By Don Abernathy (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
In the bottom of the seventh inning on Tuesday, Mount Vernon senior Harley Daniels stood in the on-deck circle and watched her teammate Allie Schubert work her magic.
The Lady Mountaineers trailed visiting Diamond by a run, when Allie Schubert reached base on a bunt, then stole second, setting the table for Harley Daniels’ heroics.
With two on and nobody out, Harley Daniels smashed a two-run double to right center, driving home sophomore Molly Daniels and Allie Schubert for a walk-off 7-6 victory in the Class 2 District 6 title game.
“I was just wanting to get a base hit,” Harley Daniels said. “I just wanted anything to get at least one run in. We needed to tie the game.
“Allie got the bunt down that moved Molly to third and then stole second on the first pitch of my at bat.
“If she doesn’t do that, then we might have had to play on.”
The scenario worked out perfectly for Mt. Vernon coach Matt Schubert, who pulled the strings as his team executed in the final inning.
“When Molly (Daniels) got to second base with nobody out, I knew I had two of our best power hitters coming up,” Matt Schubert said.
“Allie is one of the best situational hitters on the team and she got the ball down exactly where she needed to and with Molly’s speed, I knew they weren’t going to be able to get her at third.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
On the bunt, Diamond fielded the bunt and threw to third base to try and cut down Molly Daniels at third, but that choice allowed Allie Schubert to reach first base safely.
One pitch later, Allie Schubert stole second, setting the table for Harley Daniels to drive in the game winner.
“You could tell (Harley) was trying to drive the ball the other way with her swing,” Matt Schubert said. “That’s the kind of leadership you want from your seniors and both our seniors came up big for us today.”
Diamond (27-10), the No. 2 seed in the district, jumped to an early lead with three runs off three hits in the top of the first inning, which put top-seeded Mt. Vernon (34-1) in a hole early.
“I felt early on that we weren’t catching any breaks,” Matt Schubert said. “Close calls weren’t going our way, they had a couple bloop hits that fell in, and we weren’t getting those things on our end.
“I just hoped this team wouldn’t start pressing and making things harder, and they continued to battle.
“I thought early on, we were taking good at bats and making their pitcher work.”
Diamond added a run in the top of the fifth, for a 4-0 lead, before the Mt. Vernon offense got rolling.
The Lady Mountaineers scored five runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning, off three hits, two walks, and an error for a 5-4 lead.
“Our attitude was key to get back in this game,” Harley Daniels said.
“We had a positive attitude and we were focused. We kept fighting, even after we got down again, we wanted it.”
The Lady Wildcats answered in the top of the sixth with a pair of runs off of one hit and two errors, for a 6-5 lead.
“We knew this game would be tough, and we know they are a super solid team,” Diamond coach Kelsey Parrish said.
“We knew it would come down to the final pitch, and they hit the ball harder and they executed their offence better than we did.”
Harley Daniels went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and four RBIs, allowed five hits and struck out four while earning the complete game victory.
Mount Vernon will next play Sparta (26-4) next Tuesday in the Class 2 State Sectionals at Sparta.
