CASSTOWN – Miami East found itself in a battle against Springfield Shawnee, but managed to escape with a 4-3 victory with a walk-off two-run double in the bottom of the seventh.
Shawnee took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the second inning and held Miami East scoreless until senior Rachael Haak got the Lady Vikings on the board with a home run in the bottom of the fourth to cut the deficit in half, 2-1.
The Lady Vikings then tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth with another solo home run, this time off the bat of freshman Jadyn Bair.
The game remained knotted to 2-2 heading into the final inning where Lilly Adams connected on a home run in the top half of the inning to give Springfield Shawnee a 3-2 lead.
Good teams somehow find ways to win close games and that’s exactly what Miami East did in its final at bat as Jaycee Roeth connected on a two-run double to score Jacqueline Kadel and Whitney Enis, who had reached the bases on a base hit and a walk.
Miami East will face Waynesville in the district final on Thursday at 5:00 pm at Lebanon. It is a rematch of last year’s sectional final where Miami East won 5-3 in nine innings on a walk-off home run.