Jun. 17—John Biggs has been building the Daviess County High School softball program for many years, but it took a 2-1 upset of No. 2 Louisville Ballard on Saturday in the first round of the KHSAA State Softball Tournament to put the statewide spotlight on the Lady Panthers.
“I’m proud of this group,” said Biggs, a longtime head coach whose ninth-ranked DC team (32-6) will meet Pendleton County (25-11) at 1 p.m. (CT) on Friday in the state tournament quarterfinals at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. “Our players stuck with it, battled the whole way, didn’t panic.
“We’ve been building this program, trying to be one of the elite programs in the state. We got this thing to the point where we were holding our own with teams in western Kentucky, but when you go out and beat a team the caliber of Ballard it gets you to the next level.”
Biggs said the foundation of the program’s rise to prominence has been defense.
“When we were building in the beginning, we made defense the primary emphasis and then worked from there,” Biggs recalled. “Saturday’s game was a prime example of that attention to defense playing off for us. Our defense kept us in the game and gave us a shot to win it late.
“We’ve also elevated our pitching, overall. This season, we’ve developed two very high-quality pitchers who, while different, have been equally effective for us game after game.
“Finally, we’ve put together an offense that produces more runs for us than we scored in the past. The combination of being solid in each of these areas really paid off for us against a team like Ballard. We had to do all these things well to win — and over time it’s enhanced our team’s confidence.”
So much so that now Daviess County is getting clutch production up and down the lineup.
“There came a point this season where we came to an understanding that if we could develop the bottom half of the order and get some key production off our bench, that we would have the chance to do some special things — and that’s happened,” Biggs said. “We’ve had kids find ways to get on base, take walks, to get the back end of the order jump-started, and this has been vital to our success.
“Everyone feels comfortable and confident in their respective roles now, and, of course, once you turn the lineup over and get back to the top of the order good things are going to happen for your team.”
In the process, the Lady Panthers have come to a more complete understanding of how all their hard work has paid huge dividends.
“Feeling comfortable and confident out there often comes from the repetition that comes with trying to improve during practice,” Biggs said. “It’s very rewarding to see the team develop from a skill standpoint, as well as a confidence standpoint.
“There’s a reason we do what we do on a daily basis and our team now sees how all of the hard work they’ve put in through the years is paying off.
“Now, we really have put our program in position to do something special.”