CARTHAGE 1, NIXA 0
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Thursday’s Central Ozark Conference softball clash between Carthage and Nixa was a classic pitcher’s duel.
The game’s lone run scored in the bottom of the fourth inning when Carthage’s Shelby Hegwer hit an RBI single to center, scoring Lottie Youngblood.
Both pitchers kept the opposition in check, as the Tigers and Eagles recorded just four hits apiece.
Recording one hit apiece for Carthage were Lexa Youngblood, Alexis Smith, Aven Willis and Hegwer.
Carthage’s Addie Wallace earned the complete-game shutout on 66 pitches, striking out three and walking none.
Nixa’s Bri Chilton, who struck out nine and walked two in six innings, took the hard-luck loss.
Rylee Harper had three of Nixa’s four hits.
The Tigers improved to 14-9 and 5-1 in conference play.
Carthage hosts Nevada (13-6) on Monday.
NEOSHO 8, OZARK 0
NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho used crooked numbers in the second, fifth and sixth innings on the way to a Central Ozark Conference win on Thursday.
Carleigh Kinnaird earned the complete-game win in the circle after pitching seven scoreless innings on two hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts.
Kendall McCoy took the loss after allowing five runs, two earned, on six hits, four walks and five strikeouts in five innings.
Beclynn Garrett highlighted the three-run second inning with a two-run single to up the middle.
Journey Arnall singled through the right side to drive in a run in the fifth inning before Avyn Blair followed with a run-scoring single to center field for a 5-0 lead.
Kynden Smith, who walked with the bases loaded in the second inning, picked up her second RBI of the game after driving in a run on a groundout before Garrett doubled to right field plate a run. Kinnaird singled to right for an RBI in the next at-bat to push the lead to 8-0.
Garrett finished with two hits, three RBI and a run scored, while Kinnaird had two hits and an RBI. Abby Hart, Olivia Emery all had hits and scored a run. Blair had one hit, drove in one and scored once.
Neosho (18-5, 5-1 COC) hosts Glendale on Friday.
WEBB CITY 12, REPUBLIC 3
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City overcame an early deficit and got the bats going in a big way to earn a convincing 12-3 victory over Republic on Thursday in Central Ozark Conference action.
Trailing 3-0 after the top of the third inning, the Cardinals scored 12 unanswered runs.
Webb City is now 13-7 overall and 3-3 in the COC.
Republic’s Lilli Richerson hit an RBI double in the second before Paige Elsenraat smacked a two-run homer in the third to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
But the Cardinals scored six runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead for good.
In the big inning, Kylee Sargent’s RBI double, a Republic error and Rilley Hanes’ bases-loaded walk tied the game before Addie Brown’s bases-clearing double to center gave the hosts a three-run lead.
Webb City added two runs in the fourth on run-scoring singles from Alex Maturino and Jensyn Pickett.
Sydney Strickland’s RBI double in the fifth and Karsyn Cahoon’s two-run homer and Brown’s RBI single in the sixth gave the Cardinals a 12-3 lead.
Brown drove in four runs on two hits, while Lily Hall, Maturino and Hanes scored two runs apiece.
Laney Taylor started for Webb City and allowed three runs on four hits in three innings to earn the win. Makenzie Wynn tossed three scoreless innings in relief, while Addie Burns pitched the seventh.
Republic’s Kara Goeke took the loss after allowing 12 runs, six earned, on 10 hits and five walks in six innings.
Webb City will compete at this weekend’s UCM Tournament in Warrensburg.
WILLARD 13, JOPLIN 1 (5 INNINGS)
Reece Anderson and Alyson Miller combined to drive in 10 runs as the catalyst for Willard’s win over Joplin in five innings on Thursday at the JHS Athletic Complex.
DeLaney Dixon earned the complete-game win after allowing one unearned run on six hits, two walks and a strikeout in five innings.
Ava Wolf took the loss after allowing eight runs on eight hits, three walks and three strikeouts in three innings.
Anderson got Willard on the board in the second inning with a two-out double inside the third-base bag to plate a run before Miller followed with a two-out, two-run homer to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
Anderson and Miller struck again in the fourth to give the Tigers a commanding lead. Anderson singled to left to bring home a run and load the bases. In the next at-bat, Miller unloaded the bases with a grand slam to right field to push the Willard advantage to 8-0.
Anderson struck again in the top of the fifth when she rapped a single to left-center field with the bases loaded to plate a pair of runs for a 10-0 lead. Ossie Cooper added a sacrifice fly and Alivia Arauz doubled to right-center to score two runs for a 13-0 lead.
Joplin got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Abby Lowery singled to right field to bring home a run.
Anderson finished with three hits, four RBI and three runs scored, while Miller homered twice on the way to six RBI and three runs scored. Kenadie Johnson had two hits and scored three times, while Payton Hicks had two hits and scored twice.
Lowery had two hits and drove in a run, while Bailey Ledford doubled and scored a run for Joplin at the plate. Jadyn Pankow, Riley Kelly and Wolf also had hits for the Eagles.
Joplin (11-9, 3-3 COC) takes part in the Liberty Summer Slam softball tournament over the weekend.
