Seven seniors on the McDonald County High School softball team celebrated Senior Night in grand style.
The 5-1 win over Monett on Oct. 8 earned the Lady Mustangs a share of the Big 8 Conference championship, giving McDonald County back-to-back conference titles.
"We set some goals at the beginning of the season and that's the first one on the list," said coach Skyler Rawlins of the conference championship. "That sets us up for our next set of goals. In softball in the Big 8 Conference, it's hard to win 10 games. That's tough. There is a gauntlet of good teams. We didn't play very well the other day (3-0 loss to Logan-Rogersville), but we came back and responded today against a good Monett team."
Madeline McCall got the win for McDonald County on the mound, allowing one run on three hits while striking out 11 without walking a batter.
Rita Santillan singled and scored on Alexa Hopkins' hit to give McDonald County a 1-0 lead in the first.
Hopkins' and McCall's doubles, and singles by Kaylee Eberely and Adasyn Leach, produced three runs in the fourth to increase the margin to 4-0.
Santillan's home run in the sixth gave McDonald County a 5-0 lead before Monett scored its only run in the top of the seventh on a double and a single.
Santillan and Hopkins finished with two hits each to lead the Lady Mustangs at the plate, while Whitney Kinser, McCall, Eberley and Leach all had one.
The win gave McDonald County a 9-1 record in the conference to share the title with Logan-Rogersville.
Seniors honored following the game were Santillan, Kinser, Eberley, Kristin Cornell, Emily Emmert, Jackie Grider and Caitlin Hall.
"This is the second conference champion for the seniors," Rawlins said. "They also have won two district championships. Hopefully, they can add a third. If you would add up the win totals for a four-year group, they would probably have the record. They still have a lot to accomplish. They are not satisfied with where we are at so far. This has been a great group that has helped put us where we want to be."
Carthage Tournament
Rain turned the Carthage High School Softball Tournament into a regular-season doubleheader instead of a tournament.
McDonald County swept both of its games, a 20-2 win over Oak Park and a 6-0 win over Jefferson City.
Hopkins allowed two runs on six hits in three innings in the Lady Mustangs' win over Oak Park.
After leaving the bases loaded in the first, McDonald County scored 11 runs in the second and nine runs in the third to end the game after three innings on the mercy rule.
Kinser had three hits, including two homers, and five RBIs, while Santillan, McCall, Kristin Cornell and Reagan Myrick also had three hits to lead the McDonald County offense. Jackie Grider added two hits. Hopkins, Eberley and Emily Emmert added one hit each.
McCall shut out Jefferson City on three hits while striking out 11 in six innings to lead McDonald County to a 6-0 win.
McDonald County scored the only run it would need in the first on a single by Santillan, a stolen base and a sacrifice by Cornell. Kinser's double and McCall's RBI single gave the Lady Mustangs a 2-0 lead in the third.
McDonald County broke the game open in the fourth, scoring four runs on four hits, including Grider's solo home run.
Santillan, Kinser, McCall and Grider had two hits each to lead McDonald County, while Myrick had the only other McDonald County safety.
The sweep of the doubleheader gives the Lady Mustangs an overall record of 18-2 heading into a pair of makeup games on Oct. 14 and Oct. 15 before beginning district play on Oct. 17 at Aurora High School. McDonald County will play the winner of Aurora and Carl Junction at 4 p.m. in the semifinals.
Sports on 10/17/2019