NEOSHO, Mo. — Webb City’s Emalee Lamar belted two home runs as the third-seeded Cardinals rolled with the bats on the way to a 14-1 win over sixth-seeded Hillcrest in five innings in the opening round of the Class 4 District 6 tournament on Wednesday at the Neosho Athletic Complex.
After a scoreless first inning, Webb City (15-12) broke the seal by plating seven runs on five hits and four walks in the second inning before pouring on seven more runs in the third inning on six hits, one walk and a hit-by-pitch to build an insurmountable lead over Hillcrest (5-24) after three innings. The Hornets avoided the shutout with a run in the top of the fifth before the Cardinals ended the game.
“Overall, I was pleased with our offense,” Webb City coach Shauna Friend said. “It took us an inning to get going, but once we found our timing and put the bat on the ball, we were able to score some runs. … The good thing about this team is during any given game or any given at-bat, any one of them is capable of putting the ball in play and making something happen.”
IN THE CIRCLE
Laney Taylor earned the win in the circle after allowing one unearned run on two hits, two walks and two strikeouts in five complete innings.
“I thought Laney had a really good outing tonight,” Friend said. “It is always a little more relaxing to be able to pitch with run support, and her team provided her with that tonight. She was able to settle in and have a good outing.”
Sarah Wilkinson took the loss after allowing 14 runs on 13 hits, five walks and four strikeouts in four innings.
GAME ACTION
Webb City took the game’s first lead when Morgan Brannon walked to lead off the second inning before Lamar launched a two-run home run to right-center to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
Webb City added two more runs later in the inning when Payton Hawkins singled through the right side, with a pair of runners in scoring position touching home on the base hit for a 4-0 lead.
The Cardinals pushed the lead to 6-0 two batters later when Kaylyn Gilbert roped a one-hop double off the wall with the bases loaded to score two more runs. Lamar picked up another RBI with a sac fly in her second at-bat of the inning to make the score 7-0.
“About midseason, we were in a little bit of a funk offensively,” Friend said of her team’s offensive output. “These last couple of games, we have been able to string some together. Really, the girls are getting the confidence back in their offense because they do hit the ball and just need the confidence to keep them in each game.”
The Cardinals added insurance in the third, with Shelby Gardner singling home a run before touching the plate on the same play following a three-base error by the Hornets to make the score 9-0. Hannah Wells added an RBI double to right field later in the inning to push the lead to 10-0. Gilbert reached on an infield hit and brought home another run. Lamar highlighted the inning two batters later when she belted her second home run over the wall in right-center, this time a three-run shot, to make the score 14-0.
“Emalee Lamar really stepped up and got herself a couple of home runs, which produced a lot of runs for us tonight,” Friend said. “It’s great to see her bat get hot again.”
Hillcrest added an unearned run on an error in the top of the fifth.
AT THE PLATE
Lamar finished with two home runs, six RBI and two runs scored, while Gilbert added two hits, three RBI and a run scored. Hawkins had two hits, two RBI and scored a run.
UP NEXT
Webb City matches up against second-seeded Willard at 5 p.m. on Thursday in the district semifinals.
