NEOSHO, Mo. — Trailing by three runs with two and a half innings in the books, fourth-seeded Neosho rallied and outscored fifth-seeded Branson 5-1 on the way to a 6-5 win on Wednesday in the Class 4 District 6 opening round at the NHS Athletic Complex.
The Pirates (12-15) scored two runs each in the top of the second and third innings to gain a 4-1 advantage before the Wildcats (12-10) rallied for three runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at 4-4. Neosho manufactured the go-ahead run in the fourth inning and did the same in the fifth for insurance. Branson made a push at the tie in the top of the seventh before the final out was made.
“We are missing a lot of pieces,” Neosho coach Catie Cummins said. “We are down several players … so we are just trying to piece together some wins to keep our season going. I was really pleased with our girls’ fight today. … We were hitting the ball hard and fortunately they had some misplays in the outfield, which led to us being able to score more runs—so I was pleased with that. I thought our defense looked really sharp. We made a couple of errors but we found a way to work out of it. It doesn’t say pretty or ugly, it just says win. So, I am pleased we are moving on to tomorrow.”
IN THE CIRCLE
Carleigh Kinnaird started for Neosho and took a no-decision after allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits, two walks and a strikeout in 2 1/3 innings. Chloe Patterson earned the win in relief after allowing one unearned run on four hits, a walk and two strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings of relief.
“We had been starting Chloe and bringing Carleigh in relief,” Cummins said. “We felt good about our bats and wanted to change it up to see what we could do. We knew we would get quality work from both of them. … I was really pleased with them.”
Peyton Bonsey took the loss after allowing six runs on nine hits, a walk and three strikeouts in six full innings.
GAME ACTION
Neosho took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Lili Graue led off with a double to left-center before coming around to score on a sacrifice fly to left by Beclynn Garrett.
Branson rallied in the top of the second inning after Langley Miller led off with a walk before moving to second after a fielder’s choice throwing error with one out. Jerzi Yacko followed with a single to right field to plate Miller and tie the game at 1-1. Bonsey followed with a sac fly to give the Pirates a 2-1 advantage.
Branson added insurance in the top of the third when Ally Dicken walked to lead off the inning before coming around to touch home on a two-run home run to center field by Sierra Dailey two batters later to make the score 4-1.
Neosho found its rhythm at the plate in the bottom of the third inning when Graue led the inning off with a single before Garrett followed with an infield hit. After a sac fly from Kaitlyn Killion cut the lead to 4-2, McKaylie Forrest tripled to left field to drive home a run and make the score 4-3. The Wildcats came all the way back to tie it in the next at-bat when Abbie Carpenter doubled to left to score a run and tie the game at 4-4.
“Just passing the at-bat,” Cummins said of her team’s third inning. “We were hitting her hard, we just had to string some of them together. That is something we haven’t consistently done throughout the year. So, if we are doing it now that is the best time of the year to be clicking and putting those hits together.”
After racking up four hits in the third, Neosho went to manufacturing runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings. The Wildcats took the 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fourth when Maddie Carpenter led off the inning with a triple to left field before coming around to score on an RBI groundout by Graue.
Killion led off the top of the fifth with a double and ultimately scored on an RBI groundout from Abbie Carpenter to push the lead to 6-4.
“I would have liked to score a couple more than just being up two in the last inning because as you can tell, it’s anybody’s game in the postseason,” Cummins said. “Fortunately, we had enough insurance that we were able to work out of it.”
Branson made it interesting in the top of the seventh after using a single and a walk with one out to put the tying runs on base, with Dailey reaching on a Neosho fielding error in the next at-bat to load the bases. Miller cut the lead to 6-5 with a sac fly to center. Sadie Lampe hit a ground ball to short and reached on a fielding miscue by Garrett, but Garrett recovered nicely and gunned the runner down at home trying to score for the final out, preserving the win and the Wildcats’ season.
AT THE PLATE
Graue had two hits, an RBI and scored two runs to lead Neosho in the batter’s box. Forrest had two hits, an RBI and scored a run, while Carpenter had a hit and drove in two.
Miller had two hits, drove in one and scored a run, while Dailey had a home run, two RBI and scored a run.
UP NEXT
Neosho will take on top-seeded McDonald County in the district semifinals at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
