Lafayette softball gets past Jackson at home, into final-four berth

WILDWOOD — On home turf against a streaking Jackson softball squad, Lafayette defended the roost with a 4-1 victory to advance to the Class 5 state final four for the first time in 17 seasons.

It was a tale of totally different programs: Jackson eyeing its first semifinal in its history and Lafayette with eight state championships since the 1978 season.

Led by pitcher Abby Carr, a two-way talent committed to Missouri, the Lancers (28-5) broke an early scoreless drought in the third inning before using a couple of strong rallies to give them the juice they needed to get past Jackson.

The Indians (28-9) showed lots of promise, headed by a strong day in the circle from junior arm Ashlyn Dawes, but they couldn’t string together the few opportunities Carr allowed them along the way.

“That’s why Mizzou wants her,” Jackson coach Shawn Wilding said of Carr.

Dawes pitched well enough to win in spots, but you could feel the momentum swing at points as even when Lafayette couldn’t quite find her changeup, it’d set up some long rallies to score in pairs.

The Lancers brought pop to the plate, and in the harsh sun of an otherwise breezy Saturday afternoon in suburban St. Louis, the Jackson outfield lost a couple of key fly balls.

Dawes finished her day pitching the full seven innings, allowing 11 hits and two walks, striking out four but giving up all four Lancer runs in the loss.

Jackson, albeit stout, couldn’t break free on offense even with a handful of runners reaching scoring position.

In total, Jackson had won 18 of its past 19 games going into Saturday, with a chance at the program’s first final four on the line against the very team that kept it from being a perfect 19 of 19.

Like the year prior, the Indians ran into a tough, versatile St. Louis-area squad with tons of talent and, with the stakes highest, the bats ran cold in the quarterfinals.

“That’s what dominant pitchers do,” Wilding said “They get you on with no outs and you get punched through.

“It’s just the game, that’s why she’s very effective. She can strike you out. That strikeout is very effective.”

Both sides traded runners early on, but Lafayette got the first breakthrough with two deep flies into the outfield, one for a triple and another for a double, which brought home the Lancers’ first two runs of the game.

But Jaylie Walther responded instantly for Jackson, getting on with her own deep double drive before an infield single from Miley Conklin brought her home to cut the deficit to one.

A big putout at home on a sacrifice fly attempt nearly helped the Indians escape the fifth scoreless, but Sydney Berger blasted a line drive to score Maddie Boes, upping the Lancers’ lead to 3-1.

One quick rally later, Sidney Vogt got Lafayette on the board once more to make it a three-run game on another single as the throw to the plate came up high.

Conklin singled to start the sixth, followed by a double by Kimmora Carothers, but Jackson couldn’t bring them around as one of its last big chances of the game came up short.

The Indians put a runner on to start the seventh inning prompting the dugout to spark up in a flash, but Jackson couldn’t stave off Carr’s deep arsenal.

The Indians put themselves in spots to have a chance, but a sole run never allowed them to dig out of a deep hole.

Carr’s final line: seven innings pitched, four hits, four walks, 12 strikeouts … one win.

Everything you could’ve asked for out of such a highly-touted prospect, headed to a Super Regional team.

Berger and Vogt both led with three hits for the Lancers, while a quartet of Indians finished with a single hit.

Lafayette advances to the Class 5 semifinals in Springfield starting Thursday against the Eagles of Liberty North.

Jackson finishes its season with a record of 28-9, making another big splash in the tenure of Wilding with another SEMO Conference title and another trip to the quarterfinals, a hallmark accomplishment for a rising program.

A season ago, the focus was about losing seniors and attempting to replicate the glorious 2023 season. If anything, Jackson can at least say it did that.

Leaning on the young talent of the past few years, Wilding seems more than excited for the incoming future of this team.

“These juniors have been in this game twice,” Wilding said. “As seniors, they’ll have paid their dues.”