By Matt Turer / @MattTurer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
OZARK, Mo. — The celebration was underway by the time Makenna Harmon flung her fist into the air rounding first.
Teammates were already jumping up and down towards home plate as the first, second and third runs crossed, ready to mob the fourth when she arrived. And the fans were in a frenzy too.
Nothing like a walk-off grand slam to get a celebration going.
A previously hitless Harmon mashed a 1-2 pitch against Haile Farris with one out in the seventh inning to lift the Ozark Tigers to a 7-6 victory in the Class 4 state sectionals over the Camdenton Lakers on Wednesday night.
“It was amazing,” Harmon said. “I don’t even know what to think. I’m speechless. I don’t remember anything. I just remember running into all the girls waiting for me. It was great. I’ll remember it forever.”
Harmon’s drive to center came after what had been a dominant pitching performance by Camdenton’s Farris, who had allowed just four hits and two runs in the first six innings.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Farris and the Lakers entered the seventh with a 6-2 lead and, after a strikeout to open the frame, got into trouble.
Back-to-back one-out singles by Kenna Mayfield and Abby Ford were followed by a Kara Ford double that brought Mayfield home. Farris then intentionally walked Nya Morgan, who had homered in the first inning, to load the bases.
A strike away from striking out for a third time, Harmon instead drove a belt-high pitch beyond the center field wall, setting off a memorable scene.
Harmon yelled as she ran into the mob at home and exited in tears, while Ozark head coach Jimmy Nimmo jumped up and down in front of the home crowd.
“It was automatic,” Nimmo said about Harmon’s winning swing. “Ball game. I knew we had it. We just erupted. I have no voice right now, hardly. I about passed out when I ran on the field. I’m so excited for the girls. What an awesome, awesome moment for them. There’s no words to describe it.”
Her big slam sent the Tigers back to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2016, when they fell 5-1 to Blue Springs South. It also made a winner out of Hattie Depee, who gave up three earned runs over seven innings, struck out four and walked two.
“Ozark is a really good team,” Camdenton head coach Tyler Dinsdale said. “We knew coming in we had to be pretty perfect. That last inning, I don’t think we made any major mistakes. I think they just came up big. They’re a good hitting team, and we saw it today with three home runs.
“Haile pitched well. Nothing for her to hang her head about. They just got the barrel on the ball, and with teams like this that’s going to happen.”
LAKERS SAY GOODBYE
Camdenton seemed primed for a quarterfinals berth it so hungered for, backed by one of the best senior classes the program has ever seen.
“If you look at our six seniors, we wouldn’t be anywhere near here without them,” Dinsdale said. “There’s not much I can say right now that’s going to calm everybody. This is going to be one of those deals that will take maybe a week to get back from. I did tell them I was proud of them. They played well.”
Emma Rakes reached base in every at-bat out of the leadoff spot, scoring three times. Sidney Jones hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh that seemed like the insurance the Lakers needed, extending their lead to 6-2. Shelby Webster also homered for Camdenton. Her third-inning solo shot put the Lakers ahead 4-2, where the score would stay until the wild seventh.
UP NEXT FOR OZARK
The Tigers travel to Raymore-Peculiar for Saturday’s quarterfinal. The Panthers took down Republic 11-2 on Wednesday.
“It’s gonna be a tough ballgame,” Nimmo said. “The bats are coming along. I believe in our pitching. We’ve just got to do a better job hitting our spots on the rubber in key moments. But I have complete faith in this squad. They will fight. They’ve become a family. And I know we can make it happen on Saturday.”
SCORING SUMMARY
CAM 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | 6 | 11 | 1 |
OZK 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | 7 | 7 | 2 |
Lakers – Top 1st
Farris singled to left, Emma Rakes scored // 1-0 CAM
Uthe grounded out to first, Jones scored // 2-0 CAM
Tigers – Bottom 1st
Morgan homered to center // 2-1 CAM
Lakers – Top 2nd
Jones doubled to center, Emma Rakes scored // 3-1 CAM
Tigers – Bottom 2nd
Reese homered to center // 3-2 CAM
Lakers – Top 3rd
Webster homered to center // 4-2 CAM
Lakers – Top 7th
Jones homered to left, Emma Rakes scored // 6-2 CAM
Tigers – Bottom 7th
Kara Ford doubled to right, Kenna Mayfield scored // 6-3 CAM
Makenna Harmon homered to center, Abby Ford, Kara Ford and Nya Morgan scored // 7-6 OZK
