With Daviess County’s offense continually chipping away throughout the game, junior Raylee Roby’s dominant run in the circle continued as she shutout Butler County to win 5-0 and advance for a chance to defend its 2021 3rd Region Championship.
It was the Lady Panthers that got on the board first, as junior Jessie Daniels got them going with a leadoff double in the second for their first hit of the game. Senior Katie Mewes sac bunt moved Daniels to third, before junior Kayley Payne singled to right to take a 1-0 lead.
Senior Sophie Simone started another rally in the bottom of the third, getting a leadoff single before an error on the first baseman the following at-bat had senior Hattie Newman on first and Simone moving to third with one down. Senior Millie Roberts grounded out to third, but the throw home led to no play at the plate and Simone sliding in safely to make it a 2-0 game.
Butler County was finally able to put together a scoring threat in the top of the fourth, getting a one-out single from eighth grader Karrington Hunt and back-to-back walks to load the bases with two outs. However, junior Raylee Roby picked up a huge strikeout—her ninth of the game—to keep the Lady Panthers in charge 2-0 going into the bottom of the fourth.
“I think it was really big, because if they put a couple runs in, they even get one run in there that momentum maybe swings a little bit after she walked a couple,” Head Coach John Biggs said. “Her control was a little bit off there early on, but I thought she dialed in and got better as the game went along. She’s a fighter, she’s a gamer. No situation is too big for her.”
Mewes got Daviess County going again in the bottom of the fourth, getting a leadoff single before Payne’s sac bunt moved her to second. Two batters later eighth grader Annie Newman drove Mewes in with a liner to right, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double and the Lady Panthers took a 3-0 lead into the fifth.
A one-out walk got Daviess County going again in the bottom of the fifth, as a two-out single from Roberts put runners on first and second for Daniels with two outs. She hit a rope at short, as the ball took a tough hop and a run scored to give them a 4-0 lead with runners on first and second for Mewes.
Mewes singled to left, scoring one as she advanced to second on the throw home. With runners in scoring position and two outs, junior Avery Gleason got Payne to ground out to stop the bleeding and leave it at a 5-0 Lady Panthers lead going into the sixth.
But one was all Roby needed in the circle, as she went on to shutout Butler County, allowing four hits and striking out 14 en route to the 5-0 win to advance to the 3rd Region Championship.
It was a team effort offensively for Daviess County, getting an RBI each from Roberts, Daniels, Mewes, Payne and Annie Newman. The Lady Panthers have stressed being patient at the plate all season and the lineup from top to bottom has taken that to heart as the season has progressed.
“We had some really good at-bats,” Biggs said. “Seanna took it deep in the count, Katie Mewes came up, had an 0-2 count and ended up getting a base hit. That’s huge. When you can get yourself in an 0-2 hole and you foul some pitches off and find a way to get on base, that can be disheartening to the other team.”
While Roby continues to rack up the strikeouts in the circle and Daviess County scored more than three runs in a game for the 24th time this season, their efficiency on defense can get lost in the box score. With another error-less game under the Lady Panthers belt, Biggs said that without defense their program wouldn’t be where it is today.
“Ever since I’ve been a part of this program, we were always a defensive team first,” Biggs said. “We take pride in our defense and as things have developed and as we’ve gotten better, the offense has caught up with our defense. And now the pitching has caught up with everything else. At practices, the first thing we ever do before we hit is we work on defense… That’s the foundation of us.”
Now Daviess County finds themselves in a similar boat as a week ago, as they will take on Owensboro Catholic in the 3rd Region Championship—this time with a target on their back—and Biggs expected nothing less.
“Back when we played in the district championship game and played Catholic, I felt like us and them and Hancock County were probably the three best teams in the region,” Biggs said. “I thought there was a good chance that we could see them again.”
The Lady Aces and Lady Panthers have faced off three times this season, with Daviess County winning 10-0, 4-2 and 9-0. Both teams will know what to expect and Biggs and company know that the margin of error will be slim if they want to add another region title to their trophy case.
“There’s really no secrets,” Biggs said. “We’ve played each other, this will be the fourth time this year. They know us, we know them. It’s going to come down to who can execute the best and have quality at-bats up there and play as mistake-free as you can.”
