North Nodaway downed South Holt 11-4 last Tuesday in a rain-shortened victory that put the Mustangs in control of their own destiny for the 275 Conference title. They will play at DeKalb Wednesday night, September 26th at 5 pm in a makeup game. On September 27th, the Mustangs will return home at 5 pm to play Platte Valley. DeKalb has one conference loss, to Platte Valley. Neither Platte Valley nor North Nodaway have any conference losses.
The Mustangs overcame an early hitting barrage by the first-year Knights to secure the title. After the Mustangs went down quietly in the first, South Holt struck in the second when Sydney Sipes, only a freshman, hit a two run blast to left field to put her team on top 2-0.
Coach Kit Meiners said that it frequently takes her team to get challenged like that before they kick in, and that was the case Tuesday evening. Audrey Trimble hit a shot off the first baseman’s glove and it rolled away as she made it to second for a double to lead off the second. Alonna Cross reached on a bobble by the shortstop after Trimble stole third, putting North Nodaway on the board. Cross successfully pulled off a delayed steal and Kandace Damgar walked on four pitches. Shai Dailey hit a screamer off the pitcher’s glove for a base hit that loaded the bases and Keagan O’Riley’s triple to left cleared the bases and put North Nodaway in front 4-2. Makayla Cross popped out, but Emma Hart singled to right center to score Keagan. Kristin Herndon struck out, but Ashley Thompson dug one out of the dirt and doubled to put runners on second and third. Audrey Trimble singled for her second hit of the inning, O’Riley scored, but there was a scary moment when Ashley Thompson had an epic collision as she was thrown out trying to score from second and was done for the game. She also sat out all three of North Nodaway’s games in the North Andrew Tournament.
South Holt scored two to cut North Nodaway’s lead to 6-4, but it would have been worse had it not been for an outstanding defensive play from Alonna Cross. Cross, moved from right to left after Thompson went down and Emma Hart went from left field to first base, caught Rayleigh Guyer’s drive on the dead run, with the ball sticking halfway out of her glove, for the first out. That meant North Nodaway was still in front after Grace Cotton hit another home run over the left field fence to make it 6-4.
But North Nodaway scored plenty of insurance runs in the third to take control. With one out, Kandace Damgar doubled into the left field corner and Shai Dailey reached on a single and an error when her pop fly dropped into left for a base hit and the left fielder threw the ball away, allowing Dailey to go to second and Damgar to go to third. Keagan O’Riley reached on an error as nobody called for her pop fly in left center as the left fielder and center fielder had an epic collision going after it. O’Riley took first, Dailey took third, and Damgar scored on the play. Both fielders were shaken up, but were OK. O’Riley stole second and Makayla Cross laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to score Dailey. Emma Hart doubled over the center fielder’s head to score O’Riley. Kristin Herndon singled past third and left fielder Sydney Sipes let it get by her for an error as Hart scored and Herndon took second. That put North Nodaway up 10-4.
South Holt tried to make some noise in the fifth after a leadoff single from Kaydense Martin, but right fielder Jadon Dobbins, inserted after Thompson went down, made a basket catch of Grace Cotton’s drive to take a base hit away from her. Keagan O’Riley struck out Sara Wilson and Alexis Davis, her 9th and 10th strikeouts, to get out of the inning.
Emma Hart singled to center with two out and Kristin Herndon doubled into the left field corner to score her to make it 11-4 in the bottom of the fifth.
With one on and one out in the top of the sixth, torrential rains moved in from the north and washed out the rest of the game. While suspended games are up to the coaches to finish, games that are not finished are official games if the losing team has been up to bat five times.
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