Daviess County’s Sophia Cain realized early on in the 3rd Region Championship against Trinity (Whitesville) that her curve wasn’t up to standards, instead relying on her screw, off speed and rise. The results? Seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts – culminating in the Lady Panthers’ sixth straight region title.
“Early on, we felt this group was special and they had the ability to do something special,” Daviess County head coach John Biggs said. “To do this for the sixth year in a row, you can’t take this for granted. They earned this. The amount of time they put in, the way they stay connected, the way they bought in, and the sacrifices some of the girls have made.”
Cain recorded a quick 1-2-3 in the top of the first, but her offense was unable to capitalize off an early opportunity in the bottom half of the inning. With two on and two out, the Lady Raiders’ Ella Morris got Callie Smith to fly out. A freshman playing in her first Region Tournament, Morris stood her ground early against the juggernaut that is Daviess County – throwing two shutout innings to start the game.
In the bottom of the third, the Lady Panthers’ Shelby Bennett ripped her second of four singles to jumpstart her offense, and Annie Newman immediately doubled her home for a 1-0 lead. After a Molly Hancock walk, Smith doubled home both runners, leading to Sophie Hatfield subbing in on the mound for Trinity. After a ground out, Briley Henry tripled home Smith and scored on a Danielle Beckwith single.
The five-run explosion encapsulated what Daviess County’s offense has proven all season long – they can score at will.
“We started barreling some balls up, and we can score in bunches,” Biggs said.
After pitching out of a jam in the fourth, Hatfield couldn’t prevent the damage in the fifth, allowing back-to-back RBI singles to Kamryn Timmons and Bennett to push the lead to 8-0.
Despite having to switch up her pitching repitoire, Cain only allowed five total runners to reach base. This was partly due to the Lady Panthers suffocating defense.
“The defense is definitely saving all of our pitcher’s backs,” Cain said. “Kamryn, Story, and mine. The defense has made a few diving catches and really good plays that we can’t come back from.”
Over Daviess County’s three 3rd Region Tournament games, the trio of Story Hume, Timmons, and Cain didn’t allow a single run, gave up a combined seven hits, and walked five.
Returning to the State Tournament, Daviess County will play the winner of the 4th Region in the opening round, which has yet to be decided. The championship game between Warren East and South Warren is set for later this evening. As they wait, the Lady Panthers are set to return to work.
“We’re going to practice the next few days, and we need to continue to keep our practices up,” Cain said. “We have very upbeat practices so probably just to stay on top of things as much as we can.”
Despite the loss, Trinity’s season was a rousing success and just a glimpse of what is to come. They won the 12th District Championship and reached the 3rd Region Tournament for the first time since 2019. With only two seniors, they boast one of the youngest teams in the region and seven of their nine starters in the championship game were freshmen or younger.
“If you had told me at the beginning of the season we would win the All “A” Region, reach the final four of the All “A” Tournament, win the district, and reach the finals of regionals, I would have thought you were crazy,” Trinity (Whitesville) head coach Jessica Morris said. “We had a phenomenal season. I’ve got a young group, but they never quit, worked hard all season, and it paid off in the end.”
