MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — The top two seeds will meet for the Class 2 District 6 softball championship.
Top-seeded Mount Vernon defeated fifth-seeded Pierce City 3-1 and second-seeded Diamond knocked off third-seeded Sarcoxie 9-5 on Monday in semifinal contests.
The district title game between the Mountaineers (33-1) and the Wildcats (27-9-1) is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday night at Spirit of 76 Park.
MOUNT VERNON 3, PIERCE CITY 1
The Mountaineers extended their winning streak to 25.
Mount Vernon took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Rae Downing’s home run to left.
The Mountaineers added a run in the fourth when Lillian Burk scored from third after a passed ball.
In the fifth, Mount Vernon’s Harley Daniels delivered an RBI single to left, scoring Allyson Burk, for a 3-0 lead.
Pierce City scored once in the top of the seventh on Jillian Mack’s RBI single.
Daniels was the winning pitcher. She recorded seven strikeouts and limited the Eagles to six hits.
Hali Stokes was the lone Mountaineer with two hits, both doubles.
Claudia Crowell took the loss but allowed just two earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six.
Trinity Witt and Crowell had two hits apiece for the Eagles, who end the season at 14-10.
DIAMOND 9, SARCOXIE 5
Coming from behind, Diamond rode a six-run fifth inning to a semifinal victory.
The game was scoreless when Sarcoxie erupted for four runs in the top of the fourth inning.
The first run scored on Kaydence Flynn’s single before a second run crossed the plate after a Diamond error. Lauren Brooks hit a two-run double to center to give the Bears a 4-0 lead.
Diamond responded with two runs in the bottom half. Lauren Turner tripled and scored on Aubrey Ball’s RBI single before Marrisa DeJager contributed an RBI single.
The Bears took a 5-2 lead in the fifth on Flynn’s run-scoring single.
However, Diamond exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth.
In the big inning, Turner hit an RBI single, Talyn Daniels’ sac fly drove in two runs, Sara Roszell added a run-scoring single before DeJager and Emilee Shallenburger hit back-to-back doubles for an 8-5 lead.
The Wildcats added an insurance run in the sixth after Grace Frazier reached on an error and later scored on Caitlyn Suhrie’s sac fly.
Ball had three hits for Diamond, while Turner and DeJager added two hits apiece. Daniels and Shallenburger had two RBI apiece.
Suhrie was the winning pitcher. She allowed four earned runs on six hits and six walks while striking out eight.
Kylee Walters took the loss for Sarcoxie. She allowed nine runs, two earned, on 10 hits. She struck out seven.
Flynn and Brooks had two hits apiece for the Bears, who finished 14-10.
