North Harrison’s magical season rolled on as they turned back Maysville 4-2 Monday night to punch their ticket to the state tournament. It will be played Friday at 2:00 at the Killian Sports Complex in Springfield against Canton. The State Championship Game will be played Saturday at 4 pm at the same facility.
North Harrison is now 21-6 for the year. They finished 11-2 against GRC foes, including 5-1 against the West and 6-1 against the bigger East schools. Maysville was a red hot team going into the game and ends their season at 13-13. They started off 1-6 for the year and battled injuries as well as difficult competition like Benton, Lawson, and Platte Valley. They hit a low with a loss to Polo, the Panthers’ lone win in the conference portion of the schedule. But they steadily improved over the year and a 6-5 victory over King City and a 3-1 victory over Stanberry late in the season turned their season around. They knocked off Stewartsville easily, then took down DeKalb 2-1 in the District title. Then, they took down a high-flying Norborne squad sporting a 19-3 record 8-0 in sectionals. Maysville, which is loaded with freshmen and sophomores and only one senior, will return as one of the teams to beat in the GRC East next year.
For North Harrison, there had been an unwritten taboo about talking about state the last few years, with the focus being on one game at a time. But this year was different, as they broke it the first day of practice. “The seniors decided they wanted to go to state for everyone who they had played with over the last few years who had worked just as hard, but fell short,” said Coach Brandon Craig. The underclassmen all bought in, with four different freshmen and a sophomore starting and another sophomore stepping in from time to time.
Back in 2011, the Shamrocks started a junior high softball program for the first time; this was the first bunch who made it all six years. They grew up in a hurry; by their 8th grade year, they won all their games with the exception of an epic pitching duel between Grace Schottel and the Worth County Tigers and Payton Craig, which went 2-1 in Worth County’s favor.
This year, North Harrison finally broke through Sectionals after being barred by Jefferson and Stanberry over the last few years; longtime Stanberry Coach Rod Walker was one of the many folks to congratulate Coach Brandon Craig after the win.
The game started off inauspiciously for the Shamrocks as Maysville slap hitter Cat Whiteman dropped one behind second for the first pitch; four different green shirts chased it to no avail. Sadie Smith moved her over with a bunt, but Brea Blanton, Maysville’s most dangerous hitter, popped out.
Emily Brown whiffed to end the inning. One of the keys to the game was that Payton Craig had Blanton’s number, holding her to 0 for 4 for the night. North Harrison will need a similar effort Friday, as Canton tagged Gallatin for 17 runs on their way to victory in sectionals, and knocked off favored Salisbury 6-3 with a late home run after being down 3-1 at one point.
It still looked inauspicious for North Harrison, as the wind was blowing in from left, keeping Payton Craig’s long drive in the park and the Shamrocks off the board in the first. But then in the second, Audry Briggs doubled off the wall in left center to start and Emma Craig moved her over on a bunt. Mason Cracraft popped out, but Kami Gibson singled to left to bring Briggs home. It was like that all night; everyone had each others’ back when something went wrong.
Payton Craig plunked Lexy Nicholson in the knee to start the fourth. Josie Fitzwater struck out after failing to get a bunt down, but slap hitter Cat Whiteman was up next. She was a triple threat as she swung away this time and hit a screamer to the opposite field, but right at third baseman Ashlynn Gilpatrick. She tried to double off Nicholson, but threw it away. Right fielder Carly Rinehart didn’t act like a freshman as she was right there to back it up, but the ball rolled into the press box, which had photographers in it at the time. By rule, that is treated just like the ball going into the dugout and Nicholson automatically went to second. It didn’t matter as Sadie Smith grounded out to Cracraft at second to end the inning with North Harrison’s 1-0 lead intact.
Once again, Payton Craig drove it to the wall in left and once again, the wind held it in for a catch. Craig hit Emily Brown on the hand; it could have been called either way, but she took first with one out. It didn’t matter as Craig picked herself up by forcing her at second with a laser beam after fielding Olivia Owen’s slow roller. Then, Mason Cracraft caught Madeline Smith’s screamer to get out of the inning.
Maysville finally scored in the fifth after North Harrison couldn’t take advantage of an error in the fourth. Stephanie Hyatt hit a pop fly single that dropped in to start off. Nicholson moved her over with a bunt and the 9th batter, Josie Fitzwater, walked. Cat Whiteman hit into an apparent force at third, but Gilpatrick threw it away and the bases were loaded. Sadie Smith grounded out to Cracraft at second to bring in one, and Blanton came up, but once again, everyone had each others’ back and Payton Craig got her to ground out back to the mound to get out of the inning with the game still tied at 1-1.
Maysville had every reason to expect the momentum as North Harrison’s 7-8-9 hitters were coming up, but with one out, Sally Briggs hit a grounder into the hole between second and first. Second baseman Stephanie Hyatt made a diving stop, but Briggs hustled down the line and beat the throw before giving way to pinch runner Rainey Fordyce. Carly Rinehart forced her at second, but Payton Craig finally came through, hitting a screamer down the left field line just fair for a double, putting runners on second and third. North Harrison hit a ton of line drives just foul all year on the left field line, but this was the break they were looking for. Brandi Rivet shot one up the middle for a base hit and both runners scored as Payton Craig game home on a futile throw home. Catcher Brea Blanton threw a laser down to second to get Rivet out, but it didn’t matter as North Harrison went back up 3-1.
That stood North Harrison in good stead as Emily Brown hit a grounder that looked like trouble to start the sixth. First baseman Kami Gibson had to dive to grab it, but second baseman Mason Cracraft had her back, scrambling to first for the 3-4 putout. That loomed up strongly as strike three got away from catcher Emma Craig, putting Olivia Owen on. Madeline Smith shot a single off third baseman Ashlyn Gilpatrick’s glove into left and they went to second and third on a wild pitch. Hyatt grounded out to score Owen, but then Lexy Nicholson was called out on strikes to end the inning with North Harrison still ahead 3-2. Without the outstanding defensive play to start the inning by North Harrison, the game would have been tied at this point.
Once again, a scratch hit led to a run by North Harrison to start their half of the sixth. Ashlynn Gilpatrick beat out an infield hit when her shot into the hole was snagged by the shortstop, but she beat it out. Audry Briggs hit one as hard as she had all year, but right at second baseman Stephanie Hyatt for an out. But Hyatt tried to double off Gilpatrick and threw it right into the dugout to advance Gilpatrick. Emma Craig flied out for the second out and then Mason Cracraft and Maysville pitcher Sadie Smith got into a long battle. Smith had kept North Harrison off balance all night with her change that she would throw at any time in the count. Cracraft got down 0-2 in the count, fouled off a pitch, and got back to 3-2. She fouled off another pitch and then turned on a change and hit a high, slow chopper that somehow got past short and into center. It was enough to score Gilpatrick with a badly needed insurance run. It was the lone changeup that North Harrison got a hit off of. All of North Harrison’s runs scored with two outs.
There was a heartstopping moment in the seventh inning after Payton Craig got Josie Fitzwater called out on strikes and got the dangerous Cat Whiteman to go after a slow change to strike her out. Sometimes, the last out is the final one to get, and what would have been the last out squirted out of second baseman Mason Cracraft’s glove as Sadie Smith reached safely. That brought up Brea Blanton, who had been slugging it all year for Maysville with the tying run. She turned on Payton Craig’s first pitch and it looked headed into left for a base hit. But once again, everyone had each others’ back as shortstop Brandi Rivet chased it down. The light wind coming in from left held it up long enough for her to get to the edge of the grass and make the catch for the final out.
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