Daviess County’s Molly Hancock knew after her first at-bat that she was seeing the ball differently. Sitting on a 3-0 count in the bottom of the first, she drove the next pitch over the centerfield fence. When she stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fourth, she was on cycle watch – having hit a triple in the second and a single in the third.
Just needing a double for the cycle, she launched the second pitch she saw into rightfield – culminating in a defensive error and a run scoring. The final result – a 15-0 win over Owensboro and a return trip to the 9th District Championship.
“You just wind her up and just let her go at it. Molly is just an awesome player,” Daviess County Head Coach John Biggs said. “…She has been clutch all year for us and has been able to provide some protection for Annie behind her. Molly is just Molly. She doesn’t surprise me with anything she does.”
As has been the case all season long, Kylie Clark was the sparkplug for the Lady Panthers leading off the bottom of the first with a single. Two errors and two wild pitches handed Daviess County a 3-0 lead, before Hancock capped off the inning with her solo homerun.
With the floodgates opened, the Lady Panthers added seven runs in the second, two in the third, and two in the fourth.
“I think we came out and we knew there was something on the line,” Hancock said. “This game we were playing for each other, just trying to get the job done early, and do it as efficiently as possible.”
In the circle, Storey Hume was efficient through three innings, allowing just two hits and striking out six. Sophia Cain took over from her teammate to start the fourth and pitched out of a jam to preserve the shutout.
The Lady Devils had a few opportunities throughout the game, most notably in the fourth. Sydney Stallings reached base due to a defensive error, and Arish Barksdale followed that up with a single. But a fielders choice, a pop-up, and a lineout ended their best scoring opportunity of the game.
“Our game plan was to change our pitching up. We tried to go through the lineup a couple of times with one pitcher who was a little quicker, and then go to a slower pitcher,” Owensboro Head Coach Quincy Mooreman said. “Just to try and throw them off balance. They are a hard-hitting team, and they’re going to hit no matter who you throw. So, we just tried to mix it up.”
The 9th District Championship game is scheduled for this Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., and the Lady Panthers await the winner of Apollo and Owensboro Catholic.
