SPRINGFIELD — Worried she was tongue-tied while being interviewed Thursday, Kaylee Schlenker offered to make things easy for a reporter.
“Just make something up, that’s what I did when had to interview somebody for my (mass media) class,” she said kiddingly.
There was no need to make anything up to heighten the drama or overstate the manner in which Schlenker delivered in the clutch for Nixa. The senior third baseman capped the Lady Eagles’ comeback in their 5-3 Class 5 District 6 semifinal victory versus Carthage.
Schlenker drove in three runs with a bases-loaded, line-drive double with two outs in the fourth inning.
She was also plenty quotable while relating her feelings after her hit and her noble role for Nixa.
“There was so much going on. After my hit, I was thinking, ‘I can’t believe that just happened,’” Schlenker said. “Hitting in a timely manner like that, it’s probably the biggest hit I’ve ever had. I was so excited to get us going.”
Coach Matt Walker and her Lady Eagles teammates were excited for her. Schlenker has endeared herself to her teammates the past two seasons by accepting and thriving in a position many players would not welcome.
Schlenker has a .342 batting average going into Saturday’s District final. She’s hitting at a higher clip than five players above her in Nixa’s lineup. Her 25 runs scored are third on the team and she has 20 RBIs. She could easily be hitting cleanup for the Lady Eagles. But as a good bunter with exceptional quickness, she fits the profile Walker likes as almost a second lead-off hitter at the bottom of his lineup.
“I try to do well with that and know I can do my job when needed down there,” Schlenker said. “There are a few times I’ve thought, ‘Man, this sucks.’ But I know if I do my job, the top of the lineup can hit well and if I’m on, I can get around the bases. That’s really all this sport is, do your job and play for your team.”
“She makes jokes about hitting ninth and I know deep down inside of her, it’s hard for her, especially since she’s a senior,” pitcher Maddy Meierer said. “She’s really a team player. I’m so proud of her.”
“I’ve never been prouder of Kaylee,” shortstop Phoebe Gardner added. “I love her. She’s so selfless.”
Walker has made sure to let Schlenker know she’s not being punished by hitting ninth.
“Nobody wants to hit in the nine-hole and I’ve told her, ‘You know I don’t use the nine-hole as a typical nine-hole.’ She says, ‘Yeah, I know,’” Walker said. “She understands and has embraced it by doing a great job. You don’t want someone there who is an automatic out. I want someone there with speed there who can put the ball in play, turn the lineup over and be on base. Our leading RBI hitter is Phoebe in the two-hole. You don’t see that very often. It says a lot about our girls in the eight- and nine-holes.”
Thursday was actually a great day to be hitting ninth. Carthage’s nine-hole hitter, Ashlyn Brust, was 3-for-3.
Brust had an RBI-single and scored to give the Lady Tigers (22-14) a 2-0 lead in the third inning.
Nixa (22-8) was shut out by Carthage pitcher Jensyn Elder until the fourth. Meierer ripped an RBI-single and Chloe Krans and Paige Garretson beat out grounders for infield singles to set up Schlenker’s heroics.
The Lady Eagles prepared extensively on how to handle Elder’s rise ball.
“After I popped out my first time, I thought about hitting down on the ball,” Schlenker said. “I knew I had to put it down and put it in play. I really exaggerated and thought it through. I needed to watch the rise ball out of her hand and I thought, ‘Hit the top of the ball.’ I didn’t want the bottom of the ball at all.”
“We worked a lot in practice on keeping our hands high and taking the rise when it’s a ball,” Gardner said. “You want see it out of her hand and be selective until she throws you one lower that is your pitch. If the umpire was calling the rise ball (for a strike) when it was high in the zone, we wanted to keep our hands up and almost chop on top of it to get a line drive out of it.”
“Our strategy was not to swing at (the rise ball), don’t give it a second thought,” Walker said. “That’s her money pitch and it’s tough. We did a pretty good job laying off if it. She went away from it for a while. We did a good job following our game plan.”
Meanwhile, Meierer was overpowering. She struck out nine while fanning all but two hitters at least once in Carthage’s lineup.
“I knew I was going against a great pitcher,” Meierer said. “I’m competitive. I always want to be the best pitcher out of the two teams on the field.”
Looking back on their comeback, the Lady Eagles were confident they would rally.
“We’ve done drills in which we have jayvee versus varsity and start it off with the varsity being down 5-0,” Walker said. “We tell them to find a way. They’ve learned to deal with it and we’ve had several comeback wins.”
“We’re a fighting team,” Meierer said.
“We stayed positive the whole time,” said Gardner, who singled and scored in the fifth. “We’ve been in that situation and have practiced for it. The thought of losing didn’t even cross our minds.”
Next up for Nixa is Ozark at 4 p.m. Saturday. The title tilt is slated to be held at Nixa, with plans to move to Springfield Central again, if the Lady Eagles’ field is unplayable.
