Junior Brooke Gray held Daviess County to just one hit on Friday, grabbing a 7-0 win to advance to the state semifinals over the Lady Panthers.
It was an intense atmosphere right from the jump, with both teams fans going back and forth prior to the game. That intensity heightened shortly into the game when Bruins senior Alyssa Simmons hit a two-run home run to left for the first runs of the game in the top of the first and danced while pointing at the Daviess County crowd on her way home.
“That kind of set the tone right there a little bit I think for them,” Head Coach John Biggs said. “It gave them a good momentum swing and that’s on me. I probably shouldn’t have gone with that pitch, but then we kind of settled in and controlled her for the rest of the game.”
But the Lady Panthers weren’t able to get anything going to respond quickly, trailing 2-0 going into the second. Junior Raylee Roby recovered well over the next two innings, having allowed just the two hits and two runs while striking out four through three.
But Gray had Daviess County’s number as well, keeping them hitless while striking out five to hold a 2-0 Ballard lead going into the fourth.
The Bruins offense repaid her efforts in the top of the fourth as well, getting a leadoff single from junior Macy McCoy and one-out double from junior Imari Golden to make it a 3-0 game. They added one more run following a strikeout, getting an RBI single from sophomore Lillian Koch the next at-bat.
Following a single, sophomore Rylee Carter doubled to left to make it a 6-0 game with two down. A walk then led to an RBI single from sophomore Mikayla Milby, capping off a five-run inning to make it 7-0 after she was caught stealing at second.
Senior Hattie Newman was able to draw a walk with one out in the bottom of the fourth to give the Lady Panthers their first base runner of the night, but Gray dialed right back in. She got senior Millie Roberts to pop up to right and junior Jessie Daniels to fly out to center to keep it at 7-0 going into the fifth.
Roby was able to hold Ballard scoreless for the remainder of the game, but Daviess County was still looking for its first hit going into the seventh. Daniels was able to get the Lady Panthers first hit of the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Gray got a fly out the following at-bat to close the door on a 7-0 win and a trip to the state semis for Ballard.
Gray finished just shy of a no-hitter, while walking one and striking out 11 to secure the complete-game win. Biggs said they knew coming in that they would have to be extremely disciplined at the plate, but struggled in executing it during the game.
“One of the things we said going in was, if we have double-digit strikeouts it was going to be a long night for us,” Biggs said. “So the gameplan was not to chase stuff out of the zone and we just did that way too many times. It’s almost like we had some predetermined swings.”
Roby didn’t have her strongest day in the circle either, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits, while walking two and striking out six. And while it might not have been the double-digit strikeout games she’s posted as of late, Biggs said that the junior did more than well enough to give them a chance at a win.
“We tried some different things on some batters and they were able to make some adjustments and hit some balls pretty good against her,” Biggs said. “You look at it and you see there’s two [rough] innings there. So, for five innings she was pretty good.”
The 7-0 loss is a tough pill to swallow for a team that wanted to make a return to the state championship, but Biggs made sure to let his players know following the game that this loss isn’t their mark on the program.
“Unless you win a state championship, you’re going to end on a loss,” Biggs said. “This one game doesn’t define the season that we’ve had and it doesn’t define the three seasons that our seniors have had, you know the run they have had and what they’ve been able to do for Daviess County softball.”
This group of eight seniors has brought Daviess County three straight district and regional championships in their time, having to grow up quickly to lead a team when they lost their sophomore season due to COVID-19. This is something Biggs was particularly proud of, acknowledging the growth they’ve had as teammates and friends over the years.
“You take that away and then they had to come back and do that as a senior group,” Biggs said. “They just did a really nice job of accepting roles and doing whatever it took to make the team successful. Then I thought as a whole the group just really bonded and came together and that showed a lot of maturity on their part. When you have a group that loves each other and will play for each other then again that’s contagious just like hitting.”
And for those graduating seniors, Biggs reminded them that they’ll always have the memories competing on the diamond. However, it’s the good times with their teammates and coaches that they’ll always remember most fondly.
“We always kind of say that DC softball is a little bit different,” Biggs said. “We stress a lot more than just the game itself and that’s what we talked about there. They’re going to remember certain plays and certain events that happened on the field, but there’s a lot of other things that they’re going to remember that happened off the field. And that’s what’s special and that’s what’s cool about it.”
As for the future—after finishing the campaign with a 31-6 record—Biggs doesn’t believe that the success the Lady Panthers have had recently is coming to a close any time soon.
“We’re graduating eight seniors, but the cupboards aren’t bare,” Biggs said. “We don’t look at this as a once in a lifetime little run that we’re in. We’re in this for the long haul. I think we’re going to come back and the ones that are here are going to see what it takes to get here and they’re going to be ready to do whatever it takes and put in the time to get where they need to be.”
