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By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Springfield, Mo. — After foul weather forced the Class 4 District 10 championship to a Saturday start at a neutral site — Springfield-Parkview’s turf field, in this case — Ozark completed its District 10 blitzkrieg with an extra-inning, 13-8 victory over top-seeded Nixa.
The Lady Tigers racked up a total of 33 runs in the tournament, scoring at least 10 runs in each of its three games and allowing only a single run leading up to the title matchup.
Nya Morgan’s 3 RBIs and 2-for-3 performance helped pace the Ozark offense.
The senior catcher blasted a solo home run in the first inning to put the Lady Tigers on the board. An error allowed Ozark to score two more runs in the inning off Nixa starter Morgan Jones.
“I was pretty anxious to hit the ball, and I swung at a change-up,” Morgan said. “(Jones’) change-up is really good, so I wanted to hit the next pitch as hard as I could and do my job to get on base, because I didn’t want to look silly again.”
After an error allowed Ozark to plate two more runs in the first inning, the Lady Tigers seemed poised for yet another rollover.
Unfortunately, its arch-rival would not be so accommodating.
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Despite the early barrage, Nixa was able to rally multiple times in the contest and keep itself within striking distance.
An RBI single from Emma Vincent in the third inning off starting pitcher Hattie Depee cut the Ozark lead to 3-2, but the Lady Eagle comeback would prove to be short-lived.
With two out in the top of the fifth, Kara Ford crushed a two-run bomb to give Ozark a little breathing room at 5-2.
Or not.
One half inning later, Nixa clawed its way back when Jones helped her own cause with a two-run blast to right center. After drawing walks in her previous two appearances, the senior pitcher found herself down 0-2 in the count to Ozark reliever Lily Sullivan.
Nixa head coach Matt Walker praised his senior leader for rising to the occasion with a big hit.
“Morgan had two strikes on her, and she went to just hit it where it was pitched,” Walker said. “She drilled it to right field, and it’s tough for high school girls to hit one opposite field and out of here.”
Moments later, Jaden LaBarge scored on an error to tie the score at 5-5.
In the Ozark seventh, Nya Morgan struck again with a two-run single. Madison Reese then drove in the Lady Tigers’ third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly.
Ozark posted a big lead in its half of the inning yet again; however, the Lady Tigers were anything but complacent.
Morgan figured another late Nixa rally might be in store.
“They’re a good-hitting team, and they’re consistent throughout the lineup,” Morgan said. “I knew that we needed to do our job, get baserunners and be solid, defensively.”
Nixa’s final push got a late start.
After Emma Vincent was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, the team notched back-to-back fly outs.
Still, the Lady Eagles persisted.
Maya Harman reached on a single, and then Kat Mitchell — ninth in the batting order — drew a nine-pitch walk to load the bases.
Nixa leadoff hitter Katie Faulk responded with a bases-clearing triple to tie the score once more at 8-8.
Walker was quick to praise his young hitter’s clutch performance.
“Freshman Katie Faulk stepped up for us in the seventh inning,” Walker said. “With two outs, two strikes on her and three on, she was able to come up with a big triple to get us back in the fight.”
Locked in a battle of wills, Ozark came up in the top of the eighth determined to turn back yet another Nixa rally.
The Lady Tigers didn’t have to wait long.
Ashlei Coonrod’s fly ball to left center on the very first pitch didn’t clear the fence by much, but it was enough to give Ozark its third — and final — go-ahead run of the game.
“I was definitely really nervous, and I just wanted to get on base,” Coonrod said. “First pitch, she threw it right up the middle. I just loaded, saw the ball and hit it. I actually didn’t think it went over when I rounded first until I saw it land on the other side of the fence.”
Nimmo was pleased with his sophomore shortstop’s late-game heroics.
“Ashley’s been solid this year,” Nimmo said. “Her bat has come alive this season — even the power side of it. She’s had multiple doubles, and I think that’s four home runs, maybe, for her now. It’s the power side I expect to see continue next year.”
Ozark added four more runs in the inning on RBIs from Emma Taylor and Abby Ford.
Leading 13-8, Nimmo made another pitching change.
After Depee started and worked the first four innings, Nimmo swapped out his freshman pitcher for the senior Sullivan to show some different looks and keep Nixa’s hitters off balance.
“Hattie is an in-and-out pitcher. Lilly’s a down, change-up pitcher,” Walker said.” I knew it was the right move to bring her in that last inning. Hattie did a fantastic job coming in at that last part, and I though she threw well in the first four innings for us, too.”
With his team needing just three outs to advance to the sectional round, Walker didn’t hesitate to go back to Depee.
The move paid off for Ozark, as Depee worked a quick, 1-2-3 inning to seal the victory.
As the final fly ball headed for Kara Ford in left field, Depee snapped around to track the flight.
“That was scary,” Depee said. “I didn’t know, exactly, where Kara was at that point, and I was like, ‘Oh gosh!’ She was there and did her job, so we got the out.”
After the game, Nimmo was quick to credit his team’s chemistry and resiliency for a successful season and district win.
“These girls really wanted this game really bad,” Nimmo said. “They’ve come together as a family, and it’s probably the closest-knit group we’ve had in a few years. They’ve bought in to the whole concept of family and team, and they don’t give up on each other. That’s what has taken us through.”
Ozark (22-9) now moves on to the Class 4 sectional round. The Tigers will host a Wednesday, Oct. 17 clash with District 9 champion Camdenton.
Nixa finishes its season with a record of 15-15.
Varsity final: Ozark – 13, Nixa – 8
Ozark 3 0 0 0 2 0 3 5 — 13
Nixa 1 0 1 0 3 0 3 0 — 8
Hits: Ozark – 13, Nixa – 9
Errors: Ozark – 5, Nixa – 2
LOB: Ozark – 6, Nixa – 9
2B: Ozark (Taylor – 1), Nixa (Aring – 1)
3B: Nixa (Faulk -1)
HR: Ozark (Kara Ford – 1, Morgan – 1, Coonrod – 1), Nixa (Jones)
RBI: Ozark (Morgan – 3, Kara Ford – 2, Taylor – 2, Coonrod – 1, Abby Ford – 1, Reese – 1), Nixa (Faulk – 3, Jones – 2, Vincent – 1)
Nixa Pitching
Morgan Jones (8.00 IP, 5K, 13H, 3BB)
Ozark Pitching
Hattie Depee (5.00 IP, 1K, 4H, 0BB)
Lily Sullivan (3.00 IP, 0K, 3BB, 1HBP)
Time of game: 2:08
