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Meierer’s winning mindset in center circle and batter’s box carries Nixa over Ozark

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With the current pollen count in Nixa at 8 on a scale of 1-10, Maddy Meierer had to go into mind over matter mode Tuesday.

“I wasn’t going to allow myself to be sick,” the Lady Eagles pitcher said. “I’m stuffed up. But I came in today thinking I had to get over my sinuses. I wanted to focus on my pitching. I knew I was going to pitch the best of my life and I think I did.”

Meierer beat Ozark for the second straight time, as Nixa pulled out a 4-2 triumph in a matchup of unbeatens within the COC.

“A big part of today was my Mom,” Meierer said. “She was telling me, ‘Maddy, you’ve got this, you’re going to pitch the best game of your life.’ She knew I was going to blow it out of the water.”

Meierer threw strikes on 80 of her 117 pitches while striking out seven and scattering nine hits. She fired a first-pitch strike to 22 of the 31 batters she faced.

All this after she was overwhelmed by her allergies in her previous start. She walked four, hit a batter, yielded a home run and gave up seven runs in two innings against Poplar Bluff on Saturday.

“My allergies make me feel feel drousy, like I’m heavy and I can’t throw fast,” Meierer said.

“Her allergies hit her hard Saturday,” coach Matt Walker said. “Her first pitch (was a fast ball), but I said, ‘Was that a changeup?’ Poplar Bluff exploded for six runs off of her in the second inning and she was throwing about 51 mph. I went out there and she said was sick and her whole body hurt. I got her out of there and let her rest and recover so she could get the start today.”

Meierer feels she matches up well with Ozark, noting where some of the Lady Tigers stood in the batter’s box.

“A lot of them stand off the plate. Whenever they stand off the plate like that, I feel more confident throwing outside and throwing harder,” she said.

Meierer also bounced back at the plate. She came into the game batting .143 and struck out in her first at-bat, but proceeded to rip a pair of singles, including an RBI-single in Nixa’s two-run sixth inning.

“I’ve been struggling so much hitting. But this game I think I proved myself,” Meierer said. “I know how to adjust at-bat. My first at-bat, as soon as I struck out I knew I was pulling off.”

“It looked like she was stepping out a little bit and pulling off. So, she made an adjustment and took the next two up the middle,” Walker said. “That was a key adjustment for us to give us a two-run cushion.”

Meierer earned All-COC First-Team honors as a sophomore last year as much for her hitting as her pitching. She batted .412 a year ago.

“We’ve been patiently waiting for her to get out of (her slump) this year and get rolling,” Walker said.

“I went into this season feeling like I was going to be the best hitter on the team, like I was last year,” Meierer said. “I think that got into my head and I felt like I was trying to hit home runs. I needed to recoup, go back to my mechanics and just try to make contact.”

Nixa (8-4 overall and 3-0 in the COC) broke a 2-all tie in the sixth by scoring on an Ozark error. The Lady Eagles also benefitted from a Lady Tigers miscue while scoring their first run in the fourth.

“We held them at bay and were able to outlast them,” Walker said.

“We needed this after playing awful over the weekend,” Meierer said. “We push and strive to be better. We came back and showed how we can play today.”

Phoebe Gardner supplied an RBI-single while going 2-for-3. The junior shortstop is batting .571 and upped her career hits total to 97. Earlier this season, center fielder Katie Faulk joined Nixa’s 100-hit club.

“Phoebe did what Phoebe does,” Walker said. “There’s not a lot to her swing. She doesn’t try to do too much. She drives and hits hard ground balls and line drives.”

Ozark pitcher Jordyn Foley was just as effective as Meierer. She gave up only six hits, all singles, and struck out six.

“I thought we might hit (Foley) But she did a great job,” Walker said.

Ozark (9-4 and 2-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead, as first baseman Savannah Hughes belted a two-run single the opposite way to right field.

Center-fielder Abby Ford was 2-for-4 to pull within a hit of joining the Lady Tigers’ 100-hit club.


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