MONETT, Mo. — Nevada rode a pair of big innings to a 13-2 win in six innings over Monett on Tuesday in a Class 4 sectional contest at North Park.
The game was deadlocked at two after four innings, but the Tigers scored four runs in the fifth and seven more in the sixth to earn a run-rule victory.
Nevada scored its 13 runs on 11 hits.
Drake Ketterman went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while Case Sanderson, Cade Beshore and Riddick Shook all had two hits apiece.
Kellan Ast drove in three runs, while Shook and Beshore added two RBI apiece. Sanderson scored three runs and Kasen Ast scored twice.
Caden Klumpp went 3 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits.
Sanderson earned the win after tossing 1 2/3 innings, striking out four. Kennedy D’Elia pitched a scoreless inning.
Monett’s Marcus Young took the loss after allowing six earned runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Aiden Clapper had two hits for the Cubs, while Evan Witt and Josh Wallace had RBI.
In the game-changing fifth, Ketterman doubled, Sanderson walked and Beshore reached on an error, with a run scoring on the play.
Later in the frame, Shook hit an RBI single and Kellan Ast contributed a two-run single for a 6-2 lead.
In the sixth, a run scored on an error and Beshore hit an RBI single before three walks with the bases loaded made it 11-2.
Ketterman contributed an RBI single before Sanderson drew a bases-loaded walk.
The Cubs end the season with a 16-9 record.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Nevada (19-9) is at Springfield Catholic (19-7) at 5 on Thursday in a quarterfinal contest of the Class 4 state tournament.
The Nevada-Catholic winner advances to the Class 4 semifinals on May 31 in Ozark.
LAMAR, Mo. — The Lamar Tigers fell behind 4-0 after two and 6-0 after four innings during their season-ending 9-3 loss Tuesday against Stockton in a Class 3 Sectional 6 contest at Shoff Field inside the Lamar City Park.
Stockton, ranked fourth in Class 3 in the final regular season poll of the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association, improved to 22-4 overall and the visiting Tigers won their 11th straight game by pushing across one run in the first, three in the second, two in the fourth, and three in the seventh while their pitchers Easton Hubbard and Sayge Painter limited the host Tigers to a three-spot in the sixth.
Down 4-0 in the third, Lamar started a two-out rally as senior Ty Willhite reached on an error, sophomore Alex Wilkerson singled to left, and sophomore Cooper Haun worked a walk to load the bases.
Hubbard worked his way out of the jam though when he induced Tyler Ansley into a fielder’s choice to end the inning and preserve the 4-0 lead.
In the next half-inning, Stockton pushed across two more for a six-run advantage.
“I always said the greatest thing about baseball is that we go into every game with one goal: Hit the ball hard when you’re up to bat,” Lamar coach Thad Lundine said. “I can go back and tell you we probably had 15 hard-hit balls that were right at people, and that’s why I say it’s the best sport in the world because you throw everything you’ve got in one basket and guess what … sometimes you’re not going to be successful.
“It teaches you to be a man, it teaches you to grow up, and that’s what I was impressed with, we never quit. There was no quit to these kids, even when things looked gloom, they just kept playing and hoping and that’s what I love about this senior group. They just kept firing.”
Wilkerson led off the home sixth with a double to left, as Stockton’s Jack Rickman struggled with the little hill out in left at Shoff Field.
Haun and Ansley worked a walk and were hit by pitch, respectively, to load the bases with no outs and Lamar pushed across three with a Ryan Davis RBI fielder’s choice and a Jaxon Hearod RBI groundout, as well as the second run from a Stockton throwing error.
Rickman worked a walk to lead off the seventh and Stockton added three runs on two hits and three Lamar errors.
Hubbard and Wyatt Downs played fundamentally sound, team baseball, sacrificing an out for a run to push Stockton’s lead back to six entering the bottom of the seventh.
Wilkerson reached on an error and stole second, but Hubbard and Painter struck out the side to advance Stockton into the state quarterfinals Thursday against either Licking or Forsyth and end Lamar’s season at 14-14.
“They hit some balls hard, but most of the balls that caused us problems, it wasn’t a whole hell of a lot we could do with it,” Lundine said. “I mean, it was in the gap, it was overhead, nothing was really tagged hard. We had more hard-hit balls than they did.
“You live on an island in baseball. Sometimes, that’s a fun island to be on. Sometimes, that’s not a fun island to be on. … It ain’t always paradise.”
Lamar seniors Tate Ansley, Tyler Ansley (who provided a defensive highlight Tuesday by throwing out a runner at home from left), Ethan Ball, Davis, Hearod, Hunter Lundine, and Willhite each played their final games Tuesday — Lamar won a district title in baseball for the first time since 2019 and the Tigers vied for their first sectional win since 2002.
“We were talking about that before I came over here,” Coach Lundine said. “My son was actually in Nevada up until his freshman year, so I was coaching his teams and whatnot. I asked them, ‘When’s the first time we ever met?’ They were like, ‘Oh, 14, 15.’ No, when’s the first time we met. Then, they started thinking. We played against each other on that little bitty field down there all those years ago.
“For this group, that’s very special to me. I’ve seen them when their extra small baseball pants were too dang big for them, and they’ve grown into great young men. It’s a battle … with them graduating and me retiring, it’s a bad deal but at the same time, you’ve got to be proud of where you came from and how far you’ve gone.
“Throw records out, throw everything else out, at the end of it, I always tell myself that on the last day there’s nothing that’s going to make me love them more and nothing that’s going to make me love them less. Just go out there and battle, and we’ll let the chips fall.”
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Mount Vernon’s 29th straight victory of the 2023 season was similar to many of the wins that preceded it — one-sided and emphatic.
Top-ranked Mount Vernon earned a convincing 6-0 win over second-ranked West County in the championship game of the Class 2 spring softball state tournament on Tuesday at the Killian Softball Complex.
Dominant on the diamond all season, Mount Vernon ends the season with a record of 37-1.
It’s safe to say the Mountaineers left no doubt as to who was the best spring softball team in the state of Missouri.
“I feel like we left no doubt,” Mount Vernon coach Matt Schubert said. “I knew if we played our best, we were going to be able to win the game. I don’t want to take anything away from West County. They were great. That was a tough game.
“The girls have put in the work. Looking back on the season, it’s just been an unbelievable performance all the way through. It’s been fun. As a coach, you work in practice to get them prepared. When it comes to the games, it’s all up to them. They’ve done a great job of executing the things we wanted to do. We’ve had some great performances.”
Mount Vernon senior Harley Daniels delivers a pitch to the plate against West County on Tuesday in the Class 2 state title game at Killian Softball Complex in Springfield. Photo by Jason Peake.
Moments after the awards ceremony concluded, Mount Vernon senior standout pitcher Harley Daniels came to the realization that her squad had accomplished its goal of winning a state title.
“I’m sad that it’s ended, but I’m very happy it ended this way,” an emotional Daniels said. “It’s been the best three years…to end it this way is the best. We’ve all had a love of the game. I think that’s what really drives us to do well.”
After run-rule wins in both the quarterfinals and semifinals, the Mountaineers concluded the season with another decisive victory.
Mount Vernon pushed across four runs in the bottom of the first inning to take control early.
With two outs, senior first baseman Allie Schubert walked before Daniels smacked an RBI double to right field.
After sophomore catcher Rae Downing was hit by a pitch, sophomore center fielder Cheyenne Bieber delivered a two-run triple to left.
Freshman third baseman Hali Stokes followed with a run-scoring single through the left side for a four-run cushion.
Mount Vernon added a single tally in the second, as junior second baseman Payge Evans singled and stole second. Evans charged home when sophomore shortstop Molly Daniels lined an RBI single up the middle, making it 5-0.
The Bulldogs (24-4) stranded two on-base in the fourth and sixth innings, as Harley Daniels maneuvered out of trouble on both occasions, ending each frame with a strikeout.
Mount Vernon added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Stokes was hit by a pitch and sophomore designated player Ava Bellis singled before the speedy Evans drove in the final run with an infield single.
Evans’ late hit was significant. Coach Schubert said Evans, the team’s leadoff batter, broke the state record for hits in a season with 76.
In yet another stellar performance in the circle, Harley Daniels tossed a complete-game shutout, limiting the Bulldogs to five hits and one walk. She struck out nine in her final prep outing.
“She’s been a steady force in the circle,” Coach Schubert said. “She gives us the opportunity to win each time out. We knew she would keep things close. I liked the offensive opportunities that we got. And we were able to cash in on them.”
Daniels noted the early run support was key.
“It was relieving,” she said. “I just could go out there and do what I know how to do. If they hit the ball, I know my defense is there.”
Speaking of defense, the Mountaineers were flawless in the field with no errors.
All season long the Mountaineers have received nice contributions from everyone in their lineup. This was the case again on Tuesday, as six different players recorded hits and five different players drove in a run.
Mount Vernon graduates two standout seniors, Harley Daniels and Allie Schubert.
West County senior Gracie Wright took the loss. She surrendered six earned runs on seven hits in six innings. Wright hit four batters and walked one.
Mount Vernon also won a state championship in spring softball in 2016. The Mountaineers were fourth in both 2019 and ’14.
“I’ve been able to enjoy this trip a little more,” Coach Schubert said. “This is our fourth trip to the Final Four. For me, having the experience of being here before was big. I knew what to expect. I was able to relax. And with the way our girls have played, I had the utmost confidence in them.”
In one of the final acts of the season, Coach Schubert was able to hand out championship medals to each and every one of his players.
“They’re all kind of like my kids because I’ve been around them for so long … starting in second grade and some before that in tee ball,” Coach Schubert said. “So this means a lot.”
The Mount Vernon Mountaineers pose with the state championship plaque after defeating West County 6-0 in the state title game on Tuesday in Springfield. Photos by Jason Peake.
Mount Vernon coach Matt Schubert presented his players with their championship medals at the conclusion of Tuesday’s state title game in Springfield.
Mount Vernon seniors Harley Daniels and Allie Schubert accepted the state championship plaque at the conclusion of Tuesday’s 6-0 win over West County. The Mountaineers won 29 straight games to end the season at 37-1.
