Following 13 games in 12 days, the Poplar Bluff softball team is ready for the Labor Day weekend.
The Mules capped their challenging start to the season Tuesday by beating Neelyville 11-1 in six innings in their first appearance at Bobby Strenfel Field.
"They are tired, we're all tired," Mules coach Lisa Boyer said. "There are some things we definitely need to work on.
"We need time in practice and a little breather."
Meanwhile, Neelyville (1-2) is just getting started on its schedule.
"It's Game 3, I've got to remember that," Tigers coach Aaron Burton said. "It's Game 3 and not Game 13."
Poplar Bluff senior Adrienne Stucker struck out seven of the nine batters she faced for a perfect three-inning start while freshman Kylee Rogers didn't allow a hit over the next three innings.
Neelyville's lone run scored on a two-out error after the leadoff batter was hit by a pitch.
The Mules (9-4) came in averaging two errors per game and have put together just three errorless efforts.
"It was better than we have done because we've been making multiple errors in a game," Boyer said.
Neelyville only put two balls in play, both flyouts, against Stucker (6-1), who matched her season high with seven strikeouts for a third time. Rogers, who also pitched an inning in a combined, four-inning no-hitter against Eldon, struck out the side in the fifth and retired the final seven she faced.
The Mules scored five runs in the first and led 8-0 heading into the third inning following a three-run homer by Lauren Alexander. The sophomore drove in four runs, adding a double to her third career homer that cleared the fence in the left-field gap.
Brylee Misner also had two hits, driving in the first run with a single, while Emma Johnson had three RBIs. She scored after a two-run double off the wall in the first inning when Audrey Lack's two-out RBI single put the Mules up 5-0.
In the second, Shelby Sievers drew her second walk with two outs, Misner singled up the middle before Alexander's blast.
Neelyville then retired eight straight before Alexander's double in the fifth. The Mules ended the game early with a two-run sixth that featured a throwing error.
"I can't say enough good things about my pitcher," Burton said of Payton Reinbott, who struck out six in 5-plus innings.
"She's a freshman that goes out there with the heart and attitude of a senior."
Reinbott allowed just one earned run in a 12-3 loss Friday to Kelly in which the Tigers trailed by a run heading to the fourth. They committed eight errors in that game and two Tuesday.
"By watching some of these last couple of games people could think 'man what are they doing in practice,' and I really feel like we take more ground balls and fly balls than anybody," Burton said. "It's just you've got to come out and play today. Getting them to convert the confidence they have in practice to the game, that's the kicker for a coach."
Alexis Nippe scored the lone run for the Tigers when she was hit by a pitch to start the fourth. Emily Dollins grounded out to move Nippe to second before Makenzie Davis hit a slow chopper down the third-base line. Sievers' throw ended up in the dugout, allowing Nippe to score to the dismay of her mother.
"I kept telling her this morning, 'practice your trot back to the dugout when we strike you out,'" Boyer said of Nippe, who homered among her three hits against Kelly and grounded out twice.
"She's like, 'wait, you're mother of the year.'
"I always try to strike her out, I really do," Boyer added. "It's competition. We're competitive."
The Tigers also feature Boyer's daughter Cindy Nippe, an assistant coach. The win moved Boyer 25 shy of her father Cotton Alexander's win record at Poplar Bluff.
The Mules have a week off before hosting Notre Dame.
"We have a week off her so we'll be able to get in there and work on some things that need to be worked on," Boyer said.