Rick Peck
McDonald County Press
It figured to be a pitching duel and it did not disappoint -- one run and 22 strikeouts. The one run went to the McDonald County Lady Mustangs, and with it came the title 2016 Missouri Class 4 District 12 Champions.
The title is only the second in school history for the Lady Mustangs, the first coming in 2008.
"In high school sports, winning a district championship is one of the biggest goals and achievements because that gets you into the playoffs and gives you a chance at a state title," said coach Skyler Rawlins. "I am just proud of the girls. They put in all the work this year and played very well together at districts. I am excited for McDonald County -- the school district and the community. That's who we are playing for and who we are representing."
Jones and Republic's Rachel Rook battled pitch for pitch through seven innings, each allowing four hits and striking out 11. Jones walked two and Rook three. That extra walk by the Republic senior proved to be the difference in the game.
The walk proved to be instrumental in the Lady Mustangs' third inning run. Kenzie Stephens walked to lead off the inning and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cloee Helm. After Stephens went to third on a wild pitch, Rook struck out her fourth batter of the game, setting up a duel between one of the best pitchers in southwest Missouri with one of the best hitters in southwest Missouri -- McDonald County's Kylie Helm.
Helm took the first pitch for a strike, then hit a 0-1 pitch into the right centerfield gap for an RBI double.
"You couldn't draw it up any better," Rawlins said. "Kenzie had a great at-bat to get on, and Cloee Helm had a sac bunt to get her into scoring position. There is not anybody else you would want up other than Kylie in that situation. She had a great approach and drove the ball up the middle. That was all you could ask for."
That run one run was enough for one of the other best pitchers in southwest Missouri in Jones. The senior right-hander struck out the side in the first two innings and never allowed a runner to reach third. Republic put more than one runner on base in an inning only once, in the bottom of the third on a walk and a single before Jones struck out the final two batters of the inning to end the threat.
"Paige, my goodness, she has carried us the last two years," Rawlins said. "Her mentality the last two weeks has been amazing. Those are two big games (Webb City and Republic) that she hasn't thrown in before this year and she really turned in two great pitching performances against two really good ball clubs."
While Republic had few opportunities, Rook escaped several jams throughout as McDonald County stranded 10 runners.
Kylie Helm finished with three hits in four at bats, including a seventh-inning line drive that hit Rook in the shoulder before bouncing off her mask for a hit, to lead McDonald County. The Lady Mustangs only other hit was Cloee Helm's seventh-inning single.
McDonald County improves to 20-5 heading into its sectional game against Ozark played on Oct. 12 at MCHS. If the Lady Mustangs win, they will host a Class 4 state quarterfinal game against the winner of Blue Springs South and Camdenton on Oct. 15 at MCHS.
Webb City
After holding Webb City to one run and escaping a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first inning, Jones shut out the Lady Cardinals on five hits over the final six innings to lead McDonald County to a 4-1 win in the semifinals of the Missouri Class 4 District 12 Softball Tournament held Oct. 6 at Joplin High School.
Webb City loaded the bases on a hit batter, a walk and a single before Jones hit a second batter in the inning to force in a run.
McDonald County answered in the bottom half of the inning, keyed by Kali McClain's two-run double. Cloee Helm led off the inning with a single. Hanna Schmit bunted her to second before Kylie Helm reached on an error and Whitney Kinser walked to load the bases. McClain then hit a change-up to the centerfield fence to give the Lady Mustangs a 2-1 lead. Aubrie Dunn followed with a single to knock in McDonald County's third run of the inning.
McDonald County added an insurance run in the sixth inning on a single by Jones and an RBI triple by Cloee Helm.
McClain finished with three hits and Cloee Helm two to lead McDonald County at the plate. Kylie Helm, Dunn, Jones and Stephens added one hit each in the Lady Mustangs' nine-hit attack.
Jones finished by allowing one run on six hits while striking out six and walking two and hitting two.
Sports on 10/13/2016