HIGH SCHOOL: JACKSON REACHES DISTRICT FINAL

The matchup high school softball enthuisiasts wanted to see is a reality as Jackson posted a 9-1 victory over Poplar Bluff on Saturday to set up the district championship game with Cape Central.

"They knew they had to get by this game before we could get Cape Central again," said Jackson coach Becky Riney, who recorded her 200th career win at Jackson. "They wanted to play Cape as bad as me."

The district final will be played at Arena Park on Monday at 4:30 p.m. Central (20-6) advanced to the district final on Thursday with a 15-0 rout of Farmington. Jackson and Poplar Bluff were supposed to follow that contest, but heavy rains pushed the semifinal contest back to Saturday.

Jackson (12-15), the No. 2 seed, has fallen to top-seed Cape Central by scores of 3-0 and 3-2 this season. Outhit nine to seven on Saturday, the Lady Indians used speed and aggressiveness on the basepaths to set up scoring opportunities.

"We have to run the bases pretty aggressively because we don't have big hitters, but we've got some speed," said Riney.

In the first inning, the Indians set the tone of the game when Jeanna Bolen got a bloop single over the second baseman's head, stole second and advanced to third on a soft liner to left by Amanda Bollinger. Bolen and Bollinger later scored on Poplar Bluff miscues to stake the Indians to a 2-0 lead.

Jackson picked up one run in the second inning on only one hit.

In the fourth, Melissa Sander led off with the only hit of that inning. Sander was sacrificed to second by Wendy Blankenship before two Lady Mule errors and more aggressive baserunning resulted in the Lady Indians plating three more scores to take their lead to 6-0.

Following a scoreless fifth inning, the Lady Indians tacked on their final three runs in the sixth. A walk to Ashley Myer followed by another Lady Mule error on an easy pop to right field by Lindsey Meyr set Jackson up with runners on first and third with two outs. Back-to-back singles by Bolen and Bollinger knocked in two. Bolen's speed accounted for the third as she eventually came home on a passed ball.

Bolen, Bollinger and Sander led the Lady Indian offense with two hits each.

Casi Childers went the distance on the mound allowing nine hits and one run, as Poplar Bluff pushed across its only tally in its last at-bat.

Jackson's defense was solid as they came up with big plays at key times to kill Poplar Bluff rallies.