After the Mules made quick work of West Plains, they honored their three seniors. Including the one who died about a year ago.
On senior night, Poplar Bluff beat West Plains 19-4 in three innings. The Mules scored 10 runs in the first inning, seven in the second, and Lauren Alexander singled in the walk-off run in the bottom of the third.
In a postgame ceremony, the Mules went through the traditional senior night ceremony for Abby Gregory and Lexi Nippe. They walked across the field arm in arm with their parents as the announcer read their accomplishments and future plans.
Then Camille McCain's family walked across the field. The announcer read what might have been.
"It was hard. I guess it really hasn't hit me that she has been gone for almost a year and I haven't played all year with her," said Gregory, who played McCain's spot in center field this season.
McCain, Cody Logan and Linda Shulz died in a car crash Oct. 14, 2017. At a July birthday party for McCain, which the Poplar Bluff softball team attended, her family at one point mentioned they were worried about her being forgotten.
The team remembered McCain all season by hanging her jersey on the center field fence, where she would have started this season, prior to each home game. They took her jersey with them on road games and hung it in the dugout.
During the senior night ceremonies, the Mules presented McCain's family with a quilt with everyone's jersey number, included McCain's now retired No. 24.
Then they unveiled a bronze plaque in McCain's honor, hung on the exterior of the Mules' dugout, easily viewable for anyone sitting along the first baseline.
It's a picture of McCain in her jersey, bat slung over her shoulders, and above her the words "The smile and light of our outfield."
"We knew we wanted to honor her in different ways," Boyer said. "It has been a hard season without her. She was kid who would pick everybody up, even me. Today was a bittersweet day."
Nineteen runs is the most Poplar Bluff (9-15) has scored this season, and 15 runs is its biggest margin of victory.
"We finally hit the ball," Boyer said. "We got a lot of bunts down today. I love small ball, and they were giving it to us. So we bunted a lot, but we also had some big hits in some situations, too."
Gregory scored four times and was 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Fellow senior Nippe was 2 for 2 with three RBIs nad had a double. Alexander drove in five runs after going 4 for 4 with two runs.
The top five in the Mules lineup collectively went 13 for 16 with 14 runs and 13 RBIs. Everyone got a hit.
"We've been down in the dugout a lot. I feel like today we came up and we stayed up the whole game. We didn't get down once," Gregory said.
Added Nippe, "If anybody didn't do their job, the next person picked them up. We did what we were supposed to do today."
Nippe also pitched with Alexander, the team's regular starter, suffering from back problems and allowed six hits and a walk with one strikeout in the win.
"We are trying to give her a little more time off. Wednesday, she'll be able to throw hopefully," Boyer said of Alexander.
West Plains (8-14) scored two runs in each of the first two innings.