QUEEN CITY, Mo. - Scotland County scored seven runs with two outs in the fourth inning Thursday, turning a one-run deficit into a lead the Lady Tigers would carry to a 13-5 victory over La Plata in the Class 1 District 5 softball quarterfinals. The win sends Scotland County into Saturday’s semifinal round after overcoming an early 3-0 deficit.
Originally scheduled to be played at La Plata, the district games were moved to Schuyler County’s artificial turf field because of wet field conditions. Heavy mist and a light shower greeted the teams at the start, with pitchers and fielders working to keep a grip on the ball through the early innings.
La Plata scored first after Hailey Mitchell was hit by a pitch with two outs in the opening inning. Mitchell stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and came home as the Lady Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead. La Plata added two more runs in the second, taking advantage of two throwing errors on the same play before Emmagin Travis tripled home Rylee Lewis to make it 3-0.
Scotland County left two runners aboard in the first and went down in order in the second before getting its offense going in the third. Ailea Hayes led off with a triple, and Lexi Weber brought her home with a single to put the Lady Tigers on the board. After Maty Buford received her second intentional walk of the game, MaKenna Musgrove drove a two-run double into the gap to tie the score at 3-3.
The Lady Bulldogs answered in the top of the fourth when Lewis reached on a bunt single and Travis delivered her second RBI triple of the afternoon. Musgrove stranded Travis at third with a strikeout, keeping Scotland County within a run heading into the bottom half.
La Plata pitcher Kinsley Jones appeared to be working toward a quick inning after snagging a line drive off the bat of Hilary Hamm and striking out the next batter. With two outs and nobody aboard, however, Hayes reached on an error and Allie Elenbaas followed with a single. Weber then drove a triple into the gap, scoring both runners to give Scotland County its first lead at 5-4.
The Lady Tigers kept the inning going from there. Elle Hamlin put the ball in play and reached as another La Plata throwing error helped Scotland County extend its lead, and Buford followed with an RBI double. Musgrove, Ali Ward, and Hamm added consecutive run-scoring singles before La Plata could finally record the third out. By then, Scotland County had sent 11 batters to the plate and turned a 4-3 deficit into a 10-4 advantage.
Hayes supplied another spark in the fifth with her second triple of the game, scoring on a throwing error on the play. Elenbaas also reached and later came home on Hamlin’s groundout, stretching the lead to 12-4. Musgrove opened the sixth with a bunt single and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Kensington Miller for Scotland County’s final run.
While the Lady Tigers were adding to their lead, Musgrove retired La Plata in order in both the fifth and sixth innings. The Lady Bulldogs scored once in the seventh on a fly ball by Mitchell, but Weber threw out Paizley See attempting to steal second to end the game.
Musgrove earned the complete-game victory, allowing four hits and five runs, two earned, while walking three and striking out six. She threw 89 pitches and also led Scotland County at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs, and two runs scored.
Weber went 2-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs, and two runs, while Hayes tripled twice and scored three times. Hamlin added two hits and two RBIs, Ward collected two hits and drove in a run, and Buford doubled, walked twice, and scored twice. Elenbaas and Hamm each contributed a hit as the Lady Tigers finished with 14.
Travis paced La Plata with two triples and two RBIs, while Lewis singled and scored twice. Jones pitched all six innings for the Lady Bulldogs, allowing 14 hits and 13 runs, five earned, with two walks and three strikeouts. La Plata finished its season at 14-12.
(This game recap is presented based upon the coverage of the Hometown Radio Sports Network. Any statistics given should be deemed as unofficial.)
