LEXINGTON — South Laurel’s road to a state championship the this week’s KHSAA Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Softball State Tournament isn’t an easy one with a matchup against Daviess County during first round action Friday at 2 p.m. right off the bat.
The Lady Panthers (30-4) are no strangers to success. They e played one of the toughest schedules in the state with their only losses coming against South Warren, Cooper, and McCracken County (twice).
They win their fourth straight 3rd Region title this past week with a 5-4 victory over Owensboro Catholic.
The Lady Panthers are an experienced team with six seniors returning from last season’s Elite Eight squad that lost to eventual state champion Ballard, 7-0.
“Daviess County has a rich history in softball and have beaten some really good teams this year,” South Laurel coach Carly Mink said. “They have four losses on the season, so obviously they are very talented. But you’re not going to face a team in the state tournament that doesn’t belong there. We have to be ready to play and be the best version of ourselves.”
The Lady Panthers are batting .328 on the season with .373 on the season with two starters batting .500.
Slugger Jessie Daniels has 18 home runs, 62 RBI, 56 hits, 37 runs scored along with a .500 batting average while teammate Annie Newman has seven home runs, 33 RBI, 59 hits, and 35 runs scored along with a .500 batting average.
As a team, the Lady Panthers are batting .378 with 41 home runs, and 84 stolen bases.
Senior Raylee Roby leads the team with a 21-2 record, and a 1.34 ERA. She has struck out 199 batters in 141 innings of work.
Sophia Cain is 7-1 with a 2.08 ERA, and 56 strikeouts.
South Laurel has a .328 batting average while delivering 22 home runs.
Aubree Laster leads the Lady Cardinals with a .420 batting average. She also has 47 hits, 19 stolen bases, 10 RBI, and 39 runs scored.
Addison Baking possesses a .400 batting average while delivering four home runs, 50 hits, 23 RBI, 42 runs scored, and 10 doubles.
Eighth grader Kenzie Williams is 15-3 with a 2.24 ERA while striking out 195 batters in 125 innings. Madison Worley is 6-9 with 44 Ks, and a 5.13 ERA.
If you go by the KHSAA’s RPI ratings, Daviess County is a heavy favorite. The Lady Panthers possess a .69144 RPI rating while South Laurel’s stands at .56040.
The Lady Cardinals (21-12) aren’t a stranger in being an underdog.
South Laurel managed to beat North Laurel (.68193), and Corbin (.60221) with both school’s garnering an RBI over .60000.
“Like I said before, I can’t think of a more deserving group of kids,” Mink said. “You can go down the list and every single kid has had to face adversity of some kind. A lot of different kids had to fill different roles to pick up their teammates. We are proud to represent South Laurel and add to the rich history of this program to continue to build on this.
“Obviously, we are happy to represent to the 13th Region, but we’re not satisfied,” she added. “We’re going to get back to work this coming week and get ready to go to Lexington and compete for a state title. If we can continue to pitch well, play solid defense, and have good at bats we have a shot just like anybody else. We just have to continue to do the small things well, and worry about what we can control.”
