McDonald County missed out on a preseason goal of a Big 8 championship.
A Class 4, District 12 championship isn’t a bad consolation prize.
McDonald County bested Republic in a 1-0 contest Friday evening at Joplin High School to earn its second district title in program history. The Mustangs will host the winner of District 11 – either Ozark or Nixa – in a Class 4 sectional game on Wednesday.
“I know I couldn’t this without my teammates, because they’re everything to me, and my coaches and parents, especially,” said Mustangs senior pitcher Paige Jones, who went the distance while striking out 11 and allowing four hits. “They totally helped me achieve this goal. We always set goals at the beginning of the season. One was to win a conference title.
“We didn’t get that one, but we knew we were going to get something better. A district title means so much. I don’t want to say it’s better, but it was so much more fun to achieve. I couldn’t be any happier right now.”
PHOTOS: MCDONALD COUNTY VS. REPUBLIC
With offense at a premium, McDonald County struck for the game’s only runner in the bottom of the third when sophomore catcher Kylie Helm laced a 2-out double up the middle to bring home nine-hole hitter Makenzie Stephens, who drew a leadoff walk to start the rally.
Stephens was then bunted to second on a sacrifice by leadoff hitter Cloee Helm and took third on a wild pitch to set up Kylie Helm’s big hit.
“We bunted with one of our best hitters, Chloee Helm, and she did a great job,” said Mustangs coach Skyler Rawlins. “With a pitcher like Rook, you’re going to have to execute. If you can’t execute you won’t win.”
Kylie Helm was a thorn in Republic’s side all game, going 3-for-3 with the game-deciding RBI double and a walk.
The Mustangs, who drew three walks and reached base five times on beaned batters, stranded 10 baserunners.
The Mustangs were nearly flawless in the field, though, committing no errors and allowing only two Republic baserunners to reach second the entire game.
“Our offense was fine. We didn’t square a lot of balls up but if you look at the scorebook I’m sure we were about even in hits,” said Republic coach Lee Dishman. “They just got a timely hit and we didn’t.”
It was a much-improved defensive showing for McDonald County compared to the Mustangs’ error-filled 7-2 loss to Republic on Sept. 29.
“We made about three timely errors in that game,” Rawlins said. “Paige did a great job tonight and we backed her up. Kylie, coming up with a couple of big hits, then we had defense and pitching. We’ll scratch one across.”
Republic’s best scoring opportunity came in the third inning when it placed runners on first and second with one out. But Jones buckled down, striking out Republic’s 3- and 4-hole hitters to end the threat.
“My curveball was working really great,” Jones said. “My rise-ball was trying to be a little iffy with me tonight but I was like, ‘Nope, we’re going to work through this.’ So I kept working, kept pushing and it finally went.”
For Republic, it was a case of a déjà vu heartbreaker. The Tigers fell 3-1 in nine innings in the 2015 Class 4 District 12 finals to Joplin.
Friday’s outcome marked the final career game for one of the best pitchers in Ozarks’ history, Rachel Rook, who struck out 11 against McDonald County. She finishes with 1,021 strikeouts and a 2014 district championship to her credit.
The Tigers also graduate their top hitter in Evangel commit Kami Holt, along with senior starters Sydney Phillips, Taylor Hulland and Alyssa Roth.
Dishman said it’s a senior class that left a lasting legacy with the program.
“It’s easy, they’ll be greatly missed,” Dishman said. “There’s no replacing them. There’s nothing else to it. You can’t replace them.”
