The Lady Panthers upperclassmen added another strong win to their resumes on Wednesday, as seniors Raylee Roby, Jessie Daniels and Kaitlyn Hill were instrumental in a 6-1 win over Owensboro Catholic to secure their fourth straight 9th District Championship.
The Lady Aces looked to put pressure on Daviess County early, loading the bases with no outs thanks to a pair of walks and a single from senior Bailey Hamilton to lead off the game. But back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout forced by senior Raylee Roby helped the Lady Panthers remain in a 0-0 ballgame going into the bottom half of the inning.
It was there that Daviess County was able to put one on the board, as a single from senior Jessie Daniels led to a single from freshman Annie Newman and a throwing error that allowed Jessie to score. Freshman Callie Smith then delivered an RBI single, with a walk after putting runners on first and second with two down.
After a perfect day at the plate in the first round of the 9th District Tournament, senior Kaitlyn Hill kept the Lady Panthers going with a double—that seemed like it would be gone had it not been for the wind—in order to score two and take a 4-0 lead over Owensboro Catholic into the second.
Instead Roby settled down in the circle, keeping the Lady Aces scoreless to take the 4-0 lead into the fifth. Owensboro Catholic threatened to swing momentum their way there thanks to having the bases loaded on a pair of walks and a two-out single from senior Brooke Hamilton, getting on the board to cut it to a 4-1 deficit after a walk by senior Addison Tignor.
That would be all they would get though, as a pop out sent the game into the bottom of the fifth. The Lady Panthers responded swiftly though, as a leadoff single by senior Kayley Payne turned into a two-run home run to left by Daniels—serving as what would be the final blow offensively in a 6-1 win.
That is thanks in large part to Roby’s efforts in the circle, as she finished the game allowing the one earned run on two hits and five walks, while striking out nine en route to Daviess County’s fourth straight 9th District Championship.
“That was huge in the first inning when they had bases loaded and no outs,” Biggs said. “We were able to get out of that without giving up any runs. That’s just a huge momentum swing. If they’re able to get a couple runs there then that probably changes things a little bit and then we were able to put up four runs there in the first inning.”
She also had plenty of offense to back her up in the win, as Daniels and Hill led the way at the plate with a pair of RBIs while Smith chipped in one. Hill has played a key role in the district tournament going 3-3 with two RBIs against Owensboro and grabbing another pair today with a 1-3 day at the plate—with Biggs noting that her senior leadership has been key for the Lady Panthers throughout the year.
“Kaitlyn Hill is just a hitting machine,” Biggs said. “We knew coming into the season that we were going to have to have her in our lineup. She doesn’t get emotional about things. She doesn’t really get nervous. She goes up there like a little wind-up toy and hits the ball. She sees and hits the ball, but she’s put in a ton of work to get to that point. One of those seniors that has come on and played a big part in our success this year. Very proud of her.”
Daviess County now has its eyes set on another four-peat, as they look to stay strong in preparation for the 3rd Region Tournament over the next few days. Knowing that every game could be their last from here on out, Biggs said that they’ll need to keep battling both physically and mentally with each and every pitch.
“We’re getting into the point where school is winding down and there can be a lot of other distractions,” Biggs said. “But we want to try to keep this as routine as possible. They understand what’s at stake now. Now it’s one and done. There are some quality teams that are going to be in Grayson County and there are multiple teams on any given night that can beat us. So we’ve got to be on our ‘A’ game and we’ve got to bring that energy like we did tonight.”
The Lady Aces on the other hand might not have won a district championship, but will be competing in the 3rd Region Tournament. Head Coach Jeremy Phelps said that while Owensboro Catholic didn’t get the result they wanted, he knows that his team could’ve had a much different game if they’d taken advantage of runners in scoring position early on and that if they can improve on some of the little things they can still make some noise this postseason.
“There’s a couple plays here and there [we didn’t make],” Phelps said. “We don’t get a bunt down, we don’t make the little play. We got beat on a fly ball to the outfield that she makes 90% of the time… There’s just little stuff like that that can be fixed.”
