Below is a roundup of Saturday’s games from the Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Joplin High School Softball Tournament at the Joplin Athletic Complex.
MONETT 6, CARTHAGE 5 (THIRD PLACE)
By holding off the Tigers late, the Cubs captured third place.
Monett led 6-0 after three innings before Carthage plated five unanswered runs. However, it wasn’t enough.
Monett’s Ashtyn Blakey went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, while Abby McCaffrey and Caitlyn Calhoun recorded two hits apiece.
Jenna Herald was the winning pitcher. She allowed three earned runs and struck out four in five innings. Calhoun earned the save.
Landry Cochran and Makayla Jennings had two hits apiece for the Tigers. Jennings drove in two runs, while Jensyn Elder, Mary Grace Richmond and Cochran had one RBI apiece.
Ashlynn Jackson allowed four earned runs and was charged with the loss.
NEOSHO 6, CARL JUNCTION 2 (FIFTH PLACE)
The Wildcats claimed fifth place with the win over the Bulldogs.
Neosho’s Kaitlyn Killion went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. McKaylie Forrest, Lili Graue and Trinity Drake all had two hits apiece for the Wildcats.
Brittany Winchester earned the pitching victory. She gave up nine hits, but only two runs. Avery Bradford earned the save.
Carl Junction’s Izzie Southern went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Kaitlyn Nease had two hits and an RBI. Jayden Green pitched for the Bulldogs, allowing five earned runs.
JOPLIN 4, SENECA 3 (SEVENTH PLACE)
The Eagles took home seventh place with a close win. Joplin trailed 2-0 after the first inning, but the Eagles plated two runs in both the third and fourth innings. Seneca added a single tally in the fifth.
Four players drove in one run apiece for the Eagles, Bailey Ledford, Elisabeth Snider, Tatum Stogsdill and Ashley Phillips, who also scored two runs.
Jill McDaniel was the winning pitcher. She struck out six and gave up three earned runs.
Seneca’s Bailey Lannon took the loss, but she only allowed three earned runs.
Hunter Beard and Maci Brown had three hits apiece for the Indians. Beard drove in two runs and Brown scored twice, while Emily Askren had one RBI.
WEBB CITY 7, CARTHAGE 4
The semifinal contest was tied at three before the Cardinals took control late in the game.
Emma Welch and Emalee Lamar drove in two runs apiece for Webb City, while Peyton Hawkins went 2-for-3 and Haidyn Berry both went 2-for-3 at the plate. Berry homered and Hawkins doubled.
Berry was the winning pitcher. She gave up two earned runs and struck out two.
Carthage’s Elder took the loss. She allowed five earned runs and fanned seven.
Jennings drove in two runs on two hits for the Tigers, while Cochran and Natalie Rodriquez had one RBI apiece. Cochran and Jennings homered for Carthage.
NEVADA 10, MONETT 9
The Tigers erupted for six runs in the bottom of the seventh in the other semifinal.
Claire Pritchett had three RBI for the Tigers, while Maleigha Hinton and Blair Wilson drove in two runs apiece. Bailey Ast had three hits and scored three runs.
Abby Harder was the winning pitcher. She struck out four.
Monett’s Molly Poole drove in three runs on two hits, including a homer, while Kailyn Cendroski and Kate Huntress had two RBI apiece.
CARL JUNCTION 10, SENECA 8
Sammie Sims and Addie Brock recorded three hits apiece for the Bulldogs, while Saedra Allen drove in three runs. Green had two RBI.
Allen earned the pitching win, striking out 10 in 5 2/3 innings. Green picked up the save.
Elisa Siri drove in two runs for Seneca. Beard took the loss, but only surrendered four earned runs.
NEOSHO 9, JOPLIN 1
The Wildcats scored six runs in the sixth to blow a close game open.
Abbie Carpenter drove in three runs on two hits for Neosho, while Killion went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Chloe Patterson earned the win in the circle, allowing just two hits while striking out five.
Joplin’s Surridge had her team’s lone RBI. Snider and Surridge had the lone hits, with Madisyn Tracy scoring the only run.
The Eagles used three pitchers, with McDaniel striking out four in 2 2/3 innings.
NOTE: Webb City defeated Nevada 9-3 in the championship game. A story on the championship game can be found here:
Softball: Webb City tops Nevada for Neal/Freeman tourney crown
