Region softball semifinals set
Jun. 6—MORGANTOWN — The first round of the 3rd Region Softball Tournament was filled with tightly-contested matchups and quality performances on a hot and sunny Saturday at Butler County High School.
Daviess County, Owensboro Catholic, Hancock County and Butler County came away with first-round victories, earning spots in Sunday's semifinal round.
DC will square off against Butler County at 2 p.m., and Owensboro Catholic will face Hancock County at 4 p.m. The championship game will be held Monday at 6 p.m.
DAVIESS COUNTY 3, MEADE COUNTY 0
Millie Roberts went 3-for-3, Jessie Daniels tallied two hits with an RBI, and Hattie Newman added a pair of hits as the Lady Panthers edged the Lady Waves.
Seventh-ranked DC (29-6) struck in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by Daniels, who then advanced to third on the throw and then scored on a Meade County error. An inning later, Abby Newman put the Lady Panthers up 3-0 when she scored on another miscue, after getting on base with a fielder's choice.
"We weren't as patient as we needed to be early, then we got some in the zone," DC coach John Biggs said. "Jessie's been doing that all year, she got a big timely hit for us. Millie with some two-out hits and got on base — she doesn't have to get home runs, she just has to get on base, whether that's walking or putting the ball in play."
Raylee Roby earned the pitching win after giving up just three hits with six strikeouts. She allowed two runners on in the top of the first inning, then retired 13 consecutive batters before Meade County got its third and final hit of the game.
"Raylee probably wasn't the sharpest she has been, but the defense stayed behind her," Biggs said. "We got those two baserunners on early, and we were able to shut that down. ... I thought Raylee settled in and pitched better in the second part of the game."
Meade County ended its season at 27-9.
MEADE COUNTY 000 000 0 — 0 3 2
DAVIESS COUNTY 000 210 x — 3 8 0
WP-Roby. LP-Morgan. 2B-Daniels (DC).
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 6, MUHLENBERG COUNTY 4
Hadley Phelps went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, including a solo home run in the top of the fifth, to help the Lady Aces pull ahead and hold off the late-surging Lady Mustangs.
Hannah Carter finished 3-for-3 for Catholic (21-13), and Bailey Hamilton went 2-for-4 with two RBIs — including a two-run shot that gave the Lady Aces a 3-0 lead in the fifth.
"It took us two times through the lineup," Catholic coach Jeremy Phelps said, "so the third time through the lineup, we changed our approach at the plate.
"That helped tremendously, I think. We barrelled a couple of them up, got a couple nice ones. The home run, then Hannah gets on base, and another home run. That gets you going, now all of a sudden you feel better and you can breathe. You feel better about everything going on."
Catholic added three more runs in the sixth frame behind a two-RBI single by Phelps, followed two batters later by an RBI base hit by Carter.
The Lady Mustangs (14-13) answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, getting an RBI double from Karissa Pendley and a two-run homer by Emma Rose.
Muhlenberg County added its fourth run in the bottom of the seventh on Pendley's RBI base hit, but the Lady Mustangs' comeback rally came up short from there.
Pendley finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Lady Mustangs, Rose drove in a pair, and Sophia Wilkins added two hits. Jaycee Noffsinger scored twice, as well.
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 000 033 0 — 6 9 1
MUHLENBERG COUNTY 000 003 1 — 4 7 2
WP-Phelps. LP-Rose. 2B-Pendley (M). HR-Phelps, Ba. Hamilton (OC), Rose (M).
HANCOCK COUNTY 8, WHITESVILLE TRINITY 1
Ella House went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and two runs, and Emma Lynn Higdon added two hits, two runs and her first varsity home run, to help the Lady Hornets win
Baylee Estes, Ella Staples and Kylie Westerfield each added two hits with an RBI for Hancock County (22-14), which built a 3-0 advantage before putting the game away with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
"We got off to a rough start," Lady Hornets coach Dwayne Wroe said. "It was good for Emma Lynn, she got us on the board early there (in the second).
"We were able to tack on some runs late to give us a little breathing room, and that helps settle the nerves down. It was a good win. Whitesville's been playing pretty well lately. It was a 3-2 game when we played them at our place, so we knew we were going to have to come ready to play."
Lily Roberts earned the pitching win after scattering eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Madison McDaniel and Cassidy Morris had two hits apiece for the Lady Raiders (14-17), who plated their lone run in the seventh inning but couldn't get any closer from there.
Now, the Lady Hornets are set for a rematch against Owensboro Catholic.
"Quick turnaround," Wroe said. "We know what we got in Catholic. Their name speaks for itself. We played them in the All 'A' region final in a 4-2 game. If some of our hits fall in that game, maybe we come out with a win. They're a quality program, but we're going to show up and compete and see what happens."
WHITESVILLE TRINITY 000 000 1 — 1 8 2
HANCOCK COUNTY 010 025 x — 8 12 3
WP-L. Roberts. LP-Barnett. 2B-Staples (H), Graham (T). HR-Higdon (H).
BUTLER COUNTY 7, OHIO COUNTY 3
The Lady Eagles scored three runs in the top of the first, but Butler County held them scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Ohio County (9-20) was paced by Elli Graves and Reagan Maggard, who recorded two hits apiece. Sidney Hudnall clubbed a solo home run, as well.
Maggard scored once for Ohio County, while Graves and Camden Sandefur added RBIs.
The Lady Bears (31-7) were led by Aubrey Clark, who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs, including a two-run homer in Butler County's five-run first inning. Madison Clark also finished with a pair of hits and a double.
Aliceson Hunt got the pitching win after allowing three hits and scattering six hits with three strikeouts and a walk.
OHIO COUNTY 300 000 0 — 3 6 4
BUTLER COUNTY 500 020 x — 7 9 1
WP-Hunt. LP-Decker. 2B-Proctor, M. Clark, A. Clark (B). HR-A. Clark (B), Hudnall (O).
