The Lady Panthers strung together two crucial innings late offensively en route to an 8-4 victory over Pendleton County, as they will now move on to the state semifinals.
Daviess County gained a lot of momentum early in the first two innings of play thanks to a hot start offensively.
Abby Newman set the tone with a leadoff triple bouncing off the wall in center and scored thanks to a screaming single up the middle by Hattie Newman the following at-bat.
Jessie Daniels followed that up with a bloop single to left to make it a 2-0 ballgame before Pendleton County escaped the rally stranding two on base.
Greysee Whitaker allowed one hit in the second and the Lady Panthers added onto their lead shortly after.
It was the Newman sisters coming through again, as back-to-back singles made it a 3-0 game.
However, an uncharacteristic defensive performance in the third quickly changed momentum.
The Lady Cats made Whitaker work, but three hits and four errors proved costly, giving Pendleton a 4-3 lead.
“Take away the first game of the year we haven’t made four errors in a game nonetheless in one inning,” Head Coach John Biggs Sr. said.
But Daviess County wasn’t going down without a fight. Raylee Roby took over in the circle and shut the Lady Cats down in the fourth and fifth.
A leadoff walk then a sacrifice bunt from Whitaker gave Katie Mewes the opportunity she needed.
Mewes singled to left driving in one to knot things up at 4-4, then moved to second base after a passed ball.
Mewes has come up with clutch at-bats time and time again this postseason and Biggs Sr. said it’s her simplistic plate approach that makes the difference.
“She keeps things so simple,” Biggs Sr. said. “She’s just trying to see the ball and hit the ball… She just barrels it up and once she gets on base she can create some things with her speed.”
She would later be caught at second during a grounder to third by Sophie Simone. But after the ball was put in play shortly after, an error at first gave Daviess County a 5-4 lead.
The Lady Panthers were able to add onto their lead with a two-RBI double from Whitaker made it 7-4.
After a rough outing in the circle and first at-bat Whitaker could’ve phoned it in, but her sacrifice bunt and key hit led to runs for the Lady Panthers.
“That says a lot for her character,” Biggs Sr. said. “She could’ve easily gone in there and pouted because she got pulled from the game, but that’s not Greysee, she’s not gonna do that. She’s gonna dig down and support Raylee out there on the mound. Her role is now a little bit different, [as] she’s gotta do at the plate more than in the circle, so that was key for us.”
Mewes came through with another RBI single the following at-bat, sending Daviess County up 8-4 going into the seventh.
The Lady Cats tried to swing together a two-out rally, but Roby shut the door once again, advancing the Lady Panthers to the final four.
Daviess County now has back-to-back postseason comeback wins and Biggs Sr. said there isn’t any special formula—it just comes down to experience and resiliency.
“I just think that we’re an older team and just being able to stick to the process,” Biggs Sr. said. “Again, we’ve got some good leadership from that dugout that’s helping us. I think that’s helped us tremendously.”
Abby Newman said she loves the fight that the team continues to show with their backs against the wall and feels that they can keep it up to achieve their lofty postseason goals.
“We’ve been down a couple times this season and we always seem to fight back,” Biggs Sr. said. “This team is so competitive. And we’re not just playing for ourselves, we’re playing for each other. We’re all here fighting just trying to make it as far as we can.”
Heading into the final four, Daviess County will see an unfamiliar opponent in Lewis County (25-8). The two will face off at 11 a.m. at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, looking for a trip to the state championship.
