After a run-rule win over Aurora on Monday, Joplin doubled down on Tuesday after batting around the order on the way to a five-run first inning to take a foothold, while Jill McDaniel was strong in the circle as the Eagles defeated Carl Junction 11-1 in five innings in Central Ozark Conference action at the JHS Sports Complex.
“It stems from the last couple of weeks,” Joplin coach Manny Flores said of his team’s play as of late. “We played Nixa really tough and Ozark really tough and played other good teams in our conference in one-run games. I think that has carried over to this week and it is allowing us to be more confident. That has allowed us to play a little more aggressively and confidently, and you have to do that in this game. If you are not confident, you are going to lose a lot of games.”
Joplin took control with the five-run first inning before adding an insurance run in the second, two more in the third and two in the fifth to end the contest with the Bulldogs early.
“I thought we were a little slow to start, and that tends to be an issue we deal with every once in a while,” Carl Junction coach Zak Petty said. “We started to come back and limit some of those innings where it could have gotten out of hand early. Sometimes, our inexperience shows, and it’s tough.”
McDaniel earned the win after allowing one hit and one unearned run over five complete innings. She walked one and struck out eight.
“She has done an excellent job of commanding the zone, throwing strikes and letting her defense make plays,” Flores said. “When she does that, she is a tough pitcher to face. She has done a great job of getting better every single day and giving us a chance to win.”
Hannah Cole took the loss after allowing 11 runs, three earned, on 13 hits, a walk and a strikeout in 4 2/3 innings.
“She wasn’t feeling great today, but she really battled,” Petty said. “I thought she did a really good job. She is a rockstar, mentally. Especially for a freshman being out there. … She does a great job of getting the ball and being ready to go. She is going to grow and get so much better that we need to pick it up around her and help her out some more.”
The win marks the first conference victory of the season for the Eagles, which is 13-12, 1-7 in the COC. Carl Junction is 2-19 and 0-7 in the COC.
Joplin wasted little time getting the bats going, as the first three batters reached with base hits to build an early 2-0 advantage.
Bailey Ledford led the inning off with a triple to center field before scoring on a single from Liz Snider. Jadyn Pankow followed with a sharp single up the middle for an RBI and a 2-0 lead.
Kirsten McMillen added a sacrifice fly later in the inning before McDaniel wrapped the scoring with a two-strike, two-out, two-run double to right-center field to take a commanding 5-0 lead.
“It allowed us to settle into the game a little bit,” Flores said of his team’s start. “In the COC, you have to show up no matter what because any team can beat any team on any given day. … It is just about being confident in their approach and coming out aggressive, and they did that today.”
The Eagles added an insurance run in the bottom of the second inning when Pankow singled up the middle to plate Snider for a 6-0 lead.
Carl Junction got on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning when Hannah Cantrell hit a chopper in front of the mound with the throw to first ending up in the right-field corner, giving Cantrell enough time to circle the bases and touch home.
Joplin added two more runs in the bottom of the third when Pankow hit a sacrifice fly to right that was followed by an RBI single through the left side from Madisyn Tracy to push the lead to 8-1.
“Anytime you are playing a COC matchup and you don’t continue to add on runs, you’re in trouble,” Flores said. “Good teams are going to capitalize on that. … It was important for us to continue to add on there.”
Joplin ended the game in the fifth inning when McMillen reached on an error that allowed two runs to score to make the score 11-1.
STATS
Joplin’s offense wracked up 11 runs on 18 hits, with every member of the starting lineup registering a base knock in the win.
“We were aggressive from the get-go, and that is what we have preached all year,” Flores said. “Today was our best output from start to finish. We were aggressive to start and we stayed aggressive through the end, and it showed on the scoreboard.”
Abby Lowery had three hits, scored twice and drove in one, while Pankow had two hits and three RBI to lead Joplin. McDaniel doubled and had two RBI as well. Tracy added two hits, scored a run and drove in one.
Dezi Williams had the lone hit for Carl Junction, while Cantrell scored the only run.
UP NEXT
Joplin hosts Willard on Thursday.
Carl Junction hosts Branson on Thursday.
