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By Dana Harding
Strafford, MO — Strafford cleared another hurdle Friday afternoon as it prepares for postseason play.
In a possible Class 1 District 8 championship preview, the Lady Indians downed Plato 11-1 thanks to a solid performance in the circle and a huge inning at the plate.
Pitcher Zoey Mullings continues to round into dominant form. The junior right-hander scattered three hits over five innings and surrendered what amounts to her first run in a five-game stretch dating back to March 28.
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All this against a white-hot Plato offense boasting a gaudy 85 runs racked up during an eight-game win streak.
The scary part of Mullings’ performance?
She did it without her full arsenal of pitches.
“I just knew I needed to get ahead in the count and do what I needed to do for the team,” Mullings said. “My changeup wasn’t working very well today, and that kind of threw me off because I only threw fastballs and stuff like that.”
Stuff like that, in this instance, could certainly refer to the avalanche of run support Mullings received in the second inning.
After a Hayley Frank’s single drove in Rilie Vote from second, Plato evened up the score in the second when Janet Garrett knocked in Kaitin Garret with a single of her own.
Plato starter Hannah Breedlove came back out for the bottom of the second, only to see leadoff hitter Alissa Collette reach on an error.
In a late lineup adjustment, the Lady Eagles and head coach Cody Bansemer opted to start Breedlove on the mound instead of ace Kaitin Garrett.
“We called an audible at the last second,” Bansemer said. “Coach Steinbrink saw something that I wasn’t ready for, so we decided we’d throw Hannah first inning and Kat second. We planned on throwing both pitchers, anyway, so they just got to us way before we expected them to.”
Immediately after Collette reached first, Kayley Frank blasted a laser over the centerfield wall, capturing the lead and causing a huge momentum shift for the Lady Indians.
The Strafford third baseman planned to sit and wait for a good pitch to put into play.
She didn’t have to wait long.
“Well, [the first pitch] was just right down the middle, so I knew I had to hit it,” Frank said. “I was just trying to get the ball in play but that worked out, too. It felt really good coming off the bat, and I didn’t know it was over until coach Mullings at first was, like, ‘hey … good job.’ I looked up, and it was over.”
Strafford head coach Dale Bean pointed to the quick start as a pivotal moment in the game.
“Kayley, first pitch, squared one up,” Bean said. “That was her first home run of the year. She can hit them out in batting practice, so we know she can do it. That kind of got the wheels rolling.”
Kayley Frank’s homer was followed by five singles and an error. By the time the dust settled and Mullings was ready to make her third trip out to the circle, Strafford had tallied seven runs in the inning and raced out to a commanding, 8-1 lead.
Mullings was quick to credit the Strafford bats for her calm demeanor.
“It’s so crazy that we come out here, and we can score,” Mullings said. “Last game, we scored 13 runs in one inning. It’s like a big cushion for me, and I’m just relaxed on the mound, because I know they have me when they get a hit and, offensively, we can do some damage.”
Kayley Frank (2-3) led Strafford with 3 RBIs, and Collette (2-3) added 2 RBIs of her own. Mullings (2-3) and Hayley Frank (2-3) each added 1 RBI to the cause.
Vote went 3-3 on the afternoon and scored three runs.
In addition to bats that can flat-out crush, it doesn’t hurt to have a few highlight-reel plays from the defense, either.
In the fourth inning, Strafford shortstop Brooke Bishop raced into the outfield to make an over-the-shoulder stab to rob Plato of yet another baserunner. Bishop’s play was part of a 1-2-3 inning for the Lady Indians.
The stellar catch certainly caught Mullings’ eye.
“Brooke, when she caught that out there … last practice, we practiced that and we practiced that,” Mullings said. “Finally, we got it and look what we got there. I was just so proud of her for that. Hard work pays off.”
For Plato, the seven-run blitzkreig simply proved too much to overcome. Bansemer pointed to the unfortunate inning as a definite learning experience.
“We were at the right places, we just couldn’t get the ball in the glove, defensively,” Bansemer said. “The most runs we’ve given up all season was four. So, once we gave up that home run ball, that’s when we got shook, and we were never able to come back after that.”
Despite the run-rule loss, Bansemer remained upbeat about a possible district rematch, noting defensive errors are something that can be worked on in practice and corrected. Bansemer also took some positives from the Lady Eagles’ plate appearances.
“We can hit them. We can definitely hit them,” Bansemer said. “We can put the ball in play. Zoey, she put her pitches where she wanted. We were ready for them, but we couldn’t get it past their shortstop, their first baseman … we couldn’t get it into the outfield and, when we did, they caught it. They were just everywhere we were trying to put the ball.”
Both teams resume action next Monday, April 17. Plato (11-3) hosts Thayer, while Strafford (16-1) hosts Stockton.
