The bats came alive early and never slowed down for the Daviess County Panthers Softball on Monday night.

Behind a massive performance from Molly Hancock, Daviess County overwhelmed Edmonson County Lady Cats Softball 18-2 in four innings during the opening round of the regional tournament.

Hancock delivered one of the biggest offensive performances of the postseason so far, blasting two home runs and driving in six runs. The senior slugger launched a two-run homer in the second inning before ending the night with a grand slam during Daviess County’s explosive eight-run fourth inning.

The Panthers wasted no time taking control.

Annie Newman opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-run home run to center field, giving Daviess County an early 2-0 advantage. One inning later, the Panthers erupted for five more runs as Lilah Morris drove in a run with a single before Kylie Clark crushed a two-run homer to left field. Hancock followed immediately with another two-run blast to push the lead to 7-0.

Daviess County continued piling on in the third inning. Clark added an RBI single while Shelby Bennett brought home another run on a groundout as the Panthers stretched the lead to 10-0.

Edmonson County briefly answered in the top of the fourth when K. Williams lined a two-run double to left field, but the Panthers immediately slammed the door shut with their biggest inning of the night.

Daviess County scored eight runs in the bottom half of the fourth, highlighted by RBI hits from Storey Hume and Kyla Zembrycki before Hancock crushed a grand slam to center field to cap the scoring at 18-2.

The Panthers finished with 13 hits while also turning two double plays defensively.

Clark collected multiple hits and finished with four RBIs, while Morris also added multiple hits in the dominant offensive showing. Newman reached base multiple times and scored throughout the night from the leadoff spot.

Sophia Cain earned the win in the circle for Daviess County, allowing two runs over three innings before Hume closed the game with a scoreless relief appearance.

With the victory, Daviess County advances deeper into regional tournament play after one of its most complete performances of the season.