No. 4 seed Lady Eagles 10-run rule Ozark to earn spot in District final

Published 11:09 pm Tuesday, October 20, 2026

SPRINGFIELD — The first two rounds of Districts have showcased Nixa’s depth throughout its lineup and most surprisingly, even in the center circle.

Tenley Piwko elevated herself from jayvee pitcher to varsity ace in a hurry Monday, firing a five-hitter in the Lady Eagles’ 15-2, six-inning Class 5 District 5 semifinal triumph against Ozark.
Making her postseason debut as a pitcher, Piwko allowed only single runs in the second and fourth innings. Meanwhile, Nixa put up one run in the first, two in the third, four in the fourth, one in the fifth and seven in the sixth.

All this after Ozark beat the Lady Eagles 10-6 less than two weeks ago.

Piwko didn’t pitch in the teams’ first meeting. Nixa coaches hoped the fact the Lady Tigers’ hitters hadn’t seen her before would work to her advantage, prompting the decision to have Piwko pitch.

“That was part of our plan going into it,” coach JD Payne said. ‘A lot of teams haven’t seen Tinley.”

Piwko’s sense of being off of everyone’s radar kept her from being overwhelmed by nerves

“We had all our pitchers warm up. When we were warming up, (Ozark hitters) were focusing on pitches our other pitchers were throwing,” Piwko said.

The right-handed throwing Piwko figured to pitch more varsity innings this year, but inflammation of the biceps tendon near the front of her right shoulder socket has hindered her at times.

“(The pain) has been off and on. I push through it and hope for the best,” Piwko said of her injury. “It can be pretty bad. But I have a high pain tolerance. It didn’t affect me too much (Monday). I felt great. If I do long-toss, it gets my shoulder gets loose.”

Ozark may not have had a scouting report on Piwko, but she felt she knew what to expect from the Lady Tigers’ hitters.

“Most of their girls can hit inside pitches,” she said. “I did a good job with outside pitches. I focused on the outside a lot. I hit my spots good.”

If threw any pitches over the middle of the plate, they were few and far between.

“She nibbles at the strike zone and challenges when she has to,” Payne said. “I knew for a fact she was going to challenge. My expectations for her were to show exactly what she did. She threw strikes and made them put the ball in play. She knew her job and got it done well.’

The Lady Eagles committed no errors.

“My hopes were that I could do what a pitcher is supposed to do and the girls would back me yup making plays,” Piwko said. “Knowing that coach trusted me and the girls had my back helped a lot.”

Piwko helped herself at the plate by ripping an RBI-single. Center fielder Ossie Cooper, third baseman Emma Draile and second baseman Miah Johnson were each 3-for-4 and combined for nine RBIs. Outfielders Bradey Harper and Abby Sloan both had a pair of hits.

All nine Nixa starters had at least one hit, as the Lady Eagles banged out 19 hits.

“I can’t talk enough about our lineup,” Payne said. “From the first hitter to the ninth hitter, anyone can start a rally and make good things happen.”

Piwko agreed opposing hitters could feel intimidated facing a Nixa lineup with no holes.

“We have a bunch of good girls who can put the ball in play and do what they need to,” she said.

No 4 seed Nixa (15-14) entered the post-season with the possibility of finishing with a losing record for the first time since 2015. Now the Lady Eagles will seek their first District championship since 2021 in tonight’s title tilt with Kickapoo (19-13) at 5.

No,. 1 seed Ozark (20-15) was ousted after knocking off every District foe during regular-season play.