By Derek Shore (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
High stakes. Gut-wrenching tension. Do-or-die playoff softball.
Oh, and to cap it off two of the biggest rivals in Southwest Missouri in top-seeded Monett and two-seeded Cassville, vying for the Class 3, District 12 title game in Purple Haze country on Friday evening.
In the elimination game that came down to the final pitch, the Lady Cubs third baseman Kelli McCallister lifted them straight to sectionals, smacking a 2-1 double to the left-center field gap as the team’s lone senior Haley Williams crossed home plate in walk-off fashion, 6-5 eliminating the Lady Wildcats.
“That’s playoff softball,” said Ty Goetz, Monett head coach, whose team has won five district titles in the last six years and denied Cassville of its first-ever one. “Once you get to this time of the year, funny things are going to happen; small things come back and bite you.
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“The team that executes better is usually the one who will win playoff softball. I felt like we did a great job tonight doing the small things.”
For Williams, it was just another day at the office despite her career as a Cub winding down.
“I’ve been in this position before in my freshman and sophomore year,” Williams said. “To come back and win it my senior year feels a little bit different because it’s my last year.”
Early on, the Lady Cubs utilized speed to their advantage on offense, opening the bottom of the first with lead-off hitter Katie Kurima reaching on a fielding error by shortstop Lauren Turner. After Kaesha George had dropped down a bunt, Kurima advanced to second. Kurima promptly scored the game’s first tally on a wild pitch by Josie Lone.
Monett then extended its lead to 2-0 thanks to a RBI single by Ashley Kurima before Cassville made it 2-1 in the top half of the third inning. Following another Lady Cubs score to make it 3-1, the Lady Wildcats made noise in the fifth, pouring on five runs, including a two-run RBI double off the bat of Lone.
Monett responded, tying it in the bottom half of the fifth after Katie Kurima scored via a wild pitch followed by a McCallister RBI single. In the pitcher’s circle, Williams buckled down, retiring her final six of eight batters setting the stage for McCallister’s walk-off in the seventh.
“You always go one pitch at a time,” Williams said on settling down, allowing Monett the chance to walk-off. “One play at a time. You have just to live in the moment. You can’t remember what happened. It’s inning-by-inning and pitch-by-pitch.”
Goetz was quick to credit Cassville for its persistence.
“You have to give it Cassville,” he said. “They were playing good at the right time. We knew we had our hands full tonight. It turned out to be a really good ballgame.”
Next up for the Lady Cubs (19-8) will be a date at sectionals where they are to host on Wed., Oct. 12. Game time has not been determined. They will play the winner of West Plains (21-6) or Logan-Rogersville (17-8) from Class 3, District 11.
“(We will take) the same approach as we’ve had,” Goetz said heading into sectionals next week. “We have battled all year as far as coming back from deficits to end up winning. We’ve won some one-run games, or we’ve won some run-rule games.
“We’ve seen it all this year, so I feel like we are prepared no matter what we see. We’ll just keep the same approach and see where it gets us.”
