BRANSON, Mo. — "Dirtbag" is a well-known term through Howard Greenwood's program.
To win, you have to leave the field with a dirty uniform, in all likelihood from a diving stop or stolen base. Nixa didn't need to steal bags on Thursday, though some may see their tournament performance as a heist.
The Eagles capitalized on a trio of Kickapoo errors in the second inning to claim a 5-2 win and the Class 5, District 11 Championship in Branson. The Eagles knocked off the top three seeds in the tournament to claim their third title in five years.
"Everybody knows that once the districts start, records go out," Greenwood said. "I think you can ask any coach in this district, any one of these teams could win this thing."
The wet weather that stretched the tournament from Saturday to Thursday allowed Nixa to send senior Luke Hauswirth back to the mound after a solid performance in the first round against Glendale.
He pitched six scoreless innings before Kickapoo loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. Riley Herron drew a bases-loaded walk before Tristan Stevens provided Kickapoo's only other run with an RBI single. Corey Lummis was then called upon to get the last out, and induced a pop-up to seal the win.
"I didn't want to give the ball up, but I knew they were going to handle it," Hauswirth said. "Half the time, I was running on adrenaline, but I had had success earlier with (Kickapoo). They're definitely a good club, I just trusted my stuff today and it worked out."
Hauswirth needed the stellar performance to keep pace with Stevens, who touched 90 mph with his fastball as he kept the Eagles from getting an earned run until the fifth inning.
"We don't see 90," Greenwood said. "We were fortunate to get a bunt down and put a little pressure on their defense. It worked our way today."
Stevens looked poised after registering three strikeouts in the opening frame, but things snowballed his next time out. An error at second base was followed by two wide throws to first, allowing Nixa to plate three runners.
Already the underdog, Nixa loosened up even more after striking first.
"(Hauswirth) hit his spots. We're not used to playing with a lead. We've played behind most of the time. Once he got a lead, his confidence just went up. When our confidence goes up, the pressure goes on them."
Kickapoo's best chance to swing momentum came when they loaded the bases with one out in the third. Herron sent a shot to the wall in left, but Nathan Gregory made the inning-ending grab mere feet from the wall.
Stevens got back into rhythm until Brett Hammitt chased him with a two-run double in the fifth. Stevens allowed just 3 hits over his 4 2/3 innings pitched, but left with Kickapoo in a 5-0 hole.
"We were the only ones not surprised by it," Hauswirth said. "We believed we were going to do it and I honestly didn't have a doubt. The record doesn't reflect it, but we've showed we can play that ball."
For a roster that includes sophomores playing their first year of varsity, getting to know this district through the regular season paid dividends.
"Anything can happen in this thing. If you look at what's on paper: we're a 6th seed, we're under .500, and nobody is picking us," Greenwood said. "We're playing with house money here. We have confidence in (Hauswirth) and Parker Dent. We trust that when they're on the hill, we're going to be in the game. We just have to support them with some offense."
They got just enough, and now that house money has bought them a trip to Joplin High School to face Webb City in the Class 5 sectionals on Tuesday.
"It fits our group perfectly," Hauswirth said. "We've been playing ball together since we were 10 or 12 years old. We've worked hard and it's starting to pay off. I love it."
Nixa 030 020 0—5
Kickapoo 000 000 2—2
