By Joey Morgan
Clever, Mo. — Exeter exploded for an impressive 19 runs and came out with the win Monday night over the Wheaton Bulldogs 19-8 in the Class 1 District 10 quarterfinals.
Brooke Cowherd got the Lady Tigers started in the first with a three-run home run to give Exeter an early lead over the Bulldogs.
“I saw the pitch at waist-high and knew it was going to be a strike. I swung but at first I did not think it was going over. I thought it was going to bounce and hit the fence. When I saw it went over I was not able to think because I was so excited,” Cowherd said.
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Exeter came out attacking at the plate in the fourth, scoring eleven runs to pull away from Wheaton. The Tigers hit through their lineup twice with six hits and two walks to push their lead to 17-8.
“As a team we came together that inning and wanted to win the game for our senior pitcher. That was the only thing on our minds is that we wanted to come out and score to get her a win,” said head coach Ashley Fly.
“I told them from the very beginning that if we came out swinging then good things were going to happen. We started back in March and I told them this is all a learning process and our goal was to swing and swing at everything.”
Wheaton tacked on a run in the first inning to pull within 3-1.
The two teams had a big second inning and Wheaton gained control of the lead, 7-6. Exeter put three runs on the board that inning with hits from Kalysa Fellows and Caylee Erwin. The Wheaton Bulldogs were not backing down as they scored six more runs thanks to a triple from Emily Killion that scored three of the six. Tori Goosetree later doubles to add to another run to board.
Wheaton put the Lady Tigers to a halt in the third inning and tacked on another run.
The fifth and sixth inning were scoreless for both teams. Exeter was able to add two more runs in the top of the seventh and closed out the game for a victory 19-8 over the Wheaton.
The Lady Tigers end the night with a 12-10 record and will face Purdy in Wednesday’s district semifinals.
