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Big inning lifts Neelyville past Naylor for district softball title
VAN BUREN — The Neelyville Tigers needed just one inning to put to rest who would end up winning the MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 softball championship.
The Tigers scored 10 runs in the bottom of the second inning to break a scoreless tie and roll to an 11-1 over the Naylor Lady Eagles in the district final Friday evening at Sterling Field.
“It feels so good,” Neelyville senior Payton Reinbott said. “This is something that we’ve been working for all season — and to finally get it done feels great.”
As she did in Thursday’s district semifinal win over Van Buren, Reinbott had another big game Friday, allowing just four hits, four walks and one run while striking out eight in five innings of work against the Eagles.
“It is really big to be out there and working — and for my pitches to be working,” Reinbott said, “and then when I do miss, for my team to pick me up. It’s everything.”
Reinbott also had a big game at the plate Friday, getting a pair of hits and driving in three runs, including the Tigers’ 11th run of the evening in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game.
“Like I’ve said all year long, if Payton’s on, we have a shot at any game,” Neelyville coach Cindy Siebert said. “She was on another level today in the circle and in the (batter’s) box. She was huge up at the plate too.”
After going down in order in the bottom of the first inning, the Tigers (14-9) came alive in the bottom of the second. Mackenzie Cordell and sophomore Leah Million both singled and freshman Delayni Dobbins reached on an error to load the bases, then Hannah Hover — another freshman — connected for a base hit to give Neelyville a 2-0 lead. Reinbott followed that up with a two-run single of her own, then Lexus Hagood singled home Hover and Reinbott to make it 6-0.
Million and Makenzi Davis added RBI singles when they batted for the second time in the inning, and sophomore Brooke Griffin capped the rally with a two-run single of her own to make it 10-0
“Everybody stepped up right there,” Siebert said. “We had a lot of younger girls — including a couple of freshmen — that came in big in the clutch there. We’ve struggled to hit [Naylor pitcher Alyssa Urich] up until now, but we found a way to make an adjustment and we just took advantage of it.”
The Eagles (13-7) scored their lone run of the game in the top of the fifth inning when Whitney Mitchell singled in Lyndsea Moore to briefly stave off the 10-run mercy rule. However, Reinbott singled home Dobbins in the bottom of the inning to set the final score and enforce the mercy rule.
The Tigers are back in action Wednesday when they travel to central Missouri to take on District 2 champion Vienna (18-4) in a sectional playoff.