Daviess County came out on top 1-0 in a hard-fought contest against Meade County that went deep into extra innings. Kamryn Timmons led the defense on the mound with a whopping 18 strikeouts to hold off Meade long enough for DC to find the winning run. Daviess County will play in their fifth consecutive regional championship today at 6 p.m. against Hancock County.
Deep in the ninth inning, the game looked as though it was about to continue on into a tenth inning as Meade quickly got two outs on a pop fly and a strikeout. With the pressure on, Annie Newman doubled on a line drive out to right to put a runner on base. Callie Smith was next at bat, and she let one strike go by before hitting the game-winning RBI to right field. Newman crossed home plate to break the deadlock and put the score at 1-0.
A strikeout took the game into the bottom of the ninth where the Lady Panthers needed to keep up their impenetrable defense to secure the win. Timmons wasted no time with the first batter as she threw 6 straight strikes for 2 quick outs. The game along with Daviess County’s spot in the championship was sealed as the next batter grounded out to close out the 1-0 win. DCHS head coach John Biggs said that the situation the Lady Panthers were in was nerve-wracking, but times like those are exactly when the girls play the game. The team never showed any signs of backing down from the challenge presented to them, and that’s what makes Daviess County softball what it is, he said.
“As nerve wracking as that is, that’s why they play the game,” he said. “That’s why they come to Daviess County, to be able to compete in those types of situations. I felt like there was never that quit or that ‘deer in the headlights’ look. It was just at some point someone was going to get that key hit and someone’s going to make that key play. Fortunately, it happened in the last inning there. Annie got the hit and then Callie came through. Callie hit the ball really well in her other two ABs, so I was confident she was going to see the ball really well.”
The entirety of the game was one that showcased both teams’ defenses. Daviess County had a few runners get on base throughout regulation, but Green Waves pitcher Kaelyn Ledford made finding runs very difficult. She allowed 3 hits and recorded 8 strikeouts as she led Meade’s defense. Biggs said that during the final innings he instructed his players to really look for that pitch that they could barrel away, but it wasn’t easy as Ledford stayed in command of her pitches.
“The Ledford girl, she’s good,” he said. “She was in command of her pitches, she was running things away from us, and then if we were looking away, she’d come in mixing with the changeups. In that last inning we told the girls to try and find a pitch that you can barrel up and get the count in your favor. We got some hits the inning before that. Makayla Rowan had a really good AB, so I felt like we just kept it running.”
Timmons held her own on the mound as well as she allowed just 2 hits throughout 9 innings and racked up an impressive 18 strikeouts. She led the defense in keeping the score stagnant until the offense could break through. Even after taking the lead, she held her nerve and closed out the win with the help of 6 straight strikes. Biggs praised her pitching, but her defensive capability as well as she made a key play in the bottom of the eighth to prevent a lead-off single.
“Kam was awesome on the mound,” he said. “She got ahead in the count most of the night and was able to mix in some pitches. I’ll tell you what, the play that’s really going to go forgotten was the play she made on the bunt. It was a bang bang play, and if she got on base then that’s a lead-off runner there in the eighth inning.”
The Lady Panthers will take on Hancock County today at 6 p.m. in search of their fifth regional title in a row. To bring home the silverware once again Biggs said the team will have to bring the same level of intensity they did against Meade. Hancock have won their last 5 games, but Biggs likes his chances with his team.
“We’re going to have to bring that same type of intensity tomorrow,” he said. “Hancock’s a really good ball club. They’re on a roll. They have a really good pitcher, and they’ve been putting up a ton of runs. We’ll savor this one for a short period of time, then be back at the field tomorrow to try and come up with a gameplan. I’ll take my chances with this group.”
