With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the McDonald County Lady Mustangs were facing their first loss in the Big 8 Conference in two years.
But junior right-fielder Kenzie Stephens lined a 1-0 pitch down the leftfield line to drive in the tying and winning runs to lift McDonald County to a 3-2 win over the Seneca Lady Indians on Sept. 15 at MCHS.
The hit was the Lady Mustangs' fifth of the game, which included Rita Santillan's pinch single to start the seventh inning rally.
Santillan stole second and with one out was safe at third when a throw was late on Paige bunt. Pinch runner Myrian Martinez stole second before Seneca's Chelsea Belville recorded a strikeout for the second out of the inning, setting up Stephens' heroics.
Jones went the distance on the mound for the Lady Mustangs, allowing two runs -- neither of which was earned -- on eight hits while striking out six and walking one.
Seneca took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Leadoff singles put runners on first and second with none out. A fielder's choice and a strikeout gave McDonald County a chance to get out of the jam, but an error allowed both runners to score.
McDonald County cut the lead to 2-1 in the sixth. Cloee Helm was hit by a pitch and came around to score on a single by Kylie Helm.
Kylie Helm finished with two hits while Santillan and Jones had one each in addition to Stephens' game winner.
McDonald County improves to 11-2 overall for the season, including a 2-0 mark in the Big 8 Conference. The Lady Mustangs were at Lamar on Sept. 19 and at Cassville on Sept. 20 before returning home on Sept. 22 to face East Newton. Game time is 5 p.m.
Joplin
McDonald County built a 6-0 lead after three innings and cruised to an 11-2 win over the Joplin Lady Eagles on Sept. 13 at Joplin High School.
Jones went the distance for the win, allowing two unearned runs on three hits while striking out 11 without issuing a free pass.
Cloee Helm led off the game with the first of her two triples. Hanna Schmit drove her in with a ground ball that was misplayed for an error before Kylie Helm hit a 3-2 pitch over the centerfield fence for a two-run homer.
Stephens' triple in the second led to two runs in the second before Whitney Kinser doubled and scored on Jones' single in the third.
The Lady Mustangs added three runs in the fifth on a single by Kylie Helm, a walk, a bunt hit by Aubrie Dunn, a fielder's choice, a sacrifice fly by Jones and a two-run single by Skylar Wright.
Cloee Helm drove in a run in the seventh on her fourth hit of the game, including two triples and a double. Kylie Helm had a homer and a single while Wright and Stephens each had a pair of singles. Having one hit each were Kinser, Dunn, Kali McClain and Jones.
Joplin scored its two runs in the fourth on two errors and a double.
Sports on 09/22/2016