By Matt Turer — @MattTurer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Ozark, Mo. — While it wasn’t a win that’s going to define their season, the Ozark Tigers knew the importance of breaking through what’s been a bit of a slumping lineup.
Sariah Reed hit a three-run homer, Aly Faught scored three times and Brooke Pridgen pitched four scoreless innings and the Tigers beat the Branson Pirates 10-3 on Thursday.
“We’ve been in a hitting slump,” Pridgen said. “Last year we hit so well. I think we were just more pumped today. We have a tournament coming and we thought today was our day to break through.”
It was the fourth straight win for Ozark (7-1) but just the third time this season the Tigers have scored more than five runs.
“The bottom half of our lineup has been really fighting the last five or six games, and I think the bats came alive and they found their place tonight,” Ozark head coach Jimmy Nimmo said.
The Tigers scored five runs in the first to build a lead they’d never relinquish. Kara Ford ripped a double off Cat Ford to open the inning. She scored on a Nya Morgan single.
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Morgan scored two batters later when Makenna Harmon singled. Then Reed provided some fireworks with her three-run homer to center that scored Harmon and Faught. The homer was Reed’s second of her career.
“I haven’t been hitting well, so it was definitely a big confidence boost for me,” Reed said. “As a team, we finally came out of our bubble.”
Ozark scored four more in the third in an inning led off by a Morgan walk and Madison Reese reaching base on a throwing error. One out later, Faught singled, driving in Morgan. Reese then scored on a passed ball. Sariah Reed walked, and then singles by Tara McCormick with one out and Kara Ford with two outs drove in Faught and Reed.
Faught walked with one out in the sixth and was driven in by Raegen Dickinson one batter later to cap the scoring.
Pridgen (6-1) pitched four innings for the win, allowing two hits and striking out four.
“Brooke does a great job getting ahead with hitters,” Nimmo said. “She’s able to mix her pitches up well and keep hitters off-balance. She did that again tonight. In our last couple games she’s been keeping the ball down well, changing her speeds and hitting spots.”
Lily Sullivan allowed three runs in two relief innings in her fifth appearance of the season.
“I’m glad Lily can step in and pitch innings. It eases my mind a bit to know that,” Pridgen said.
“My curve and changeup were both working well today. Branson is a hard team to pitch against because they know me so well, so it’s just about trying to keep them off-balance.”
Amber Large scored on a one-out Lauren Garrison single in the fifth for the Pirates. Emily Adams singled earlier in the inning and came home with Garrison following a fielding error off a Brooke Hunn grounder. Hunn was thrown out trying to stretch it to second.
“There were moments tonight where we executed like we should execute, but there were moments that we didn’t,” Branson head coach Kent Doyle said. “We need to learn from the bad stuff and build on the good stuff. We’re this close to turning the corner. It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”
Branson (6-6) only managed to put runners in scoring position in two other innings—the first on a Gracie Jaeger double and the third when Bellanne Johnson reached second following a single.
“Team chemistry is out of sorts right now,” Doyle said. “We play a game or two where we’re not hitting the ball well and that kind of spills over to the next game. We’ve just got to get past that hump. And I know they can.”
Cat Ford allowed nine earned runs and 12 hits over six innings for the Pirates.
“We gave them a couple runs in the first inning,” Doyle said. “The first two runs, they shouldn’t have scored. When we execute, we can hang with anybody. The girls have to have confidence, and they have to do it once or twice to know that they can do it. They have to prove that to themselves.”
FINAL: Ozark 10, Branson 3
Pirates |0|0|0|0|3|0|0| — |3|5|2|
Tigers |5|0|4|0|0|1|X| — |10|12|2|
