The Lady Aces couldn’t get it done in extra innings on Tuesday, while Daviess County and Owensboro grinded out nice wins in its respective matchups.
Daviess County vs Muhlenberg County
Getting a strong performance in the circle from junior Alexis Jackson, the Lady Panthers put on an offensive showcase to beat Muhlenberg County 12-0 on the road.
Daviess County wasted no time getting a lead, going up 2-0 thanks to a single from senior Kinsey Vergason. The Lady Panthers followed this up with a five-run second inning, starting with an RBI single from junior Kayley Payne.
A fielder’s choice by junior Hattie Newman made it 4-0 and then senior Millie Roberts hit a sacrifice fly. Junior Jessie Daniels followed that up with a two-run homer to center, giving Daviess County a 7-0 lead going into the third.
With ample run support continuing to pour in throughout the game Jackson was dealing. The Lady Mustangs were unable to get their first hit until the fourth, but I would be the only one.
Jackson ended up striking out nine and shutting out Muhlenberg County, helping the Lady Panthers secure a 12-0 win in five.
Hattie Newman homered on the day as well as Daniels, while the corner infield duo had a pair of RBIs as well as Vergason.
Roberts, Payne, eight grader Annie Newman, junior Kaitlyn Hill and freshman Danielle Beckwith also grabbed an RBI each.
The win is Daviess County’s fourth straight, as they sit at 5-1 going into a district matchup with Owensboro at 5:30 on Thursday.
Owensboro Catholic vs Evansville Mater Dei
Both teams got on the board early, before a grueling pitcher’s duel ended in a 3-2 walk-off win for Evansville Mater Dei despite the Lady Aces best efforts.
Owensboro Catholic opened up the scoring on the night, getting an RBI single from junior Brooke Hamilton. However, Evansville quickly responded with a home run from Jamie Luigs and an RBI double from Maddie Merkley to take a 2-1 lead going into the second.
After a scoreless second, the Lady Aces were able to get another run thanks to Brooke Hamilton, who drove an RBI double to center. This knotted things up at 2-2 heading into the fourth.
From then on, Brooke Hamilton for the Lady Aces and Baumann for Evansville was locked in. They held each other scoreless for seven straight innings, until Mater Dei came through in the bottom of the 12th.
After a leadoff single and walk, Kathryn Hilgeman singled down 0-2 to walk it off and earn the 3-2 win over Owensboro Catholic.
Baumann was dominant in relief for Evansville, allowing just two hits and striking out eight in seven innings. Meanwhile, Hamilton went the distance, allowing three earned on nine hits, while walking three and striking out 13.
Brooke Hamilton was also responsible for the two runs for the Lady Aces on the day, while serving as the only player with two hits as well.
Owensboro Catholic moves to 5-4 with the loss, as they have a few days off before hosting Edmonson County at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Owensboro vs Breckinridge County
The Lady Devils had an answer for every push for a comeback that Breckinridge County had on Tuesday, helping them win 14-13 in the 12th inning on a walk-off passed ball at home.
The Lady Tigers put pressure on Owensboro right away, grabbing five runs across the second and third inning. However, the Lady Devils really kicked it into gear offensively following the bottom of the third in which they cut their deficit to 5-3.
Still trailing going into the bottom of the fifth, Owensboro used a barrage of singles to make it a 5-4 game thanks to freshman Kirsten Tindle. The following at-bat a fielder’s choice from freshman Ellington Embry knotted things up, before a two-out RBI double from junior Lindsey Gibson gave them a 6-5 lead.
The Lady Devils grabbed four more runs in the bottom of the sixth to expand their lead to 10-5, but Breckinridge County wasn’t going down easy. The Lady Tigers took advantage of back-to-back Owensboro errors to start the seventh, eventually rattling off five runs to force extra innings.
After two scoreless innings, both teams traded runs in the 10th before Breckinridge County looked to take the game’s momentum. Sophomore Olivia Dennis delivered the RBI single that gave the Lady Tigers the lead, before another Lady Devils error led to a 13-11 lead for Breckinridge County.
Things looked grim for Owensboro to start the bottom of the seventh when Gibson grounded into a double play, but an error on the Lady Tigers kickstarted a major two-out rally. Two batters after the error, eighth grader Reese Boswell made it a 13-12 game with an RBI single.
This was followed up by a single from sophomore Emmi Connor that loaded the bases for Owensboro. Now rattled, Breckinridge County surrendered a walk that tied the game, before Boswell made a beeline for home on a passed ball.
She was able to score for the Lady Devils, securing the 14-13 win over the Lady Tigers in a game filled with nearly 40 hits and 12 errors.
Owensboro had 17 hits on the day, Connor doing the most damage with a 4-7 day. As far as run production went, Tindle led the way with four RBIs while sophomore Sophie Moorman, Gibson, Embry all had two RBIs each and Boswell and freshman Addison Hill had one each.
The Lady Devils didn’t fare as well in the field with nine errors in the game, but were able to overcome the issue due to their fiery offense.
The win snaps a three-game losing streak for Owensboro, as they sit at 2-4 heading into a tough district matchup with Daviess County on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
