It should come as no surprise that Wednesday's Class 3, District 8 quarterfinal softball matchup between the North Callaway Ladybirds and the Fulton Lady Hornets was a white-knuckle showdown.
Senior center fielder Hannah Braun scored what proved to be the winning run on a wild pitch with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to lift No. 5 Fulton to a 5-4 victory over No. 4 North Callaway at the Fulton High School athletic complex.
Braun's decisive run turned out to be necessary after freshman designated hitter Kelsey Coil launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to bring the Ladybirds within the final margin.
With the win, Fulton (9-16) moves on to a semifinal matchup against No. 1 Southern Boone at 5 p.m. today.
"I could tell before the game that the intensity was there, with it being North Callaway," Lady Hornets head coach Laura Dooley said. "I could tell that the girls were ready to play -- in their attitude and the way they hustled."
The loss ended North Callaway's season at 10-12.
"It's always a rivalry, it's always a nail-biter," Ladybirds head coach Lauren Elkin said. "I would have liked to have had a couple of extra innings."
Braun led off the Lady Hornets' seventh with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice and advanced to third on a sacrifice fly. She then raced home with the climactic run on the wild pitch.
Fulton overcame a 2-0 deficit when it tallied three runs in the second. The Lady Hornets added a run in the fifth.
Braun went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in, while sophomore shortstop Rachel Snethen was 2-for-3 and scored a run. Sophomore first baseman Anastacia Galbreath went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
Freshman starter Autumn Lungstrum threw a complete game to earn the victory for Fulton. Lungstrum allowed four earned runs on seven hits, struck out one and walked five.
Coil finished 2-for-4 to pace North Callaway, while junior third baseman Sarah LaPlante was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Senior center fielder Meagan Thurman went 2-for-3 and also scored a run.
Sophomore starter Brynn McGrath went the distance in taking the loss for the Ladybirds. McGrath (6-5) surrendered five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits, recorded five strikeouts and issued three walks.
Crumpton, Withers advance
to state golf championships
BOLIVAR -- New Bloomfield juniors Shannon Crumpton and Ashtin Withers qualified for the Class 1 girls' state golf championships during Wednesday's Sectional 2 championships at Silo Ridge Country Club.
Crumpton -- a three-time state qualifier -- advanced by shooting a 95. Withers, a two-time qualifier, carded a 98.
"I was very pleased with Shannon and Ashtin; they both did a really good job," New Bloomfield head coach Debbie Cuno said. "(Silo Ridge) is a top-notch course and there are a lot of potential problems.
"They managed the course very well."
The Class 1 state championships are Oct. 18-19 at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield.
Greenville College.............3
Westminster volleyball......0
GREENVILLE, Ill. -- The Lady Blue Jays slipped to 7-10 overall and 6-4 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after Tuesday night's 25-24, 25-20 and 25-23 loss to the Lady Panthers.
Sophomore outside hitter Molly Owens topped Westminster College with seven kills. Freshman defensive specialist Megan Boschert and sophomore outside hitter Alex Berry also tallied 17 and 12 digs, respectively, while senior setter Erin Rustemeyer recorded 19 assists.
Greenville improved to 13-5 on the season and 7-1 in the SLIAC with Tuesday night's victory.
The Lady Blue Jays travel to St. Louis to play in the Washington University Bears Classic on Friday and Saturday. Westminster opens against the University of Dallas (3 p.m.) and Washington University (5:15 p.m.) on Friday, then faces Mount Union (10 a.m.) and Webster University (12:15 p.m.) on Saturday.
Westminster tennis (M).....9
Missouri Baptist.................0
Head coach Dave Dyson recorded his first collegiate victory Tuesday as the host Blue Jays blanked the Spartans at the Elder Tennis Courts.
Westminster College concluded its fall season with a 1-1 record.
Here are Tuesday's singles and doubles results:
*No. 1 singles: sophomore Tony Stephenson (WC) defeated Nick Jannett (MBU) 6-2, 6-3; No. 2: senior Chris Claypool (WC) def. Desmond Perrigord (MBU) 6-2, 6-1; No. 3: sophomore Anthony Becker (WC) def. Pershard Owens (MBU) 6-4, 6-2; No. 4: freshman Alec Belden (WC) def. Nick Deaton (MBU) 6-1, 6-2; No. 5: junior Justin Arnold (WC) def. Mark Antalick (MBU) 6-0, 6-0; No. 6: junior David Berry (WC) def. Tyler Gerler (MBU) 6-0, 6-1.
*No. 1 doubles: Claypool/Becker (WC) def. Perrigord/Owens (MBU) 8-2; No. 2: Stephenson/Arnold (WC) def. Jannett/Deaton (MBU) 8-3; No. 3: Berry/sophomore Kyle Tolbert (WC) def. Gerler/Geoffrey Schlafly (MBU) 8-1.
FMS' Alcorn, Beck both
medal at Mexico Invite
MEXICO -- Eli Alcorn and Libby Beck each medalled on Tuesday to guide the Fulton Middle School boys' and girls' cross country teams at the Mexico Invitational.
Alcorn (9 minutes, 16 seconds) and Beck (11:35) both finished 18th in their respective races.
Also placing for the FMS girls -- who placed seventh overall -- were Brooke Baysinger, 41st in 12:19; Rachel Quick, 51st in 12:39; Megan Coleman, 61st in 13:12; Katie Herzing, 62nd in 13:15; Bethany Libbert, 66th in 13:31, and Tiffany Hartley-Barton, 101st in 19:31.
Other place-finishers for the FMS boys, who came in ninth overall, included Jacob Garnett, 45th in 10:45; Conner Foote, 46th in 10:47; Devin Wiebelhaus, 56th in 11:07; Michael Hubert, 57th in 11:10; Chris Banks, 96th in 13:31, and Kyle Johnson, 99th in 13:42.
The Hornets and Lady Hornets will complete their season at the Patriot/Trailblazer Invitational at 4 p.m. Friday.
Hallsville..........................24
SCMS football (7th/8th)...20
HALLSVILLE -- Cory Hanger accounted for 154 yards of total offense and scored all three of the Bulldogs' touchdowns as they suffered their first loss of the season Tuesday night.
Troy Hentges also threw for 68 yards for South Callaway Middle School (4-1), while Tyler Adams had a 25-yard catch.
Hanger led the Bulldogs' defense with 14 tackles, followed by Trevor Miller and Cory Collins with six apiece.
SCMS ends its season at Camdenton at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12.