By Nolan Epstein (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Kickapoo perfectly epitomized the old adage of “never say die” on Monday as the Lady Chiefs (5-0) rallied for a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the seventh to earn a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Monett Lady Cubs (1-3).
On the cusp of losing their first game of the season, head coach Jason Howser’s club picked the perfect time to string a trio of hits together while down to their final out – seeing a game-tying solo homer followed up by two loud hits into right field punch the ticket to a wild, emotional win.
“I was proud of our girls, they did not quit,” Howser said after the game. “They kind of stayed in the moment, stayed in the pitch and gave themselves a chance in the seventh inning.”
As the game wore on and inning after inning passed by, it became increasingly apparent that Kickapoo, which had jumped on its previous opponents by scoring at least eight runs in its first four contests, had its hands full – and then some.
Led by a strong pitching outing from senior Josie Allcock, Monett played the Lady Chiefs to a 1-1 stalemate through the first five frames.
“We came out a little bit flat-footed in the beginning and I don’t think we were mentally prepared to play,” Kickapoo starting pitcher Emily Admire said. “But I think the best thing about this team is that even if we get a little bit down, we always have so much energy to pick us back up.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
In the sixth, an RBI double by Allcock with nobody out broke the tie and gave the Lady Cubs the lead. However, Admire proceeded to retire the next three batters to limit the damage – ultimately setting the stage for Kickapoo’s heroics in the seventh.
The inning started innocently enough for Allcock as she managed to retire Hailey Honeycutt and Ellie Facklam in order to leave the Lady Chiefs down to their last out, but freshman phenom Chloe Merced threw a massive wrinkle into Monett’s plans – drilling a ball that just stayed fair over the left field fence to tie the score at 2-2.
“I definitely didn’t want to beat myself on the outside pitch,” said Merced about her clutch home run. “I was kind of looking for something that I could get a good swing on. (Allcock) pitched one right at me, so I just cranked it.”
Merced’s dramatics were immediately followed by a single by Chloe Bowen to put the winning run on base. Fittingly, it was left up to Admire to bring her in, and she did.
Admire blasted an 0-2 pitch to the opposite field that nearly cleared the fence, but was good enough to allow Bowen to easily touch home plate for the walk-off.
“I was just trying to find some green and help the team out a little bit,” Admire said. “It just kind of happened that she pitched me away and I took it that way.”
With Lebanon looming next on the schedule in three days, the Lady Chiefs are awfully thankful that the nearly two-hour wave of emotions concluded on the high end – making things that much easier going forward to Thursday.
“I think this really gives us a lot of confidence,” added Admire. “Once we were stuck in that hole we kind of got down a little bit, but now that we know that we can push through it, we’re ready to move on to the next game.”
Monett will look to bounce back when it hosts Branson on Wednesday.
