The Joplin Eagles finished 2-1 overall on Friday during the first day of play in the 18th annual Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Softball Tournament.
Joplin opened the day with a 5-1 loss against pool winner Broken Arrow (Okla.) and then earned thrilling comeback victories, 7-6 against Seneca, and 8-7 against Staley.
Rainy weather late Thursday and early Friday made tournament organizers push back Friday’s start times two hours and change locations from the four all-grass softball fields of the Joplin Athletic Complex to the turf playing surfaces of Joplin High School for Pool A, Neosho Junior High for Pool B, and Webb City High School for Pool C.
“We were happy that we were able to play today, first of all, because of the rain,” Joplin coach Brenden Schneider said. “This is a good test for us. Starting off the day playing Broken Arrow, who’s already played I think 14 games, they’re a solid squad. We were there with them until we booted the ball around a little bit. They’re a good team. Broken Arrow, Seneca, and Staley all in the same bracket, that’s a tough run.”
In their 7-6 win against Seneca, the Eagles had just reclaimed the lead with three runs in the fourth when the Indians threatened with consecutive Maci Brown and Liberty Cornell singles to start the fifth.
Brown advanced to third and Cornell into scoring position with no outs after a passed ball.
With one down, Seneca’s Bailey Lannon placed a bunt on the left side and runners in motion.
Joplin senior pitcher Jill McDaniel fielded the ball cleanly, caught Brown in a pickle between third and home, and threw on to third baseman Bailey Ledford to get Brown for a huge out.
“That bunt goes right to Jill,” Schneider said. “She does a great job of looking that girl back, making her freeze, and us finding a way to get an out there is humongous because we had struggled the whole day scraping runs across. You say that we scored seven, but it really didn’t feel like it. It felt like runs were hard to come by, and credit to Seneca. They hit the absolute snot out of it. Not only does Jill make the play there, (Bailey) Ledford does a great job of selling that bunt. Heads-up play. Izzy Yust comes in behind. Very proud of them.”
McDaniel then picked up her second strikeout of the fifth to preserve the lead.
Seneca threatened again with two runners aboard in the sixth, but McDaniel and the Eagles defense again proved up to the challenge and secured the victory.
Freshman pitcher Ava Wolf earned the victory in relief with 2 1/3 scoreless innings. She finished with five strikeouts and no walks.
McDaniel pitched two scoreless innings after Wolf, and she struck out two and walked one.
Freshman pitcher Caelyn Bobski took a no-decision with six runs (none earned) on four hits over 1 2/3 innings with one strikeout and one walk.
The Indians scored all six runs in the second, highlighted consecutively by freshman Abby Jamros’ two-run single and sophomore Callie Rhoades’ three-run home run.
Joplin pushed across three in the first, one in the second, and three in the fourth.
Yust and Kirsten McMillen each had two hits and Ledford, Abby Lowery, and Maria Loum each contributed one hit to Joplin’s seven overall. McMillen doubled.
Yust drove in two and Ledford scored two runs.
“Our girls are so good at making sure they are patient at the plate,” Schneider said. “We have a ton of confidence in our ability to hit. We felt like we were going to find a way to comeback and so never a doubt there. Again, it’s still one of those games where even though you feel that way, it just feels a little funky.”
The Eagles put together an even more impressive rally in the nightcap against Staley.
Joplin fell behind 7-1 after the Falcons scored one in the third, three in the fourth, one in the fifth, and two in the sixth.
The Eagles tied it up with six in the sixth and then won it the next inning on a Jadyn Pankow single bringing home the speedy Ledford.
Playing international tiebreaker rules, Ledford started the seventh on second and she advanced to third on a Lowery 4-3 groundout.
In the Staley seventh, the Falcons’ runner advanced to third, but McDaniel struck out one and fielded her position successfully for the other two outs.
McDaniel earned the victory, and she allowed seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits over seven innings with four strikeouts and three walks.
Ledford and Pankow each collected three hits and a pair of RBI, McMillen drove in three, and eight different Joplin players scored a run.
Joplin improved to 8-2 overall entering the second and final day of play Saturday. Games return to the Joplin Athletic Complex, and the Eagles play in the Silver Bracket alongside Neosho and Nevada with their first game at 10 a.m.
Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Softball Tournament
Friday’s scores
Pool A
Broken Arrow 5, Joplin 1
Joplin 7, Seneca 6
Broken Arrow 4, Staley 3
Joplin 8, Staley 7
Broken Arrow 12, Seneca 5
Staley 6, Seneca 4
Pool B
Carthage 8, Monett 3
Blue Springs 4, Carthage 3
Neosho 14, Monett 0
Neosho 9, Carthage 4
Blue Springs 12, Monett 0
Blue Springs 6, Neosho 0
Pool C
Kickapoo 3, Nevada 0
Nevada 8, Webb City 2
Kickapoo 7, Park Hill South 1
Nevada 4, Park Hill South 0
Kickapoo 11, Webb City 8
Park Hill South 10, Webb City 9
Saturday’s schedule
(At Joplin Athletic Complex)
Gold Bracket (Field 1)
10—Broken Arrow vs. Blue Springs
11:45—Blue Springs vs. Kickapoo
1:30—Broken Arrow vs. Kickapoo
Silver Bracket (Field 2)
10—Joplin vs. Neosho
11:45—Neosho vs. Nevada
1:30—Joplin vs. Nevada
Bronze Bracket (Field 3)
10—Staley vs. Carthage
11:45—Carthage vs. Park Hill South
1:30—Staley vs. Park Hill South
Consolation Bracket (Field 4)
10—Seneca vs. Monett
11:45—Monett vs. Webb City
1:30—Seneca vs. Webb City
