Ballard softball continues 'revenge tour,' blanks Daviess County to advance to KHSAA semis

LEXINGTON — The first pitch wasn't thrown until almost 11 p.m. due to rain, but the result remained the same for the Ballard Bruins.

The Seventh Region juggernaut throttled the Third Region's Daviess County Panthers 7-0 to advance to the semifinals of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop KHSAA State Softball Tournament in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Ballard (37-0) used nine hits against Daviess County (31-6), who knocked the Bruins out of last season's state tournament with a 2-1 win, to continue its undefeated run,  and head coach Alan Jones praised his players for continuing to operate as a single unit.

"We want to be known as a complete team," Jones said. "We looked at the state tournament and said we're going to hit the ball, as well as we got great pitching (and) defense. They came in (and) came ready."

Junior starting pitcher Brooke Gray (29-0) held the Panthers to one hit and one walk while striking out 11 batters.

"Since they said they were prepared for me, it's kind of nice (to) contradict them," Gray said. "I kind of wanted them to eat their words. I knew I'm not the same pitcher that I was a year ago, and I was going to show them that."

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Key moments

Ballard was able to claim a 2-0 lead after the first inning against Daviess County, but the Bruins dropped the hammer in the fourth.

Junior second baseman Imari Golden started the push when she doubled and drove in junior first baseman Macy McCoy. Then sophomore third baseman Lillian Koch scored Golden on a single with two outs. Sophomore designated player Rylee Carter kept the surge going when she doubled to drive in Koch and junior right fielder Eden Jessie.

"It wasn't as high as my other ones were," said Carter, describing what she saw on the pitch. "I just saw that it was lower (and) inside, so I was ready to be early on it and swing. The second I started swinging I knew it was going to be a good hit."

Sophomore shortstop Mikayla Milby capped the surge with a single that brought in Carter.

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What it means

Ballard moves on to face the Fourth Region's South Warren Spartans (38-2) in Saturday's semifinal at 5 p.m.

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By the numbers

Milby was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Carter was 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Senior catcher Alyssa Simmons was 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.

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They said it

Alyssa Simmons on hitting her second home run: "My favorite pitch is low and inside. That's what she gave me. I took that, and I drove it."

Rylee Carter on avenging last season's loss to Daviess County: "It felt absolutely amazing. I was so ecstatic. This was the end of our revenge tour. We were really ready to beat all the teams that beat us last year."

Reach Jonathan Saxon at JSaxon@gannett.com or 502-715-1393 and follow him on Twitter at @TheSleepyScribe.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA softball tournament: Ballard dominates Daviess County