Getting an outpouring of offense from the bottom of the lineup, Daviess County got a dominant performance from junior Raylee Roby en route to a 10-0 win over the Lady Aces.
Daviess County took command of the game early, quickly loading the bases with a single and a pair of walks with one out. Senior Katie Mewes was the third walk in a row for junior Alexis Hatchett in the circle, plating the first run of the game.
A line out followed, but Owensboro Catholic tried to turn two and a run scored as the ball was bobbled at second. Senior Seana Leibfried proceeded to record a two-out double during the next at-bat, getting two more runs.
Eighth grader Annie Newman and junior Kayley Payne kept things going with back-to-back RBI singles, giving the Lady Panthers a 6-0 after senior Millie Roberts popped up with the bases loaded to end the top of the first.
Daviess County never looked back after grabbing the lead, keeping its foot on the gas offensively. The Lady Panthers found themselves with the bases loaded again in the top of the fourth and it was senior Kinsey Vergason who singled to bring in two.
Owensboro Catholic was able to work out of the jam, but not before senior Sophie Simone singled and plated one to five Daviess County a 9-0 lead. The Lady Panthers got one more in the top of the sixth, which was more than enough run support for junior Raylee Roby.
Roby pitched all six innings on the day, allowing just three hits while striking out 14 in the process. Her ability to change speeds more effectively has been key for her this season, which Head Coach John Biggs said has been a big part of her success.
“I thought Raylee was good,” Biggs said. “I think she’s expanded her repertoire this year. She’s pitching more on both sides of the plate. She’s not just going in. I thought she was able to get some changeups inside that would keep them off-balance a little bit.”
The junior’s performance on the mound put a bow on an all-around game for the Lady Panthers, as they walked away with a 10-0 district win. The big key for them against Owensboro Catholic—run production following two shutouts last week.
“Obviously it’s not a real secret, we’ve been struggling to put some runs on the board,” Biggs said. “We’ve worked real hard the last couple of days and our real focus was, it’s not so much about putting runs on the board. Let’s just make solid contact.
Biggs said it’s been no secret that they have struggled to put runs together, but they’ve focused in practice on putting the ball in play and making solid contact as opposed to scoring runs and it paid off against the Lady Aces.
“I thought we did a better job of that tonight,” Biggs said. “We still left too many runners on base and had some other opportunities, but we had some people up and down the lineup that came up big. Seanna had a couple of really big hits for us.”
Leibfried and Vergason were mainstays in the Lady Panthers offense throughout the game, providing plenty of production at the bottom of the lineup with three RBIs each. Mewes, Payne, Simone and Annie Newman all recorded an RBI each as well.
There seemed to be no thought of the recent offensive struggles for Daviess County on Tuesday and Biggs said that the experience that group owns has helped them in those regards.
“There’s a little added pressure when it’s a district game, but I think it kind of shows the mentality of the group,” Biggs said. “I think being an older group, there’s no panic. They know what they need to do and they take care of it.”
For Owensboro Catholic Hatchett did not have the strongest game in the circle, allowing six earned runs in two-thirds of an inning pitched. Meanwhile, junior Brooke Hamilton kept them in the game, allowing just three earned runs in five and ⅓ innings while working out of a number of jams.
The Lady Aces defense didn’t help their pitchers by any means throughout the game, turning in three errors on the day. Head Coach Jeremy Phelps said that eliminating these mistakes is something they’re still figuring out, thus numerous lineup changes continue to show themselves so far this season.
“Our lineup has been different so many times, just trying to figure out the right way that we feel better about it…” Phelps said. “We just didn’t make enough plays. That was the biggest deal about the whole thing I think. You get yourself in a hole, now you start losing your confidence and you start pressing. Makes it a tough deal.”
While district play hasn’t been very kind to Owensboro Catholic as they fall to 1-2 and 12-6 overall, but Phelps and company are focusing on what they can learn from these losses to improve in the future.
“That’s why I like playing these kinds of games,” Phelps said. “It makes every at-bat important, it makes every play important. Some of them take a lot of pride in it and try to take the blame for it. Not enough of them do. That’s just the biggest part right there.”
Owensboro Catholic will waste no time getting back to action, as they have a day off before they play a district matchup against Owensboro at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Daviess County improves to 10-3 overall and 2-1 in district play with the win, as they have a day off as well before returning to district play against Apollo at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
