By Chad Hayworth (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SARCOXIE — Hailey Stewart’s three-run blast in the bottom of the sixth inning was just enough to push Mount Vernon past East Newton in the Class 2, District 6 championship game on Tuesday afternoon.
Stewart, the Lady Mountaineers’ freshman catcher and leadoff batter, also hit a solo shot in the top of the first that sparked a three-run inning and gave No. 1 seed Mount Vernon an early 3-0 lead over the Lady Patriots, the district’s No. 2 seed.
“She’s been on an absolute tear,” said Mount Vernon Coach Matt Schubert. “She went through a little stretch where she kind of struggled, four or five games where she was 1-15. We went back to work in the cage, we had a couple of practice days in a row and we got her hitting the ball back up the middle.
“For a freshman to come in and just have that kind of game is unbelievable.”
In the other dugout, East Newton Coach Jeff Atchison was questioning his decision to pitch to Stewart in the sixth inning. She came to the plate with runners on first and second, after reliever Ericka McMillen gave up a pair of two-out singles, including a ball hit to right field by Mary Fields that landed just inside the foul line.
“I should have probably walked her, that’s my fault,” Atchison said. “I about put her on to load the bases, but the girl behind her has smashing base hits, so it was a little bit iffy.
“But that is 100 percent on me. Kudos to her being able to pop that thing out. It’s hard to do.”
Both coaches called the game a state-championship level contest, with up and downs, and top-notch play from both teams.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“They are definitely in the Top 2 or 3, along, I think with us and Skyline,” Schubert said. “So anytime we get together, it’s gonna be a good game.”
After Stewart’s game-opening home run, pitcher Emmie Schubert hit a single, setting up junior Jocelyn Liss’ two-run home run that extended the Lady Mountaineers’ early lead.
Lady Patriot starting pitcher Kolby Rinehart got into a groove after surviving the first inning, giving up just two more hits and her only walk of the game in four innings of work.
East Newton got a run back in the top of the third inning when leadoff hitter Sylvia Larsen hit a single and advanced on a fielder’s choice by Rylie McCurdy. The next batter, Lexi Brown, hit a double into the gap, allowing Larsen to score.
Larsen went 4-4 on the day, scoring twice.
Trailing 3-1 in the top of the fifth, Larsen led off with a single, followed by McCurdy’s RBI double that scored her. Brown followed with a infield single and advanced to second when the Mount Vernon defense was busy keeping an eye on McCurdy at third.
The Lady Mountaineer defense couldn’t cleanly field McMillen’s sharp infield grounder, and she reached first, before also heading to second as McCurdy scored. Rinehart dropped a bunt single that Emmie Schubert threw home in an unsuccessful attempt to cut down Brown, allowing her to reach first with no play, giving East Newton a 5-3 lead.
Mount Vernon got runners to first and third with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but couldn’t push across a run, and East Newton got a runner to third with two outs on Brown’s fielder’s choice in the top of the sixth. But Brown attempted to advance to second in hopes of giving Larsen, who was on third, a chance to squeeze home. She was caught stealing to end the inning.
Coach Schubert praised the effort, particularly late in the game, that he got from pitcher Schubert.
“She wasn’t quite as sharp as she was yesterday,” he said. “But she battled, and there’s that grit we were talking about. She kept sticking her nose in there and kept battling and getting us what we got.”
Emmie Schubert scattered 10 hits across six innings, walking two and striking out five.
Rinehart struck out five and walked one, while giving up five hits and three runs in four innings. McMillen also gave up five hits and three runs in two innings, and takes the loss.
Atchinson said it’s unfortunate that so many of the best Class 2 teams in the state are in a single district. He’d like to see the Missouri High School Activities Association adopt playoff systems used in Arkansas, Oklahoma or Kansas, where it is set up to create matchups of the best teams later in the state tournament.
“This could have been the state championship game right here today,” he said. “You shouldn’t get to the Final Four in softball year after year and not have the best teams in the Final Four. There has to be a ranking system to break these teams apart.”
East Newton finishes the season 24-5, while Mount Vernon improves to 28-5. They will play the winner of Wednesday’s district championship between Springfield Catholic and Clever next Tuesday.
