Bluejays win first district game in decade, top Mustangs
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Bluejays sophomore shortstop Taylor Coffelt makes a throw across the diamond as Northeast Nodaway captured a 7-5 win over North Nodaway in the Class 1, District 16 Tournament.
Heading into Wednesday night’s Class 1, District 16 Tournament first-round softball matchup, North Nodaway and Northeast Nodaway had already met three times, with North Nodaway winning two out of three.
North Nodaway entered districts as the No. 4 seed and Northeast Nodaway was the No. 5, but with two teams familiar with each other, seeding can be thrown out the window.
Behind a fifth-inning rally, the Bluejays defeated the Mustangs and won their first district game in 10 years, according to Northeast Nodaway head coach Danny Smith, 7-5.
“We’ve seen these girls play, we know how they play and we know where they hit the ball,” Smith said. “We know how Breann (O’Riley) pitches. It was just a matter of making adjustments.”
Adjustments had to be made because through the first four innings, North Nodaway senior pitcher Breann O’Riley held Northeast Nodaway to one hit.
“We pitched them a little different. For the first four innings, I thought we were having a lot of success pitching against them,” North Nodaway head coach David Carroll said. “I thought Breann pitched well tonight. She located her pitches well, but we made some mistakes and that hurt us.”
Behind O’Riley’s hot start, the Mustangs gave her some run support early on.
With two on and one out in the bottom of the first, junior first baseman Madison Thompson hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield. The throw from Bluejays senior second baseman Allie Runde went out of the reach of first baseman junior Alicia Smith. The error scored North Nodaway freshman Makayla Cross and junior Kelsi Oberhauser.
North Nodaway added an another run in the second inning on an RBI single by O’Riley scoring freshman Kristin Herndon to make it 3-0.
“They jumped out on us early, but we kept fighting back,” Smith said. “That’s the way we play, we just find a way.”
Sure enough, Northeast Nodaway found a way. In the top of the fifth inning, senior catcher Jill Spire led off the inning with a single. After a fly out to deep center by senior Talina Nelson, Runde walked to put runners on first and second for pinch hitter junior Emily Redden.
Redden reached on an error by North Nodaway’s Thompson and Spire came around to score to narrow the deficit to 3-1.
The next batter, junior left fielder Maggie Schmitz, reached on a throwing error by O’Riley to load the bases. Northeast Nodaway reached the top of its order and sophomore shortstop Taylor Coffelt roped a base hit which scored Runde to make it 3-2.
With the bases loaded and two away, Alicia Smith came to the plate and came through for the Bluejays, hitting a ball between the legs of North Nodaway freshman third baseman Audrey Trimble and scoring three runs to give Northeast Nodaway the 5-3 advantage.
Northeast Nodaway tacked on another run in the inning when Smith came around to score on a single by senior pitcher Dallis Coffelt.
“The second time through the order, we always make the adjustments,” Smith said. “It’s just one of those things, I don’t know if it was nerves or if it was a visual thing, but the girls always hit better the second time through the order.”
After leading 3-0 through the first four innings, North Nodaway saw itself playing from behind for the first time in the bottom of the fifth.
“They got a hit and we made a mistake,” Carroll said. “We had two or three mistakes that inning, but we came back and played the rest of the game.”
The Mustangs plated a run in the fifth frame on a bases loaded walk to freshman Keagan O’Riley scoring freshman Emma Hart.
However, Northeast Nodaway pitcher Dallis Coffelt escaped the inning with limited damage allowing just the one run and forcing North Nodaway junior Bethany Herndon to fly out to right field with the bases loaded.
With the score 6-4 heading to the seventh, Danny Smith knew he needed his offense to give Coffelt an insurance run or two before facing North Nodaway’s top of the order.
With two out in the inning, Alicia Smith walked and went first to third on a wild pitch giving the Bluejays a runner in scoring position with Coffelt at the dish. Coffelt managed a base hit, scoring Alicia Smith from third to make it a three-run ballgame.
“That was huge,” Danny Smith said. “I gave Alicia (Smith) a big ol’ hug for going first to third on a pass ball. We needed that extra run. It’s one of those things where it takes the pressure off of Dallis if we score an extra run.
“I knew Hopkins was going to fight back. They had the top of the order coming up in the bottom of the inning. We just needed a little insurance.”
With the top of the order to deal with in the bottom of the seventh, Coffelt tried to make quick work of the Mustangs, but her counterpart, Breann O’Riley had other intentions.
O’Riley led off the frame with a single to right field. On the next pitch to Cross, she laced a double into the outfield, putting runners on second and third with nobody out.
With runners in scoring position, Oberhauser hit a fielder’s choice to second base, scoring Breann O’Riley from third, making it 7-5.
Trailing by two with two outs left, North Nodaway turned to its cleanup hitter, Thompson.
“We had first base open and we were wondering if we should walk Madison (Thompson) or not,” Danny Smith said. “As soon as she hit that ball, I was like ‘uh-oh.’ She almost got that one. She almost did.”
On a 0-1 offering, Thompson blasted a shot to deep left-center, but freshman Makayla Adwell reeled it in to save the game.
“Madison (Thompson) came really close on that ball in the seventh,” Carroll said. “If that ball was gone, we would have probably played a little differently on the basepath. But, it’s just one of those things, she hit has hard as she could. She probably hit it at least 195 feet, but Adwell made the play.”
North Nodaway’s last opportunity came from Keagan O’Riley, but on the first pitch from Coffelt, O’Riley popped out to short to end the game and securing the victory for Northeast Nodaway, 7-5.
North Nodaway finished its season 9-10 and Carroll said his squad has made a lot of improvements throughout the year.
“We started six freshmen pretty much out there on the field all year,” Carroll said. “Our assistants were here last year, and we knew we needed to improve the fundamentals for the team. I felt like we improved a lot in the fundamentals and I thought that’s a good sign for them for future years.”
Northeast Nodaway improves to 8-11 on the season and takes on Jefferson at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the second round of Class 1, District 16 Tournament action in Stanberry.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Northeast Nodaway senior pitcher Dallis Coffelt squares up a pitch against North Nodaway on Wednesday in Class 1, District 16 Tournament action. The Bluejays won their first district game in 10 years, 7-5.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
North Nodaway freshman left fielder Makayla Cross takes a swing on Wednesday during a 7-5 loss in the first round of the Class 1, District 16 Tournament to Northeast Nodaway.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Senior pitcher Breann O’Riley and North Nodaway saw their season come to an end on Wednesday with a 7-5 loss against Northeast Nodaway in the Class 1, District 16 Tournament.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Senior third baseman Talina Nelson throws on the run after scooping a North Nodaway ground ball during Wednesday’s Class 1, District 16 Tournament win.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Northeast Nodaway senior catcher Jill Spire nails a pitch against North Nodaway in a 7-5 win on Wednesday in Class 1, District 16 Tournament action.
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Mustangs freshman third baseman Audrey Trimble picks up a grounder and makes the throw against Northeast Nodaway in a 7-5 loss on Wednesday.
