Reeds Spring (2-0) junior Mackenzie Duvall couldn't have picked a better way to cap a four-hit performance on Tuesday night – crushing a two-run home run in the ninth inning to break a 3-3 tie and send the Lady Wolves to a marathon 5-3 victory over Nixa (0-2).
Batting third in the lineup, Duvall, known by her teammates as “Mack,” collected three singles and reached base in all four plate appearances before delivering her go-ahead shot over the left field fence in extra innings.
“[Duvall] really has probably the least amount of wasted motion at the plate of any kid I've ever seen,” Reeds Spring head coach Scott Walker said. “She keeps her head still and she's got such quick hands.”
To make matters even more interesting, an earlier throwing error by Duvall with two outs in the seventh ultimately presented the opportunity for the talented third baseman to smack the dinger in the first place.
With Reeds Spring leading 3-2 and sitting one out away from securing the win, Duvall fielded a routine grounder at third, but an errant throw to first base extended the inning for the Lady Eagles, who tied the game when junior Shae Milligan laced an RBI double to right-center field following the error.
“I was very embarrassed by that throw,” Duvall said, laughing.
In the bottom of the eighth, Nixa had a golden opportunity to walk off with the victory on its home field with a runner on third and less than two outs, but the Lady Wolves' defense came up big – converting a 6-5 double play after a hard liner from Drue Lawrence found the glove of Reeds Spring's starting shortstop.
“We probably should have won it in the eighth, but [Reeds Spring] made a good play on a line drive and doubled us off,” Nixa head coach Matt Walker said. “That's how it goes sometimes.”
A half-inning later, Duvall provided the game's final fireworks as she hammered a one-out pitch from Rylie Bennett that nobody was going to catch.
“There was a lot going through my mind,” Duvall said in reference to her reaction after hitting the home run. “It was very exciting, but then it was, like, anything could happen. We're a team and I have to trust my team.”
Duvall's trust paid dividends as Reeds Spring starting pitcher Hannah Erickson managed to record the final three outs of a game that tested the will and endurance of both clubs.
Nixa, which travels to play Pleasant Hope on Thursday, hopes to tighten up a defense that committed five errors in Tuesday's game.
“We do a drill in practice and I [allow my team] two errors,” Matt Walker said. “I tell them you can win a ballgame with two errors, but five is definitely over that. It's a little frustrating at this point.”
Reeds Spring squares off with Republic tomorrow on the road.
