High school roundup: Jackson, Central pull upsets in first round of district softball tourney

A pair of local teams pulled off upsets Wednesday in the opening round of the Class 4 District 1 softball tournament in Farmington, Mo.

Jackson continued its late-season roll by knocking off Poplar Bluff 9-2. The Indians entered as the No. 5 seed, while the Mules were the No. 4.

Central jumped on Sikeston early and held on for the 4-1 win. The Tigers entered as the No. 6 seed, while Sikeston was the No. 3.

"We're really starting to peak at the right time," Jackson coach Amanda Forester said.

Hannah Thompson was the winner in the circle. She struck out six and allowed only one earned run.

Brooke Whitledege connected for a double and three RBIs while going 3 for 5. Katie Garner went 2 for 4 with a double, while Mollie Crader went 2 for 3.

Ashley Cook drove in a pair and Jessica Jones knocked in one for the Indians (10-16).

"They definitely hit the ball better today," Poplar Bluff coach Dustin Benson said. "I think they had a lot of momentum coming in beating Kelly on Monday."

Jackson scored two in the second, third and fourth innings to open an early lead. It tacked on three in the fifth.

"Once we got down 4-0, it just felt like to me we were in a hole and the girls looked like they were beat," Benson said. "We had potential at any time to break out. We hit the ball hard but right at players."

Emily Myers led off the game with a single for Central and came around to score on Brittany Perkins' single.

"I think the big thing for us is we were intense before the game," Central coach Amy Blattel said. "The kids jumped on the offensive board early."

The Tigers went back on the offensive in the third with three runs. Perkins and Victoria Schabbing both tripled in the inning, and Taylre Scott and Tori Ourth both drove in a run.

"We got on them early, and when you put runs across the board early, that's very big for us," Blattel said.

Sikeston pushed across its run in the sixth.

Myers earned the win, going all seven innings with five strikeouts and three walks. The Tigers did not commit an error.

"Defensively, we've definitely tightened up and I think that's really big for us," Blattel said. "Emily did a great job hitting spots, mixing up her pitches. Many things went right tonight."

The start times for today's game have been moved up because of the forecast. Jackson will face top-seeded Hillsboro at 2:30 p.m., while Central will play No. 2 seed Farmington at 4 p.m.

JACKSON 9, POPLAR BLUFF 2

Jackson 022 230 0 -- 9 15 2

Poplar Bluff 000 110 0 -- 2 5 3

WP -- Hannah Thompson. LP -- Brandy Perry. 2B -- Brooke Whitledege (J), Katie Garner (J), Jessica Jones (J), Hillary Succaw (PB). Multiple hits -- Jackson: Jessica Jones 3-4, Brooke Whitledege 3-5, Mollie Crader 2-3, Katie Garner 2-4; Poplar Bluff: Hillary Succaw 2-3, Breanna Moore 2-3. Records -- Jackson 10-16.

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CENTRAL 4, SIKESTON 1

Central 103 000 0 -- 4 8 0

Sikeston 000 001 0 -- 1 5 1

WP -- Emily Myers. LP -- Hopson. 3B -- Victoria Schabbing (C), Brittany Perkins (C). Multiple hits -- Central: Perkins 3-3, Myers 3-4.

Class 1 District 1

A hit batter with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning ended host Chaffee's season with a 5-4 loss to Neelyville.

The Red Devils, the tournament's No. 5 seed, led 4-0 after scoring a run in the top of the fifth inning but surrendered two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings before allowing the winning run in the seventh. Fourth-seeded Neelyville led off the inning with a single, a walk and another hit before Chaffee pitcher Montana Estes hit a batter to end the game.

Estes took the loss for Chaffee. She allowed five earned runs on four hits while walking five batters and striking out two over six innings.

Chaffee finished the season with a 6-19 record.

Oran, the No. 3 seed, advanced with a 9-0 victory against Van Buren.

The Eagles used a 19-hit effort to sail into the semifinals.

Claire Seyer struck out 10, while allowing three hits and no runs to earn the win.

Halle Woodfin went 3 for 4 and drove in a run. Abbey Anderson pounded a pair of hits, including a triple, in the win.

Taylor Irwin, Amanda Williams and Lauren Nenninger each drove in a pair for the Eagles (12-7).

Oran will face second-seeded Naylor in today's 4 p.m. semifinal.

NEELYVILLE 5, CHAFFEE 4

Chaffee 100 210 0 -- 4 4 1

Neelyville 000 022 1 -- 5 5 3

WP -- McDaniel. LP -- Estes. 2B -- McDaniel (N), Morgenson (N). 3B -- Hannah Bedwell (C). Multiple hits -- Neelyville: Sheppard 2-4. Records -- Chaffee 6-19.

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ORAN 9, VAN BUREN 0

Van Buren 000 000 0 -- 0 3 3

Oran 101 115 0 -- 9 19 0

WP -- Claire Seyer. LP --Cipponeri. 3B -- Abbey Anderson (O), Halle Woodfin (O). 2B -- Halle Woodfin (O). Multiple hits -- Oran: Claire Seyer 3-4, Amanda Williams 3-4, Halle Woodfin 3-4, Shelbie Seyer 2-4, Abbey Anderson 2-4, Courtney Scheeter 2-4, Taylor Irwin 2-5; Van Buren: Cipponeri 2-3. Records -- Oran 12-7.

-- From staff reports