The ball left Mariana Salas' bat and kept rising in the blue sky before sailing over the fence in center.
"Off the bat, I didn't know it was out," Lady Mustangs coach Heath Alumbaugh said. "The center fielder was the one who told me it was out. She took two steps and kind of gave up on it. Until then, I wasn't sure."
Salas' three-run shot propelled McDonald County to a 15-0 victory over Webb City on Monday at Lady Mustang Softball Field. The game was called in the bottom of the fourth inning because of the run rule.
"The girls were dialed in across the board," Alumbaugh said. "It started with Nevaeh Dodson throwing strikes in the circle. At the plate, you couldn't ask for any more. We were dialed in first pitch, ready to go."
Salas went 3-for-3 with three RBI to lead the Lady Mustangs' 17-hit attack.
"She has some pop when she gets the barrel to the ball," Alumbaugh said of the catcher.
Dodson struck out nine and allowed one hit and a walk in four innings. Dodson fanned eight of the first nine Lady Cardinals she faced.
"We said at the beginning of the year we have two great options in the circle," Alumbaugh said about sophomore Dodson and senior Madeline McCall. "Obviously, we do. Nevaeh came out ready to go. When she's on, she moves the ball around and makes it tough on hitters."
Jacie Frencken went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBI. The slugger's bases-clearing blast to left didn't quite leave the park, but it ended the show early as McDonald County scored eight runs in the fourth.
McCall, back from a knee injury, was 2-for-3 with three RBI.
"I'd say she's back 99 percent at the plate," Alumbaugh said.
The Lady Mustangs took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Frencken's double scored Carlee Cooper.
McDonald County seized complete control with a six-run surge in the third. McCall's two-RBI double and Adasyn Leach's RBI two-bagger set the stage for Salas' three-run homer.
Dodson, Cooper, Leach and Katelynn Townsend finished with two hits each. Cooper and Reagan Myrick scored three runs each, and Townsend added two.
MCHS 15, Monett 0
McCall got the pitching start in Tuesday's regular-season finale, a 15-0 triumph over visiting Monett that was stopped by the run rule in the bottom of the third.
McDonald County (19-5), fourth in Class 4 in the most recent state rankings, now awaits the district tournament, which is scheduled for next week in Neosho.
