AUXVASSE, Mo. - Senior first baseman Hanna Knipp's grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning punctuated North Callaway's eight-run rampage and capped off the Ladybirds' resounding 10-0 EMO romp over the Community R-6 Lady Trojans on Tuesday night.
It was a fitting end for North Callaway (11-3, 7-0 Eastern Missouri Conference) after the Ladybirds squandered two chances to extend their 2-0 lead, built on Knipp's two-run single in the first.
North Callaway loaded the bases with two outs in the third, but freshman pitcher Hayley Kimbley grounded out to end the inning. The Ladybirds once again filled the bases in the fourth, but this time with no outs.
Junior center fielder Lani Wilson then cracked a line drive to center that was just a few feet away from being a home run. However, Community came up with a spectacular catch to rob Wilson of a potential grand slam and turned a triple play to suck the momentum away from North Callaway.
"Let's pretend that didn't happen," North Callaway head coach Brandi Thomsen joked after the game. "It's very rare and I think a lot of that was the girls got excited when Lani got the big hit.
"She had been struggling and they just wanted to make a play."
In the fifth, the Ladybirds were determined to break through on the scoreboard. Sophomore utility player Clara Moser got the scoring frenzy started with a two-run double to put North Callaway up 4-0.
Junior left fielder Heather Thurman followed with an RBI single to bring home junior third baseman Harper Thomsen and junior pitcher Kenzie Ausfahl's bunt scored Moser to make it 6-0. Knipp then ended the game with her drive over the fence in left-center.
"It was nice to see the offense come together - we struggled a little bit early and I had to get on them a bit," Brandi Thomsen said. "We came out a little flat and then they kind of figured it out as the game went along."
Knipp finished 2-for-3 with her six RBI to power the Ladybirds' 15-hit attack.
"Hanna's just incredible - when she's able to get ahold of one it's just an amazing thing to watch," Thomsen said. "We're really proud of her and there's nothing better than a walk-off grand slam, so we'll take it."
Ausfahl went 4-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Moser was 1-for-1 with two RBI.
The Ladybirds received stellar pitching from both Ausfahl and Kimbley as they squeezed the Lady Trojans at the plate. Ausfahl started and didn't allow any hits over two innings, striking out five and issuing a walk.
Kimbley (4-1) worked the final three innings to collect the victory, scattering two hits, striking out one and walking one.
Thomsen made the switch on the mound with the mindset of resting Ausfahl after a strenuous workload over the past week.
"Our biggest thing is Kenzie is our number one - we weren't going to throw her today if she had pitched yesterday (Monday's postponed home game against Fulton)," Thomsen said. "We wanted her to take a day off, but with the rainout we decided to pitch her a few innings.
"Kimbley's a freshman, but has come in and done real well for us. She's not a strikeout pitcher, but makes them put the ball in play and gets a lot of pop outs and ground balls, which we like."
The Ladybirds (6-1) won the junior varsity game 6-1.
North Callaway travels to Silex for an EMO matchup at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Stevie Johnson can be reached at (573) 824-2423, or on Twitter @Stevie_FSun.