Jackson survives rally to down Poplar Bluff in softball district play

Jackson junior Katie Garner had seen a nine-run lead shrink to one when she stepped to the plate in the fifth inning of Wednesday night's Class 4 District 1 opener against Poplar Bluff.

"We're kind of used to the pressure -- all of us," Garner said. "We've all been in that situation and you've just got to keep a calm head and deliver."

Garner did just that, hitting a two-out grand slam to give the third-seeded Indians some breathing room and eventually a closer-than-the-scoreboard-showed 16-8 victory over the sixth-seeded Mules.

"We were kind of down after the third and fourth inning whenever they came back a little bit, but we're really good at two-out rallies," Garner said. "That's been our thing this year, so we just got started and kept it going and pull out with a win."

After Jackson built a 9-0 lead through two innings, Poplar Bluff scored runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to pull within a run at 9-8.

Jackson's Chelsea Dye doubles against Poplar Bluff during the second inning Wednesday. (Fred Lynch)

"They did come back," Poplar Bluff coach Julie Gambill said. "We're on a rebuilding year and I'm proud that the girls came through and played as a team this last game. They made Jackson work to keep that lead."

Indians freshman pitcher Mallory Jones struggled with her control during the middle of the game.

"We started making the pitcher work harder," Gambill said. "We made her commit to throw strikes, and when we got runners on base, we took advantage of passed balls and wild pitches. We had some girls come through on the short game and the long game, so I was happy with that."

Jones walked eight runners in the game and fought back tears in the circle as she walked three batters in a row in the fifth inning.

"She just lost the strike zone a little bit," Jackson coach Amanda Forester said. "She's young and mentally she's just not quite where she needs to be. She has grown tremendously through the year from the first game until now. She's thrown so much better. She's learned so much more. She's just really got to work on the mental aspect, and it just takes games."

Jackson's Mallory Jones delivers a pitch to a Poplar Bluff batter during Wednesday's game in Jackson.

Jackson added three more runs after Garner's slam in the fifth, and Jones did not give up another hit or walk in the game.

"I felt pretty good that my team was depending on me and I pulled through for them," Jones said.

Five Jackson batters recorded multiple hits on the day, but it was Garner that stood out. She finished with three hits in five at-bats and drove in seven runs. She had a two-run double in the first and an RBI single in the second to go along with her home run.

"My pitcher pitched a noble game," Gambill said of Poplar Bluff starter Amy Stucker. "She's had an aggravated ankle since the Jackson tournament, and I've lost some other players due to injury, but Jackson really brought the offense tonight."

Jackson finished with 13 hits and drew seven walks.

"We've been really hitting the ball better, seeing it a lot more," Forester said. "We've talked about it a lot more, the mental part of hitting. Hopefully that they really think about when they step in the box what they have to accomplish."

Jackson will face No. 2 Farmington in the semifinals at 6:15 p.m. today.

Poplar Bluff 003 230 0 -- 8 7 2

Jackson 450 070 x -- 16 13 2

WP -- Mallory Jones. LP -- Amy Stucker. HR -- Katie Garner (J). 2B -- Mollie Crader (J), Katie Garner (J), Brittany Jones (J), Chelsea Dye (J). Multiple hits -- Jackson: Crader 2-4, Demesha Huddleston 2-3, Garner 3-5, Melanie Dockins 2-4, Dye 2-4. Poplar Bluff: Hillary Succaw 3-5.