DONIPHAN -- After losing to Naylor earlier this spring, East Carter had all the motivation it needed.
The second-seeded Lady Redbirds struck first, scored throughout and ended nearly two decades worth of bad memories in the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament by knocking off top-seeded Naylor 11-3 to claim their first title since 1999 Monday at Quick Creek Park.
"Just like we've done in just about every game this tournament, we kept the pressure on them all day," East Carter coach Chad Kearbey said. "We actually go back and forth with them all the time in the spring and fall, and we just got the better of them today because our girls came to hit, ready to play."
Senior Lauren Copeland said her team was motivated to play the Lady Eagles after losing to them several times throughout her career and earlier this season, 14-9.
"We've wanted this ever since we were in elementary school," Copeland said of winning the title. "It's been awhile since we've beat Naylor because they're always there at the top, but there was no way we were going to end our careers with another loss to them."
Senior Andrea Kearbey had three hits, an RBI and was a home run shy of the cycle for East Carter (8-6), which totaled nine hits.
"I was just focused," Kearbey said. "I tried to stay as focused as possible."
East Carter's focus reached its peak in the bottom of the fifth as Naylor (3-8) tried to rally back from a two-run deficit.
Lexi Day led off with a double and scored on Gracie Gargac's two-out single to cut East Carter's lead to 4-3. The Lady Eagles put another runner on but stranded both to end their final threat.
East Carter's response was quick and effective as Naomi Crowley reached with a one-out single to start the sixth, stole second and took third on a throwing error. Kearbey followed with a walk before Copeland's sacrifice fly gave Crowley enough time to tag up and slide under Day's tag at home for a 5-3 lead.
Shelby Cyr added an RBI bloop single to plate Kearbey and Maddyson Holloway drew a walk before Naylor's defense collapsed.
East Carter's Makenna Moore hit a slow roller back to Gargac, her counterpart, who fielded the ball cleanly before sailing the throw at first base. Cyr scored on the miscue while Holloway rounded third before scoring on another throwing error to push the advantage to 8-3.
With one out in the sixth, Kearbey padded East Carter's lead with a dart down the first-base line for a two-run triple. Copeland followed with an RBI groundout to set the final score.
The Lady Redbirds took advantage of a pair of Naylor miscues in the first to take the lead for good.
Crowley reached on a fielder's choice and took third as the Lady Eagles turned a double play
Copeland drove in her first RBI with an infield single then came around to score as the Lady Eagles committed consecutive errors trying to field Cyr's grounder.
It was the theme of the night for Naylor, which had seven errors accounting for over half of East Carter's runs.
"We just mentally weren't there," Naylor coach Gene Deckard said. "We gave them, I think, their first six out of eight runs in ways that we almost had to dream up to do it."
Courtney Duckett reached on another Naylor error to begin the second and scored two batters later as Kearbey blasted a double up the middle for East Carter's first extra-base hit to leave the infield.
"We just tried to get them flustered early on and grab some momentum, which is what they usually do to everybody else," Coach Kearbey said. "Feels good to be on the other side."
Naylor got on the board a half-inning later as Hannah Cunningham singled with one out and scored on Faith Sullivan's RBI hit to cut it to 3-1.
Brooklyn Loftis, East Carter's leadoff hitter, erased it with her own RBI single in the fourth before Naylor cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth when Maddy Cagle scored on a fielder's choice.
Moore allowed just four more hits and a run to cap a successful week in the circle in her first conference tournament. The Lady Redbirds' freshman hurler finished with three strikeouts and worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh to seal the win.
"She has really stepped up into that role this year and helped us out a lot," Copeland said. "It's been amazing to watch her get more confident as she goes and she kept going tonight."