sr. said was a big part of their downfall.
“We really should’ve been out of that inning and we gave them a couple more opportunities and they’re gonna make you pay… ” Biggs Sr. said. “We just gotta make some plays.”
Daviess County couldn’t muster up any offense in the bottom of the sixth and Butler was red hot, putting the game out of reach in the seventh.
The Bearettes found gap after gap, tagging Whitaker for six runs in the inning, making it more than enough to give Butler the State Championship with a 13-2 victory.
The Lady Panthers were able to muster four hits on the day, with Peguero finishing the game with six strikeouts as well.
Biggs Sr. said it was their inability to put pressure on their defense that made it hard to string runs together.
“Early on I thought we were chasing some pitches and that’s what she wanted us to do,” Biggs Sr. said. “We didn’t put enough balls in play on the ground where they had to make some plays. We were hitting some pop flies that were fairly easy plays to make.”
All in all, Biggs Sr. and company are thrilled with the season they had, despite coming up just short of their ultimate goal.
“Obviously the end result is not what we hoped for, but that doesn’t take away from the accomplishments and the great season that we had,” Biggs Sr. said. “This was a historical season for Daviess County softball and it’s something they’re going to remember.”
There are a plethora of memories that the coaching staff and players will look back on when thinking about the historical 2020 season, but for Biggs Sr. it’s the comradery this team had that made each day more fun.
“Those kids show up everyday at practice and they love to practice and love to be around each other,” Biggs Sr. said. “That’s what I’m gonna miss the most and that’s the most disappointing thing. It’s not so much that they didn’t win the state championship, it’s that tomorrow this group won’t be together on the softball field.”
With three seniors set to graduate, the future is bright for the Lady Panthers and Biggs Sr. hopes their latest postseason run will help set the tone for the future.
“Obviously it brings a lot of excitement to the program,” Biggs Sr. said. “We’re gonna have probably 80-100 kids show up to the softball camp tomorrow at 8 a.m. grades first throught eight. So those kids are gonna know something about this and those kids are going to want to be a part of this down the road. So it’s good for our program to be able to build and keep those kids coming in our program working hard.”
