MILLER, Mo. — For the second straight year, the Jasper Eagles are headed to the Final Four of the spring softball state tournament.
Jasper rode a pair of big innings to an 11-4 win over Miller on Wednesday in a Class 1 quarterfinal.
Jasper (22-12) will meet Concordia (26-1) in the semifinals at 11 a.m. on Monday at Killian Softball Complex in Springfield.
A year ago, Jasper reached the Class 1 title game before falling to Wellington-Napoleon.
On Wednesday, Jasper trailed 4-2 after the top of the fourth inning.
But the Eagles rallied in a big way.
Jasper scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth and six more in the fifth to blow the game open.
In the fourth, Livia Dumm hit a two-run home run to center and Shiloh Storm contributed an RBI single.
In the six-run fifth, Emersyn Bass drew a bases-loaded walk, Brie Haddock contributed a two-run single and Taylor Hinds launched a three-run homer to left.
Jasper scored its 11 runs on 12 hits.
Dumm went 4-for-5 with two RBI, while Hinds drove in five runs on two hits and Haddock scored three runs and had two RBI. Alivea Roberts had two hits and Addison Atnip scored twice.
Grace Osborne was the winning pitcher. She allowed three earned runs on 11 hits. Osborne didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight in the complete-game effort.
Four players had two hits apiece for Miller, Hailey Mart, Rachel Nunez, Addison Stockton and Ashlynn Helton.
Loghann Leivan took the loss after allowing nine earned runs on 12 hits and five walks. She struck out five.
Miller ends the season with a record of 20-6.
Monday’s other Class 1 semifinal features Valle Catholic (18-3) vs. Ellington (16-6).
Two area teams will be competing at next week’s Final Four, as Mount Vernon advanced in Class 2.
Sean Price hasn’t had many nights off this winter.
That’s because Price has been coaching both the girls and boys basketball teams at Miller High School.
Yes, you read that correctly — Price has been pulling double duty throughout the 2021-22 campaign.
After leading Miller’s boys last year, Price took over the reins of the girls program this winter after the head coaching position came open.
“We had a good year with the boys last year,” Price said. “I think these girls and the community saw what we did with the boys and they wanted me to step in and coach them too. I said I couldn’t just coach the girls, so I asked about doing both. Our administration, our school board and our community were all supportive of me doing that, so it just worked out.”
Since winter practices began in early November, Price has been on a journey that can be described as exhaustive yet enjoyable and rewarding.
Throughout the regular season, the girls play on Monday and Thursday nights, while the boys take the court on Tuesday and Friday nights. Throw in occasional tournaments on Saturdays and Price hasn’t had many nights off.
“It’s been really busy, but I’ve got a great wife who has allowed me to be gone a lot,” Price said. “I’ve had great support in the community. They’ve let me do things the way I think it should be done. It’s really been an awesome experience.”
Price regularly held combined practices with the boys and girls.
“We did a lot of practices together,” Price said. “I think it helped both groups to have more people to compete with. And that allowed us to do some different things in practice.”
Miller’s boys suffered a season-ending loss to top-seeded College Heights Christian in the district semifinals this past week.
The Miller Cardinals pose with the district championship plaque on Saturday at Verona High School. It’s the program’s fourth straight district crown. Miller meets Blue Eye in the sectional round of the state tournament on Wednesday night at Carthage High School.
Miller’s girls are in the midst of a season to remember.
Ranked third in Class 2 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, Miller is now 23-3 after claiming the District 12 championship by beating College Heights 57-28 on Saturday at Verona High School.
Winners of 12 straight games, Miller’s girls meet fourth-ranked Blue Eye (24-5) in the sectional round of the state tournament at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Carthage High School.
Miller has captured four straight district championships and it’s the fourth straight season the program has secured at least a share of a conference title (three were outright championships). The girls went 28-2 last year, falling in the quarterfinal round.
The Cardinals are led by senior standouts Claudia Hadlock, Payten Richardson and Kaylee Helton. The trio have won more than 100 games as prep basketball players.
“We’ve got good basketball players,” Price said. “All the credit goes to the girls for their determination, their grit and their drive to be successful. They’ve been dedicated and they’ve worked hard since they were young kids. They’re the best group I’ve ever been around.”
Blue Eye defeated Miller 31-27 back on Dec. 13. The rematch will determine who advances to the quarterfinals on March 5 in Republic.
After pulling double duty all winter, Price is now solely focused on leading his girls squad to a deep postseason run.
“We’ve got a good group of girls and they’ve been here before,” Price said. “They know what it takes. Their hard work has paid off. It’s nothing I’ve done. It’s all them. I think anybody could have stepped in and these girls would win a lot of games. Hopefully we’ll have a few more games with these girls. We want to keep it going.”
Sean Price talks to his Miller Cardinals during a timeout on Saturday at Verona High School. Miller captured a district championship for the fourth straight season. Price also coached the Miller boys this winter. Photo by Jason Peake.
