NEOSHO, Mo. — The Neosho Wildcats’ offense erupted during a 13-2 run-rule victory in five innings on Tuesday against the Carl Junction Bulldogs at the Neosho Athletic Complex.
Neosho scored two runs in the first, one in the second, three in the third, five in the fourth, and two in the fifth to finish it off, while Neosho senior pitcher Chloe Patterson and her fellow Wildcats silenced Carl Junction after the Bulldogs scored both their runs in the first.
Neosho sophomore shortstop Beclynn Garrett delivered a game-tying two-run home run in the first, highlighting the Wildcats’ 13 runs on 12 hits Tuesday.
“We were not sharp in the top of the first,” Neosho coach Catie Cummins said. “That being said, we responded immediately whenever we got a chance to get some runs back. The two-run home run gets us right back in it and it feels like a new game so we’re not pressing as much. I was very pleased with that.
“I challenged them at the end of the first and said basically that you’ve got to get it together. Maybe my words were not quite that kind, but that is about what it was, and they responded. They faced that adversity, realized they were not sharp the first inning, and just bounced back. I appreciate that.”
Patterson pitched three scoreless innings after the first and sophomore Carleigh Kinnaird came on for a scoreless fifth, leaving the Wildcats a chance for the run-rule victory which they quickly earned in two batters.
“I thought Chloe did a great job settling in after that (first),” Cummins said. “She just gave up a few hard hits, but other than that, she worked the ball around. The plan was to leave her in, but after taking a ball off her hand, we decided it was best not to risk it. We had Carleigh warmed up and she came in and gave us an inning. She did a great job.”
Meanwhile, on the offensive side, Kinnaird hit a two-run triple and Grace Johnson a RBI single in the third, Abbie Carpenter an RBI single and Johnson a RBI double in the fourth, and Amber Kinnaird ended the game on a two-run inside-the-park home run.
“They pounded it,” Cummins said. “We told them that it’s different than (McDonald County), and the pitcher was a little bit quicker. We prepared on Sunday for that pitcher, so then it was an in-game adjustment for today. I thought our middle of the lineup did the in-bat adjustment. Whiff on a few pitches, see a pitch go by, and they were ready to go. I was very pleased with our in-bat adjustments, and we didn’t have to wait around until the second or third time through the lineup to hit the ball hard.”
Neosho improved to 8-3 overall and 2-1 Central Ozark Conference, and the Wildcats have won four of their last five games entering Thursday’s conference game against Branson.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Cummins said. “I think we are still not playing our best ball and I’m OK with that. We want to be playing our best in October. That’s the goal. With that being said, we’re in a good spot to finish at the top of our conference. That’s in the back of our mind. We’re three games in and in the past, we have not been set up as nicely as we are now with our early wins. It’s going to be a challenge, but I think we can do it. We have to have the right mindset. We’re playing well.”
Hannah Cantrell, Madi Olds, and Dezi Williams each had one of Carl Junction’s three hits against Patterson and Carleigh Kinnaird. Carl Junction’s first two hitters, Cantrell and Ryleigh Palmer, each scored a run and Olds picked up the team’s lone RBI with a groundout bringing home Cantrell. Palmer scored on a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs also compounded their difficulties Tuesday by committing five errors.
Carl Junction enters Thursday’s conference game at home against Republic at 4-6 overall and 0-3 COC.
