Hannah Carvel’s one-out base hit in the bottom of the 8th inning pushed Ozark past Republic 3-2 and into the state quarterfinals. Carvel’s RBI hit marked the end of a classic matchup between two of the best teams in southwest Missouri in the state sectionals.
Ozark had broken on top 2-0 when Lauren Chambers drilled a two-run homer over the left field fence in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Behind a dominating pitching performance from senior Brittany Nimmo, it looked like that would be enough. Republic had only one hit — by senior Abby Norris — through the first five innings.
But Norris wasn’t about to let Republic quit. She came to the plate with two outs in the top of the 5th inning and slashed an opposite field home run over the right field fence, hitting the scoreboard and lighting a spark under her teammates. The score remained 2-1 as the inning ended, but coach Lee Dishman says Norris’s homer made a huge difference in the team’s attitude, after having lost to Ozark two previous times this year.
“Once Abby hit the home run, we figured out was human,” says Dishman. “We told the girls all you’ve got to do is beat them one time. We had them on the ropes. We had our spots, they had their spots. It was just two good softball teams battling it out, trying to move on. They got the breaks. We didn’t.”
The biggest break came in the bottom of the 8th, after Nimmo had struck out the side in the top of the inning. Bailey Elliott walked to lead off the inning and went to second on a sacrifice by Madi Jamieson. That’s when Carvel roped a line drive into the gap in left-center, driving home Elliott with the winning run.
Nimmo finished the game with 19 strikeouts for Ozark. Rook struck out nine and went toe-to-toe with the Ozark senior hurler, who’s planning to play college softball at North Carolina State.
“Rachel matured in front of everybody’s eyes and turned into an elite pitcher,” says Dishman. “All year she’s been that great/good pitcher, and tonight she matured into an elite pitcher and hung in there with a Division I pitcher and said “You’re not better than me. I’m just as good.’ And she showed it tonight. I couldn’t be prouder of her.”
The loss brings the end of a record-breaking season for Republic. The Lady Tigers finish with 24 wins, the most ever by a Republic softball team. They scored 246 runs, also a record. And their 26 homers demolished the previous school record of 15 in a season.
Rook ended the season with 249 strikeouts, shattering the old school record. She’s the only Republic pitcher to strike out more than 200 batters in a year.
The game also marks the last in a Republic uniform for six seniors: Morgan Cantrell, Taylor Gold, Abby Norris, Cheyenne Roberts, Micaela Thorne, and Molly Zinecker. Dishman says their contribution played a big part in the team’s success this year.
“They were sophomores when I came into here, and they bought into what I’ve been teaching for three years and it showed this year,” Dishman says. “This doesn’t ruin our season. Ozark’s a good team. We’re a good team, and we’ll find them again.”
Ozark will meet Jefferson City in the state quarterfinals. The Lady Jays upset 29-1 Blue Springs in their state sectional game, 1-0.