DONIPHAN -- The Naylor Lady Eagles avoided a rain delay at Quick Creek Park by less than five minutes with some smart base running.
With storm clouds looming in a tie game, top-seeded Naylor scored two runs on a Doniphan miscue in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat the fifth-seeded Donettes 6-5 in the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament semifinals Thursday.
After losing a four-run lead in the fifth, Lexi Day singled with one out in the sixth, took second on a passed ball and moved up to third on Chelsey Rigdon's groundout.
With the heart of Naylor's order coming up, Doniphan attempted to quell the situation by issuing an intentional free pass to Naylor's No. 3 hitter Callee Pickrell, who stole second with ease.
The Donettes planned to do the same to clean-up hitter Gracie Gargac, but on the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Kaylee Davis sailed one over her catcher's head which caromed off the backstop. Day scored on a collision at the plate that knocked the ball free from Doniphan catcher Timberly Masching. Pickrell took notice as she rounded third, sprinted and slid under a tag at home to score the eventual game-winner.
"That was one of the most unusual plays I've seen, but you have to be ready any time a pitcher is asked to throw eight intentional balls in a row. Anything can happen," Naylor coach Gene Deckard said. "Lexi was ready on third and I can't take any credit for Callee because she did that all on her own."
Naylor (3-7) reached the finals for the 10th straight year and will play No. 2 East Carter for the title Wednesday. Doniphan (6-9) will face Clearwater in a rematch of last year's third-place game which the Donettes won with a walk-off home run.
Pickrell's heads-up effort proved to be the difference in sending the Lady Eagles back to the title game as Doniphan mounted one more comeback a half-inning later.
Haley Beale reached on an error to start the final frame, moved to third on consecutive groundouts and scored on Brooklyn Morgeson's infield single.
But the rally died as Gargac, Naylor's starter, got a strikeout to close out the game. The Three Rivers commit finished with 10 strikeouts to earn the win.
"She never let anything get to her and got things done when she needed to," Deckard said of his senior pitcher.
Gargac allowed eight hits but did not surrender a run until the fifth when Doniphan got some help of its own from an intentional walk.
Felicia Hart drew a walk to start the inning and advanced to third on Haley Beale's one-out double. Timberly Masching followed with a walk before Paige Eddington, Doniphan's No. 3 hitter, was issued an intentional free pass to load the bases.
After getting a strikeout, Gargac gave up a two-run double to Hannah Ponder which scored Beale and Masching. Eddington rounded third before sprinting home on an errant throw to tie the game at 4-4.
It was the biggest inning for the Donettes, who collected four hits in the first four innings but stranded all four.
Naylor, meanwhile, was firing on all cylinders as it opened up a 3-0 lead in the first.
Day started things off with a single and stolen base before Pickrell smoked a line-drive, RBI single up the middle. The sophomore then advanced to third on Gargac's double before both scored on Emma Moman's RBI hit through the left side.
Maddy Cagle drew a one-out walk in the third and reached third one batter later on Hannah Cunningham's double before scoring on Shelby Sullivan's RBI groundout to increase the lead to 4-0.
Gargac set down the Donettes in order in the fourth before they made their final push.
Having played just 10 games two months into the season with very little opportunity to practice due to heavy amounts of rain in April, the Lady Eagles are well-rested as they go for their sixth conference title in a decade against an East Carter team they beat 14-9 in first week of the season.
"That was then and this is now," Deckard said of East Carter. "Anything can happened and we know that from last year."