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By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Springfield, Mo. — For five innings, Delanie Freeze simply had Strafford’s number.
The Liberal flamethrower was overwhelming in Friday’s semifinal matchup, rolling through the Indians’ lineup with electric stuff.
Strafford head coach Dale Bean wasn’t exactly surprised, either.
“There’s one thing we could not let [Freeze] do, and that’s strike us out” Bean said. “Each game, she’s looking at 10-13 strikeouts. We talked about her all week. I said, ‘This girl right here, she’ll throw you strikes, but you’ll foul them off — you’ve got to put it in play.’”
Freeze wasted little time introducing herself to the defending state champions, striking out the side in her first inning of work.
Fortunately for Strafford, the Bulldogs weren’t having much luck with Zoey Mullings, either.
The Indians’ starter retired the first nine batters she faced, before Liberal finally broke through in the fourth inning. Jaci Coleman’s two-out single off Mullings drove in Taylor Ray from second.
Suddenly, Strafford found itself in unfamiliar waters against a team more than capable of holding down a lead.
Liberal was more than ready for the its big moment in the semifinal, according to head coach Brandi Goodell.
“The kids talked all week about being state champions,” Goodell said. “They weren’t intimidated, they weren’t scared and that’s what I told them all week. [Strafford’s] a good team, but so are we.”
With a 23-0 record in the circle and 260 strikeouts on the season, Freeze managed to take good to another level Friday, adding a dozen more Ks to her resume.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
While Liberal was almost perfect through the early innings, a costly throwing error in the fifth allowed Strafford’s Logan James to score all the way from first base and tie the score once again.
In the sixth, it was Mullings turn to work through adversity, after giving up a single to Freeze and issuing a walk to Mallory Gazaway. Fortunately, the senior right-hander got a big boost from her defense when Taylor Treat sprinted halfway into center field to track down a would-be single from Liberal’s Kaylee Daniels.
Treat’s catch was far from routine.
The sophomore second baseman avoided what looked to be a certain collision behind the base, as two teammates were also making dead runs at the ball.
“I saw [shortstop Hayley Frank] coming, and I saw that she had the right angle,” Treat said. “So I went behind her just in case she didn’t catch it. I just stuck my glove out there, and it fell right in.”
While Frank misjudged the catch, the Gatorade Player of the Year for basketball didn’t have to wait long to redeem herself.
Following strikeouts in her first two plate appearances, Frank led off the sixth inning and crushed the first pitch she saw over the deep center field wall. (VIDEO BELOW)
“In the first two at-bats, [Freeze] threw me a first-pitch strike, and it kind of came inside,” Frank said. “So that third at-bat, I stepped off the plate a little bit and figured she was going to give me another strike. It felt really good coming off the bat but honestly, I was like, ‘This is a 225 fence — is that going to go … should I trot or run?’”
Strafford's Hayley Frank absolutely crushed this ball to center to for the game's winning run in the state semifinal. @softblindians pic.twitter.com/ULzQnJvc3b
— Ozarks Sports Zone (@OzarksOzone) May 19, 2018
Frank’s blast gave Strafford a 2-1 lead, which proved to be more than enough for Mullings.
“I think the biggest thing that some people might not see is Zoey,” Bean said. “It’s a one-run game, and there’s a couple times there they could have got a hit, and with a pitcher like [Freeze], they could have broke it open a little bit. [Mullings] just kept us in there, kept us in there, kept us in there, and then we, finally, were were able to stay close enough to make them pay in the later innings.”
Inspired with a new lead, Mullings sent the Bulldogs down in order to end the game, punctuating the win with two of her seven strikeouts in the final inning.
In a game with little margin for error, Liberal found itself battling through missed opportunities. In addition to a costly throwing error that allowed Strafford to score its first run, the Bulldogs lost momentum when Kaylee Daniels was hit by a batted ball heading into third with nobody out.
“To win games like this, you need a break or two,” Goodell said. “[Strafford] got the breaks, we didn’t. Not taking away anything from them, obviously — they did the job, and you make your own luck with good defense. It stinks to have to go play for third, but I told the kids, ‘Hey, you’ve got to have a quick turnaround, because we’re going to play for third tomorrow — let’s go win it.’”
Strafford (28-0) puts its 50-game winning streak back on the line Saturday as the Indians play for a second-straight championship against Central (Park Hills).
“Park Hills is probably the best team that we’re going to see this year,” Bean said. “They’ve got really good defense, they throw the ball well and they’re balanced. I think the two best teams in the state are going to play tomorrow.”
Prior to the championship matchup, Liberal (24-4) will play Adrian in the third-place game.
Strafford – 2, Liberal – 1
Liberal 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1
Strafford 0 0 0 0 1 1 x — 2
Hits: Liberal – 3, Strafford – 2
Errors: Liberal – 2, Strafford – 0
LOB: Liberal – 4, Strafford – 6
Strafford Pitching
Zoey Mullings (7.00 IP, 7K, 3H, 2BB)
Liberal Pitching
Delanie Freeze (6.00 IP, 12K, 2H, 3BB, 1HBP)
Time of game: 1:31
