Lady Mustangs Score 32 Runs To Win Tourney
LADY MUSTANGS SCORE 32 RUNS TO WIN TOURNEY
McDonald County Lady Mustangs pounded out 48 hits, including 17 extra base hits and six home runs, while scoring 32 runs in four games to win the championship.
The McDonald County Lady Mustangs pounded out 48 hits, including 17 extra-base hits and six home runs, while scoring 32 runs in four games (three shortened by the mercy-rule or time limit) to win the championship of the 17th Annual Carthage Softball Invitational held Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at Carthage High School.
“Our girls played well all weekend,” said coach Skyler Rawlins. “We swung the bats really well. We had an approach at the plate that we stuck with and the girls saw the ball well all weekend. Hitting is contagious, and the girls fed off each other.”
But despite the offensive fireworks, it took a stellar relief appearance by Hanna Schmit in the championship game to key the Lady Mustangs’ 8-7 nine-inning win over the Jefferson City Lady Jays.
McDonald County scored three runs in the top of the first, three more in the third and one in the fourth to build a 7-1 lead after four and a half innings.
Jefferson City battled back against Lady Mustangs ace Paige Jones with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth and three in the fifth to cut the deficit to 7-6. Schmit, who got the final two outs in the fifth, allowed the tying run in the bottom of the seventh on a pair of hits, but closed the door in the final two innings to make a game
winner out of Kylie Helm’s one-out homer in the top of the ninth.
“Paige anchored us the whole weekend,” Rawlins said. “She threw both games yesterday (Friday) and threw the first one today (Saturday) to get us here (championship game) and got us through most of this one before she passed the torch to Hanna. Hanna came in and threw strikes and kept them off balance. She came up big when we needed her to.”
Schmit and Kylie Helm singled and scored on Kali McClain’s double for the Lady Mustangs’ first two runs. After a walk to Aubrie Dunn, Skylar Wright singled in McDonald County’s final run in the first inning.
Kylie Helm doubled to start the Lady Mustangs’ three-run third inning. McClain drove in her second run of the game with a single before an error, a double by Wright and a sacrifice fly by Jones accounted for the final two.
In the fourth, Schmit singled went to third on a single by Kylie Helm and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jones.
After Jefferson City tied the game in the seventh, both teams came up empty in the eighth before Kylie Helm’s fourth hit of the game, a no-doubt homer to straight-away center, gave the Lady Mustangs an 8-7 lead entering the bottom of the ninth. The home run was the sophomore’s fourth in four consecutive games.
Schmit allowed a pair of singles to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, but she retired the next three hitters on groundouts to preserve the victory and the championship. Schmit finished by working four two-thirds innings, allowing one run on five hits, while striking out one. Jones allowed six runs on 12 hits in four and a third innings.
Kylie Helm had four hits while Cloee Helm, Whitney Kinser, Schmit, McClain and Wright had two each to lead the offense.
Kearney
McDonald County hit three home runs to claim a five-inning 10-1 win over Kearney in the semifinals. Kylie Helm, Wright and McClain all went deep, including two-run blows by McClain and Wright in the Lady Mustangs’ eight-run fourth inning. Helm’s solo shot came in the fifth inning.
Kinser and Wright had three hits and Kylie Helm two to lead the Lady Mustangs 12-hit attack. Cloee Helm, Schmit, McClain and Jones added one each.
Jones went the distance for the win, allowing one run on seven hits.
Carthage
Jones and Schmit combined on a five-hitter to lead the Lady Mustangs to an 8-1 win over Carthage in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Jones worked the first five innings for the win, allowing an unearned run on just four hits while Schmit retired the Lady Tigers in order in the sixth.
Kylie Helm put McDonald County ahead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first that followed Schmit’s one-out double. McDonald County added three more runs in the second. Wright doubled before Kenzie Stephens reached on an error. Cloee Helm singled in the first run and after Helm stole second, Kylie Helm drove in her third and fourth runs of the game with a single.
McDonald County added three insurance runs in the sixth on a singles by Schmit and Kylie Helm, a two-run double by McClain and a sacrifice fly by Dunn.
Platte County
McDonald County opened the tournament with a firstround 6-0 win over defending champion Platte County.
Jones tossed a two-hitter while striking out 12 and Kyle Helm had three hits, including a home run, and two RBIs to lead McDonald County.
Schmit doubled and scored on Kylie Helm’s third-inning homer to give the Lady Mustangs a 2-0 lead in the third. McDonald County added its final four runs in the fifth on hits by Kylie Helm, McClain, Dunn and Stephens, a two-run single to close out the scoring.
McDonald County finishes its regular season with an 18-5 record, 4-2 in the Big 8 Conference, heading into district play. The Lady Mustangs face the winner of Webb City/Joplin at 6:15 on Thursday, Oct. 6 at Joplin High School.
Republic
The Republic Lady Tigers scored five runs in the second inning on the way to a 7-2 win over McDonald County on Sept. 29 at MCHS.
Republic put together two doubles and two singles to go with a walk and an error for its five second-inning runs.
McDonald County cut the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of third, scoring a pair of runs on Cloee Helm’s two-out triple and a pair of Republic errors.
The Lady Tigers scored their final runs in the top of the seventh on pitcher Rachel Rook’s two-run homer, her third hit of the day.
Jones went the distance for the loss, allowing seven runs, four earned, on 12 hits while striking out eight.
Rook held McDonald County to five hits, striking out 14 and walking one. Cloee Helm had two hits to lead McDonald County while Schmit, Kylie Helm and Wright each had one hit.
Monett
Monett clinched the Big 8 Conference championship with a thrilling 10-9 win over McDonald County on Sept. 27 at Monett High School.
The Lady Cubs, undefeated in conference play, avoided falling into a threeway tie with McDonald County and Cassville with its win.
Monett broke a 9-9 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring the winning run on a triple and an error. McDonald County’s Paige Jones escaped further damage in the inning when she retired Haley Williams after the Lady Cubs loaded the bases on three singles.
McDonald County jumped on Williams with a pair of runs in the top of the first. Schmit singled and scored on a triple by Kylie Helm. Kinser drove in Helm with a groundout to short for the second run.
Monett tied the game in the bottom half of the inning, scoring a pair of runs on a walk, a triple and a single. Monett took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the second on two errors sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt.
McDonald County tied the game in the third on Kylie Helm’s single, a stolen base and an error. Monett took a 5-3 lead in its half of the inning, scoring two runs on three hits and a walk.
Jones reached on an error and scored on a triple by Stephens to cut the lead to 5-4 in the middle of the fourth, but Monett scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning on three singles and a triple to stretch its lead to 8-4.
The Lady Mustangs cut the margin to 8-6 in the top of the fifth on Kylie Helm’s single, an RBI triple by Dunn and McClain’s RBI single. Monett added to its lead when the Lady Cubs scored one run without a hit in bottom of the fifth.
But McDonald County rallied to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Stephens singled to lead off the inning before Schmit tripled in the first run. Kylie Helm then walked and before Kinser tied the game with a two-run single.
Kylie Helm finished with three hits in three official at bats while Schmit and Stephens had two hits each to lead McDonald County. Kinser, Dunn, McClain and Jones all added one hit each.
Jones took the loss, allowing 10 runs, eight earned, on 14 hits while striking out seven and walking two.
Webb City
Jones held Webb City to one run on seven hits while striking out four to lead McDonald County to a 3-1 win over Webb City on Sept. 26 at Webb City High School.
Webb City took a 1-0 lead in the second on a two singles and a sacrifice bunt. McDonald County answered in the fourth inning, scoring a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead. McClain singled to lead off the inning before Stephens’ two-out single tied the game. Cloee Helm followed with a double to give the Lady Mustangs their first lead of the game.
McDonald County added an insurance run in the fifth when Kinser was hit by a pitch with one out before scoring on McClain’s two-out double.
The Lady Mustang offense was led by Cloee Helm with three hits and Kyle Helm and McClain with two each. Kinser and Stephens both added singles to complete McDonald County’s nine-hit attack.