East Carter hasn't lost a game since Sept. 11. None of its 19 straight wins have been sweeter than Saturday's victory.
Enduring their second straight game in extra innings and their third straight game decided by one run, the Redbirds needed Moore and Moore heroics to get the job done.
In the eighth inning, Jordan Moore broke a 2-2 tie against Montgomery County with an RBI bloop single to send Audrey Carter across the plate for the go-ahead run. Makenna Moore quickly fanned Ashley and Sam Queathem back-to-back to send East Carter to its first MSHSAA Class 2 Semifinal since 2011.
"It is amazing. I mean, these girls have dreamed of this ever since they were young," said East Carter coach Teresa Kearbey, who was an assistant coach the last time East Carter reached the final four. "This has kind of been my goal. Before I leave, I would like to go to state, and it's just an amazing feeling.
"The girls have just battled every single time we've played."
Added Makenna Moore, "Everybody was jumping up and down screaming. Some people were almost in tears at how excited they were. It was a really awesome experience."
A raucous East Carter (22-5) crowd kept its energy going throughout an hour-long delay due to field conditions from Friday night's rain and joined the team on the field to celebrate after its victory.
"It didn't really kick in until I saw all of our fans, how excited they got for us, and it was just amazing," Jordan said. "It's nice to be a freshman and be able to play this game with all these girls."
The preceding action, though, was just as exhilarating.
The Redbirds flew out of the gate with two quick runs in the first inning. Anna Willis earned an RBI when a grounder to first base gave Naomi Crowley enough time to cross the plate and open the scoring. Makenna Moore followed up with an RBI double to quickly double the lead.
Montgomery County responded two innings later, knotting the score. Brooklynn Fischer got on base with a double to center, and Sam Queathem her team's only runs on the board with a two-run bomb to left-center, causing the Montgomery County (11-11) dugout and fans to erupt.
"We were in our huddle after she hit the home run and everyone was telling me it was OK, which I knew it was OK," Makenna said. "I got back in the dugout and (assistant coach Jason Moore) and coach Kearbey kept telling me that it was OK and that we know how to pitch to her now and we'd be fine. And we were."
After that sequence, a defensive struggle ensued.
Makenna Moore seemingly put the ball anywhere she wanted it across the plate and in the infield. She struck out 13 and assisted on three putouts, having a hand in 16 of the 24 outs forced by the East Carter defense against a Montgomery County side that had won four in a row by a combined margin of 38-10 entering the quarterfinal.
"(Makenna) didn't get rattled," Kearbey said. "She didn't let (the home run) upset her. She just kept persevering and moving forward. To me, it looked like she got stronger as she went on. ... She learned her lesson, and she came back of it. That's just the kind of pitcher she is."
Moore and the defense forced a trio of three up, three down innings, including the eighth. After giving up the tying home run, the East Carter defense recovered and allowed just three baserunners for the remainder of the game.
"I knew they were a good team that can hit very well, and I just told myself between every pitch, 'Your best pitch right here. Your best pitch right here,'" Makenna said.
The Montgomery County defense earned a pair of 1-2-3 innings, and pitcher Brooklynn Fischer got out of several jams to preserve the tie as long as she could before Jordan Moore's heroics.
Fischer allowed two walks in the fourth inning with nobody out. With those runners at second and third, she responded with two straight strikeouts and ended the side by forcing a pop fly.
"We got ourselves in a couple of jams, and we stayed up," Montgomery County coach Audra Heimer said. "We got down two runs in the first inning, and that ball game could've went a whole different way, but we fought, and we stayed in the game the whole time. I'm pretty proud of my team for that."
The Redbirds loaded the bases in the sixth by drawing three straight walks in an attempt at a two-out rally, but Fischer struck out Kennedy Thies to end the side without any damage.
"(Fischer) always finds a way to keep us in the game, and as a freshman, that's been pretty nice to see," Heimer said.
Fischer got out of one more jam in the seventh when Naomi Crowley made her way to third with one out. After a bunt attempt was popped in the air and snagged by Sam Queathem, Makenna Moore smoked a liner right into Fischer's glove for the third out. Saturday was Montgomery County's first ever appearance in a state quarterfinal game in school history, and it put up a dogged effort throughout the day.
East Carter advances to the final four to face Trenton (26-2) at 2 p.m. Friday in Springfield, Missouri.
"One game at a time was kind of our focus (during the winning streak)," Kearbey said. "We were calling it the 2.Y.P., the two-year plan of going to state, and finally, today we're like 'Forget about the two-year plan. Let's go one year.' And thank God it worked."