North Callaway sophomore Megan Schmidt was one out away from a perfect game on Thursday.
By the time Montgomery County's Aliviah Fischer ripped a single in the seventh inning, Schmidt struck out five through seven innings and the Ladybirds scored nine runs in the 9-0 home victory against their Eastern Missouri Conference rival, who are ranked sixth in the Class 2 state poll.
"There was lots of spin," Schmidt said. "Spin was great. Even my infielders would come in and say, "That spin looked amazing. I don't know what you're throwing at them, but they are not hitting it.' It was great to hear that from them."
Faith Cash finished 2-for-3 with three RBI, Liv Knoepflein went 2-for-3 with a two-RBI double, and Kymorie Myers was 2-for-3 with a RBI and made a diving catch in center field to end the game.
"(Schmidt) did a great job of hitting her spots and keeping people off-balance," head coach Mariah McKee said. "She let her defense work. She had popups and soft ground balls to get outs."
North Callaway plays two games Saturday at Harrisburg, starting at 10 a.m. against the host Lady Bulldogs (7-8) and then 11:30 a.m. against Moberly (5-8).
Look for the full story in the Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, edition of the Mexico Ledger.
