The reigning regional champs had a hot start to the tournament as Daviess County defeated Butler County 16-1. Molly Hancock led at the plate with a home run and 4 RBIs as well as scoring 3 runs.
Butler kicked things off with a run in the first inning, Daviess County quickly found their footing on offense in the second by tying the game at 1-1. The third inning saw DC jump ahead by scoring 5 runs. Annie Newman hit a ground ball single to score Sadie Morris, and Shelby Bennet moved to third with Newman on first. Callie Smith kept the momentum going by hitting a ground ball single of her own on the first pitch. Bennett crossed home plate to put the score at 3-1, but the Lady Panthers weren’t finished yet.
Hancock stepped up and hit a bomb out to right field for a 3-run homer, taking the lead to 6-1. Lady Panthers head coach John Biggs said that Hancock’s hard work is showing at the plate. He also praised Kylie Clark’s performance at the pate as well.
“Molly is just being Molly,” he said. “She’s really putting time in, and the results are showing. Kylie also hit a couple balls really hard, and I thought we hit some balls hard in the first two innings. We just didn’t get base runners on.
The beginning of the end was when Clark hit a lead-off double in the bottom of the fourth before a fly ball put one out on the board. After Bennett was walked to put runners on first and second, Newman hit a pop fly towards second base to run in Clark. Smith loaded the bases up by being walked to first, and Hancock was walked shortly after to bring Bennett home. Danielle Beckwith and Jaycee Noffsinger were both hit by a pitch to score 2 more runs. Makayla Rowan then hit a ground ball single to score both Hancock and Beckwith. Morris had the final hit of the game with a line drive double to score both Noffsinger and Rowan.
Finally, a wild pitch allowed both Clark and Morris to score, before the game was called. On the mound for DCHS was Sophia Cain who allowed 3 hits and recorded 7 strikeouts across 4 innings. Cain really settled in to close out the final two innings, Biggs said.
The final score was 16-1, and Daviess County advanced to the semifinals. They will play Meade County at 7 p.m., and Biggs knows that they will be a tough opponent thanks to a tough schedule.
