Purdy Lady Eagles claim district softball crown
On Saturday, May 4, the Purdy Lady Eagles softball team welcomed the Crane team to their home field, where they beat out the visiting team to win the title of district champions.
Pictured above, from left to right, front row: Dally Craig, Ashlie Johnson, Breanna Perkins, Madison Renkoski, McKenzie Renkoski, Bayleigh Robbins, Jasmine Holloway and Kylie Wood. Back row: coach Jennifer Cornelius, Robyn Schad, Kinsley Mattingly, Lauren Schallert, Annabelle Bowman, Makenna Orwig, Danielle Reed and coach Lori Videmschek.
May 8, 2019
Lee Stubblefield
Trailing Crane by a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Purdy Lady Eagles were down to their last strike. Then Bayleigh Robbins crushed a 1-2 offering from Crane’s Olivia Edwards into center field for a walkoff 2 RBI double and a 7-6 Purdy victory. It was a fitting ending to a wild district tournament.
A rainy week led to the worrisome delay of this championship contest. With a sectional game looming on Monday, a game that was originally scheduled for Thursday had to be played on Saturday, somehow and somewhere. While moving the game to Joplin was a reasonable option, the Purdy grounds crew worked tirelessly to convert a muddy mess into a softball infield. By midafternoon, the word spread: Purdy would host the district title game. at home. The Lady Eagles refused to let a little water wash away that home field advantage.
Pregame jitters? The Crane Lady Pirates seemed well composed, and the Purdy girls looked even more so. Just minutes before the first pitch, the Lady Eagles entertained the crowd, line dancing to Copperhead Road while Crane took infield practice.
A blue sky and a blinding late afternoon sun that shone mercilessly from behind the mound greeted batters in the early going. “Beware the glare."
Bayleigh Robbins scored the first run of the game. Purdy’s shortstop doubled to lead off the bottom of the second inning and scored on a sac fly from Annabelle Bowman. The Lady Eagles added two more runs in the third frame when Robbins ripped a bases loaded double.
The Purdy lead grew to 5-0 in the fourth, with McKenzie Renkoski and Lauren Schallert supplying back-to-back RBI hits to punctuate a two-out rally.
After being shut out for five innings by Schallert’s rising fastball, the Crane offense suddenly came to life. The Lady Pirates downed Billings 16-8 in first round action, and then downed Wheaton with a 9-1 blitz. The bats reawakened in the sixth inning of the title tilt, and a four-run uprising pulled the Lady Pirates within a run.
In the seventh inning, Crane’s season gained new life when Edwards singled and then came home on a Lauren Akins sac fly to tie the game at 5-5. But Schallert pitched out of the jam striking out Mackinzie Funcannon and Celsie Killman to end the rally.
Purdy would not score in the home half of the seventh, and fans settled in for extra innings.
Neither team could score in the eighth, but Crane grabbed a 6-5 lead with an Edwards single and an RBI double from Lauren Akin.
Now, the pressure shifted to the Purdy dugout. A pumped up Edwards struck out Makenna Orwig to open the inning. But Kinsley Mattingley popped a seeing-eye infield blooper that just cleared the mound and died in the quicksand. Then Renkoski reached on a fielder’s choice while Mattingley was erased at second base for the second out.
More cowbell
The Purdy crowd, vocal all game, roared its support as Schallert and Kylie Wood drew walks to load the bases. At every dead moment, the Eagle boosters came alive with cowbells, shakers, clappers and megaphones, exhorting and encouraging the black and gold.
After the walk to Woods filled the sacks, Edwards had nowhere to put Bayleigh Robbins. Robbins was two-for-four with a pair of doubles in her previous trips to the plate.
Edwards nibbled and missed with her first pitch but drew a foul ball with her next delivery and then pulled ahead in the count when Robbins took a second strike. Edwards went for the kill on the next pitch, but Robbins crushed a line drive to center field. Dagger.
After blowing a 5-0 lead, the Lady Eagles found a way to win another district crown. Purdy improved to 23-5 on the season, earning a berth in a Monday sectional game at Forsyth. The Lady Panthers defeated Hollister to win the Class 1 District 9 championship.
Lee Stubblefield
Trailing Crane by a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Purdy Lady Eagles were down to their last strike. Then Bayleigh Robbins crushed a 1-2 offering from Crane’s Olivia Edwards into center field for a walkoff 2 RBI double and a 7-6 Purdy victory. It was a fitting ending to a wild district tournament.
A rainy week led to the worrisome delay of this championship contest. With a sectional game looming on Monday, a game that was originally scheduled for Thursday had to be played on Saturday, somehow and somewhere. While moving the game to Joplin was a reasonable option, the Purdy grounds crew worked tirelessly to convert a muddy mess into a softball infield. By midafternoon, the word spread: Purdy would host the district title game. at home. The Lady Eagles refused to let a little water wash away that home field advantage.
Pregame jitters? The Crane Lady Pirates seemed well composed, and the Purdy girls looked even more so. Just minutes before the first pitch, the Lady Eagles entertained the crowd, line dancing to Copperhead Road while Crane took infield practice.
A blue sky and a blinding late afternoon sun that shone mercilessly from behind the mound greeted batters in the early going. “Beware the glare."
Bayleigh Robbins scored the first run of the game. Purdy’s shortstop doubled to lead off the bottom of the second inning and scored on a sac fly from Annabelle Bowman. The Lady Eagles added two more runs in the third frame when Robbins ripped a bases loaded double.
The Purdy lead grew to 5-0 in the fourth, with McKenzie Renkoski and Lauren Schallert supplying back-to-back RBI hits to punctuate a two-out rally.
After being shut out for five innings by Schallert’s rising fastball, the Crane offense suddenly came to life. The Lady Pirates downed Billings 16-8 in first round action, and then downed Wheaton with a 9-1 blitz. The bats reawakened in the sixth inning of the title tilt, and a four-run uprising pulled the Lady Pirates within a run.
In the seventh inning, Crane’s season gained new life when Edwards singled and then came home on a Lauren Akins sac fly to tie the game at 5-5. But Schallert pitched out of the jam striking out Mackinzie Funcannon and Celsie Killman to end the rally.
Purdy would not score in the home half of the seventh, and fans settled in for extra innings.
Neither team could score in the eighth, but Crane grabbed a 6-5 lead with an Edwards single and an RBI double from Lauren Akin.
Now, the pressure shifted to the Purdy dugout. A pumped up Edwards struck out Makenna Orwig to open the inning. But Kinsley Mattingley popped a seeing-eye infield blooper that just cleared the mound and died in the quicksand. Then Renkoski reached on a fielder’s choice while Mattingley was erased at second base for the second out.
More cowbell
The Purdy crowd, vocal all game, roared its support as Schallert and Kylie Wood drew walks to load the bases. At every dead moment, the Eagle boosters came alive with cowbells, shakers, clappers and megaphones, exhorting and encouraging the black and gold.
After the walk to Woods filled the sacks, Edwards had nowhere to put Bayleigh Robbins. Robbins was two-for-four with a pair of doubles in her previous trips to the plate.
Edwards nibbled and missed with her first pitch but drew a foul ball with her next delivery and then pulled ahead in the count when Robbins took a second strike. Edwards went for the kill on the next pitch, but Robbins crushed a line drive to center field. Dagger.
After blowing a 5-0 lead, the Lady Eagles found a way to win another district crown. Purdy improved to 23-5 on the season, earning a berth in a Monday sectional game at Forsyth. The Lady Panthers defeated Hollister to win the Class 1 District 9 championship.
