Northeast Nodaway's tailspin stopped for one game -- a 5-4 come from behind win against Stewartsville in which the Bluejays scored three in the top of the seventh and then held on to win. Tuesday was a Chiefs/Raiders redux -- the Bluejays did everything during their Senior Night but win as second baseman Hallie Oelze was honored. Two Sundays before, the Chiefs had done everything but win against the Raiders, outgaining them by 2-1 in yardage before the Raiders came back to win. Northeast pitcher Taylor Dougan struck out 12 batters, her most since the first game of the year when she struck out 14, yet Winston was able to get runs across the plate when they needed to. Northeast struck out only five times, yet they hit the ball right at people all night.
Dougan started off in dominant form as she would strike out six Redbird batters, allowing only two walks during the frame. Northeast hit the ball at will, yet they could not cross the plate. In the first inning, Emily Bryant hit a solid shot up the middle for a single with one out, but was out stealing second after a rundown. That play loomed up strongly as Rachel Runde would single to left and go to second as the ball went off the left fielder's foot.
In the second, Northeast loaded the bases with nobody out, but ran their way out of a big inning. Taylor Dougan reached on an error as the second baseman dropped a pop fly; Mallorie Peters reached safely as the second baseman was obviously thinking about the last play and dropped a simple force. Sarah Fox hit a slow roller past the shortstop that advanced everyone. But Kristan Judd popped out to the pitcher and then Dougan wandered too far off third and was doubled off.
In the top of the third, Winston finally got a run without need of a hit; Taylor Becerra reached on an error by third baseman Rachel Runde, who muffed a grounder. She stole second and third. Amber Mullen and Chandler Newman struck out, but like the South Nodaway game, Northeast could not get the final out of the inning -- Kristan Judd could not find a ball that had rolled under her on a wild pitch and Becerra came home for Winston's first run.
After Northeast went down in order in their half of the third, Rachel Brice walked for Winston and came around on wild pitches to score and make it 2-0 -- again with two outs. Again, Northeast could not close the deal and get the third out. And Winston was threatening to go one-up on Stewartsville. The Cardinals had beaten Worth County earlier in the year with one lone hit; the Redbirds were threatening to win the game without benefit of a hit.
That seemed to wake up Northeast's bats as Blair Schmitz led off the bottom of the fourth with a triple to the wall in left center field to lead off. Mallorie Peters hit a pop fly single between shortstop and left field to score Schmitz, Sarah Fox singled to left, Katrina Freemeyer hit a slow roller up the middle that there was no play on, and Hallie Oelze hit a pop fly single to right to score Peters and tie it at 2-2.
But the fielding went to sleep in the top of the fifth as Winston took the lead for good. With one out, Newman hit a scratch hit into no-man's land between the mound and third for Winston's first hit of the game. Baylea Martin hit a hard grounder to second that Hallie Oelze misplayed on the shorthop and it rolled into right for a two-base error; Martin went to third on the throw home as Newman scored to make it 3-2. Rachel Runde made a nice running catch of Nichole Gregornik's pop fly between third and home in foul territory, but then she dropped Tabitha Pitburn's pop fly for what would have been the third out as Baylea Martin scored on the play to make it 4-2. Four runs for Winston, three of them scored with two outs.
Northeast wasted Blair Schmitz's second triple of the game, a carbon copy of her first, with one out. Taylor Dougan popped out to catcher. Mallorie Peters battled from 0-2 and had a long at-bat as she fouled off a bunch of pitches before walking; she stole second. But Sarah Fox struck out to end the fifth.
Both teams went scoreless in the sixth, but in the seventh, Newman scored again for Winston as she singled to left, stole second, and took third and home on wild pitches. Winston tried for another run but was thwarted as catcher Kristan Judd made a diving tag of Martin trying to score on a wild pitch to keep it at 5-2.
Emily Bryant tripled over the left fielder's head to start the seventh; Rachel Runde flied out to bring her home to make it 5-3. Blair Schmitz restarted Northeast with her third straight hit, a line drive between third and short for a single. But Taylor Dougan flied out and Mallorie Peters struck out to end the game.
"We can't blame one individual for this loss," said coach Rex Wallace, who said that his team had not practiced in a while and that it showed on the field. "We had nobody on base to capitalize on Blair's two triples. We're a young team with only one senior. Right now, they know what they're supposed to do, but when they get the situation on the field, they forget what they're supposed to do."
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