Poplar Bluff overcomes 2-run deficit twice in extra innings, stuns Notre Dame in 11th

Poplar Bluff players celebrate after getting the final out of the eighth inning Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, at Bobby Strenfel Field in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

DAR/Brian Rosener

POPLAR BLUFF — Down a run in the sixth inning, the Mules answered.

Down to their final out and trailing by a run in the seventh, the Mules answered.

Down two runs in the 10th, the Mules answered.

Down to their final out, again trailing by two runs an inning later, the Mules answered and then some more.

Kennedy Zgaynor finally put Poplar Bluff ahead with a two-out, game-winning hit in the 11th as the Mules outlasted Notre Dame 9-8 at Bobby Strenfel Field.

“I was about to cry, that was awesome,” said Poplar Bluff senior Ella Zgaynor of the ending.

It was quite a home opener for the Mules, who beat Notre Dame for the first time since 2017.

“We did a great job of staying focused, staying in the game and making the right plays every time,” Mules coach Joel McDuffey said.

Poplar Bluff (8-6) overcame one-run deficits in both the sixth and seventh innings when Notre Dame (7-4) got two-out hits.

The Bulldogs had a chance to retake the lead in the eighth when Kadi Dohogne’s two-out hit plugged the gap. Right-fielder Lauren Webb threw to Kennedy Zgaynor for the perfect relay to the plate as Morgan Courtney put down the tag in time.

“One hundred precent heads-up defense,” said McDuffey, who a few innings earlier predicted that Webb might have a hand in the outcome.

“She’s a defensive killer right now,” McDuffey said of Webb. “She was struggling at the plate and I did pinch-hit for her just to calm her down a little bit.

“I did tell her, you’re going to come back after this and you’re going to win the game for us.”

Flash forward to the 11th with the Mules trailing by two runs, Webb came to the plate with runners at first and second and two outs.

With a 2-2 count, a pitch in the turf put the runners in motion and the throw to third ended up down the line. Emilee Cheek, who led off with a single, scored while Rahlmann, who reached on a one-out single, headed to third. When the ball got away from Notre Dame’s left fielder, Rahlmann was rounding third to score the tying run.

Webb then drew a walk and moved to second when Morgan’s hit was stopped by a diving shortstop. Kennedy Zgaynor then pounced on the first pitch she saw, sending it up the middle to win it.

“I love it when I can tell the future,” McDuffey said.

“I wanted (Webb) to understand that even though she’s having a bad day, she’s still going to do something good.”

Zgaynor drove in three runs and had three hits along with Rahlmann, who also picked up the win in relief. Cheek, Casey and Courtney each had two hits for the Mules.

“At the end, they gutted it out and wanted it worse than we did today,” Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said.

The Mules also tagged out a runner between third and home on a one-out squeeze play in the 10th but Dohogne followed with a home run to left field for a 6-4 lead.

Courtney’s one-out double to the wall in left got the Mules within a run before a sacrifice fly by Kennedy Zgaynor tied it.

In the 11th, Ashley Carrow hit a two-run homer to put the Bulldogs ahead.

“We still kept our energy up in the dugout and then came back the next inning and, by golly, scored two more runs,” Ella Zgaynor said.

Poplar Bluff scored in the first inning for the 10th time this season to take a one-run lead, but fell behind 2-1 in the second.

Adrianne Casey’s first career homer pulled the Mules even in the third.

It stayed that way until the sixth when Notre Dame retook the lead on a two-out RBI single by Carolyne Cork after the Mules couldn’t complete an inning-ending double play.

Kennedy Zgaynor’s two-out bloop hit fell in front of the center fielder to score her older sister as the Mules pulled even again in the sixth. With runners at the corners, a sharply hit ball by Breann Thresher struck the runner in the leg, keeping Poplar Bluff from taking the lead.

The Bulldogs got consecutive two-out hits by Halle Ressel and Ashley Carrow, who doubled for a 4-3 lead in the seventh.

Madelyn Hefner drew a walk to start the bottom of the seventh but was still on first base after a pair of pop ups to the second baseman. Clara Rahlmann tied it when the junior sent a 1-1 pitch to the left-field wall down the line. That allowed Hefner to score and Rahlmann ended up at third where she was stranded on a fly out.

Thresher pitched 9 2/3 innings, striking four and allowing four earned runs on 13 hits and four walks.

Dohogne, Carrow and Ainsley Burnett each had three hits for Notre Dame while JC Smith and Cork each had a pair.

Notre Dame, which was recently ranked in Class 5 of the state coaches poll, has lost three straight and four of five.

“We got to find ways to win,” Graviett said. “That’s what we’re not doing right now, struggling a bit.”

The teams will meet again at Notre Dame on Oct. 4 and could also meet in the postseason.

The Bulldogs travel Wednesday to North County while Poplar Bluff next heads to Naylor on Thursday.