Northeast Nodaway's softball team had lived a charmed life this season, winning a lot of close games. But frequently, when you live on the edge, you fall off the edge, which Northeast Nodaway did Tuesday night, falling 3-2 to previously winless South Holt.
With the loss, Northeast ended their season at 16-7. They set a school record for most wins, won conference for the first time in 26 years, beat Jefferson/Platte Valley for the first time in 26 years, beat DeKalb for the first time in 15 years, and won consolation at the North Andrew Tournament. They finished in a three way tie for first at the Stanberry Round Robin, normally, a tournament in which they have struggled. Hadley DeFreece pitched a perfect game for the Bluejays, striking out 13 Stewartsville/Osborn batters in the 10-0 win.
The Bluejays, who had won one game in their last two years, walked off to beat North Harrison 10-9 in nine innings to start the season. Then, they won another game and another. Other teams overlooked the Bluejays for a long time as they kept racking up wins after hitting a three game losing skid. That changed after Northeast beat Platte Valley 3-1 and then proceeded to run rule South Holt and Albany in the North Andrew Tournament to get consolation.
All of a sudden, they had the target on their backs as everybody, regardless of their record, began giving Northeast their best shot. They shut down a dangerous East Buchanan squad that had been averaging 13 runs a game 5-2, but then fell 4-3 to King City in the last two innings. Despite getting everyone's best shot, they lived a charmed life. They walked off to beat DeKalb 1-0 to claim the Highway 275 Conference title, hung on by their fingernails to beat Worth County 8-7, and walked off to beat LeBlond 7-6 after the Golden Eagles had rallied with three runs in the top of the seventh to tie it.
They finally got a breather, cooling down a red hot East Harrison squad 12-1. But their luck ran out against the Knights. There are no more weak teams in girls softball, girls basketball, or girls volleyball; the level of play has gone up considerably. South Holt has always put together one game in which they have played lights out; they won a similar game against Platte Valley two years ago.
Hadley DeFreece did all she could to keep the Bluejays in the game, matching a career high with 13 strikeouts, but Northeast's batters were late all night against the Knights pitcher, Laini Sisk. The game was supposed to start at 6, got moved back to 8 due to wet field conditions at King City, and then started after that due to the King City/Stanberry game going nine innings. It was drizzling on and off all night long, with the wind howling out to left, which affected both teams. The game did not end until 11:30 that night. Meanwhile, South Holt's batters caught up with DeFreece and put together enough hits to win.
When the late swings and the strikeouts mounted for Northeast through the first three innings, that gave the Knights hope. South Holt drew first blood in the fourth after Kesney Miller singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and came home on Zoey Prussman's double which somehow stayed in the yard in left. Bailee Busby countered for Northeast in the fourth with a leadoff single. Meredith Adwell popped out and Busby had to scramble back to first to avoid a double play. Hadley DeFreece drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Then, Lauren McIntyre grounded out to first to move the runners up. Hadley broke for third and got in a rundown; then, Busby broke for home. The South Holt catcher got the ball in time and had the plate perfectly blocked, but Busby somehow got around her to touch home plate before being tagged to tie it at 1-1.
Northeast missed a chance to take the lead in the fifth. With two outs and Kirsten Morrow on first, Jaden Atkins doubled off the wall in right. Northeast sent Morrow home on the play, and South Holt needed a perfect throw and a perfect relay to get her. But that's exactly what they got, and the game remained tied.
Rayleigh Guyer crushed a home run into the wind that was howling out to left to start the sixth to break the tie. But in the Bluejay sixth, Baylee Busby singled with one out. Meredith Adwell singled to left; Busby tried to go first to third on the play and was safe on a close play as Adwell took second. Hadley DeFreece hit a screamer, but right at Sisk, and Busby had to scramble back to third to avoid being doubled off. Lauren McIntyre walked on a 3-2 pitch, and then Busby came home on a wild pitch to tie it at 2-2.
But Northeast's luck ran out in the seventh after Sisk hit a pop fly to right center. Both Ruby Wilmes and Kirsten Morrow went full speed after the ball and it squirted out of Morrow's glove as Sisk reached second. Sydney Sipes grounded out for the second out, but then Abigail Sipes hit a grounder in the hole at short. Jill Boswell fielded it cleanly, but airmailed it past first as Sisk scored to break the tie. Northeast went down in order after Lindsey Jackson's hard grounder to start the inning died on the wet infield and was scooped up by the second baseman.
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