Farmington softball team rallies for 10-9 victory against Jackson

~ The Indians lost an 8-4 lead over the final two innings in the district semifinals

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- The Jackson softball team got a second last chance from Farmington on Thursday night.

The Knights made sure that chance was the final one and held on for a 10-9 come-from-behind win in the Class 4 District 1 semifinals.

With two outs and the tying run on base for Jackson in the bottom of the seventh inning, Mallory Jones' slow-roller down the first-base line was fielded cleanly.

But Farmington first baseman Tayler Benne turned to flip the ball to an empty first base bag rather than take it herself.

The play moved the tying run to third and prompted a visit to the circle by Farmington coach Brett Hale.

"I just said, 'Relax. Kaila's going to throw one in there and we're going to have to make a play,'" Hale said about pitcher Kaila Nash. "I just said, 'You've got to want the ball hit to you, and whoever it is is going to make a play.' And they did."

Second baseman Jordan Martin fielded leadoff batter Mollie Crader's grounder and threw to first to preserve third-seeded Farmington's one-run victory.

The ground out was the last gash in a painful final two innings for Jackson, the second seed, which led 8-4 entering the sixth inning.

Farmington batted around in the top of the inning and scored six times to take the lead and cap its scoring.

"We've been hitting the ball pretty well lately, and I knew if we'd just stick it out I thought the hits would come," Hale said. "I was worried about us kind of hanging our head there when we got down. We didn't and we finally got the bats rolling there toward the end. Once we scored, it kind of came in a wave there."

Farmington recorded four hits in the inning after getting just five in the first five innings.

"They're probably making adjustments throughout the game, too," Jackson coach Amanda Forester said. "By then they're maybe the third or fourth time through the lineup. They had seen her [pitcher Mallory Jones] a couple times and they had a couple bloops, but they came in swinging the bat and putting it in play and made things happen, so props to them."

Jackson committed six errors in the game, including a costly one with two outs in the sixth, which allowed Farmington junior Colleen Boyer to come to plate.

Boyer tripled home the go-ahead run.

"Mistakes are yours to take, I guess, in my opinion," Forester said. "They're putting the ball in play, which is good for them, but you know at this point in the season we've got to be making those types of plays."

Farmington jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Jackson freshman designated hitter Shanda Reed homered to drive in two runs in the second inning.

"We'd been hitting hard all game," Forester said. "The first couple innings there we weren't finding the holes. Then to actually finally get those first couple runs on the board was a big confidence boost. It kind of put the momentum there in our favor."

Jackson added three runs in the third, including one on a home run by senior Katie Garner.

The Indians scored twice more in the fourth inning, and senior Brittany Jones homered in the fifth to tack on another run and give her team the 8-4 lead.

"Their home runs kind of dragged us down a little bit," Boyer said. "Seeing those go over, we're wanting something. You just kind of get frustrated with yourself, and of course everyone's getting frustrated with themself. You just have to start believing, and we started doing it as a team."

Farmington advanced to face Hillsboro in the district title game at noon Saturday, while Jackson finished its season with a 10-15 record.

"They have a lot of heart and they showed it in the game, coming from behind early and getting a pretty hefty lead there," Forester said. "We just couldn't hold on."

Farmington 301 006 0 -- 10 9 2

Jackson 023 210 1 -- 9 14 6

WP -- Kaila Nash. LP -- Mallory Jones. HR -- Shanda Reed (J), Katie Garner (J), Brittany Jones (J). 3B -- Colleen Boyer (F). 2B -- Jones (J). Multiple hits -- Farmington: Sonya Hahn 2-4, Boyer 2-4, Nash 2-4, Rachel Porter 2-4; Jackson: Garner 2-4, Melanie Dockins 2-4, Jones 2-3, Reed 2-4, Jones 3-4. Records -- Jackson 10-15.