Down 7-3 after three innings, the girls on Century 21-Rick Lansford weren't optimistic about their chances.
Poplar Bluff Realty hadn't lost all season. It looked like another sure victory.
"We told the girls to stay calm, stay focused, and they came through, and they won the game, and it was awesome," Century 21 coach Kathy Lightner said.
Century 21 tied the game in the fifth, avoided a potential walk-off in the bottom of the sixth, and tacked on five more runs in the seventh to win the Parks Dept. Sub-Junior League Tournament 12-7 over Poplar Bluff.
"We are shocked and we are very, very happy. The girls played an awesome game," Lightner said.
With one out in the top of the fifth, Century 21 rolled things over to the top of its lineup and they connected for four straight singles. Then Clarissa Johnson smacked a two-run double and smiled all the way to second base.
After Century 21 went three up and three down in the top of the sixth, Kyleigh Ethridge hit a leadoff single for Poplar Bluff and took second on an overthrow.
Liuvia Conner, in her first year playing softball, then connected for a groundout to the right side that moved the potential walk-off run to third, and smiled as she went back to the dugout.
"They have a chance to become ballplayers if they want to keep putting the work into it. They have potential," Poplar Bluff coach Dale Blancett said of Conner, as well as his other first-year players.
Ethridge, though, was stranded.
"I couldn't really look. I was trying to not look. I was just super proud of these girls. They have come a long ways this season," Lightner said. "Every member of this team has improved. We had some who had never hit the ball until this week, so hitting has improved dramatically.
"Fielding, they have been working as a team. They know how to make plays they didn't have a clue about at the beginning of the season. We have half of our team are first year players, so I am just super proud of them. I never imagined it would be a championship game."
With the international tiebreaker in effect for extra innings, Century 21's Emma McCracken started on second base, and just like they did in the fifth inning, the top five hitters in the lineup all safely reached base.
Ava Monaghan and Addy Valenzuela highlighted the burst with back-to-back RBI triples.
"I was excited because we did good the last two innings and I felt like we could hold them again," Monaghan said.
Poplar Bluff went three up and three down in the bottom of the seventh.
"I felt really happy and I knew that we were going to win first," said Addison Lightner, who hit second and was 3 for 4 with three runs and a double.
Combined, those five were 14 for 16 for 11 runs, a home run, two triples and a double. Century 21 had 18 total hits.
Poplar Bluff, meanwhile, got hits up and down the lineup. Ten different players contributed to Poplar Bluff's 15 total hits.
"I had girls, first year girls who were hitting the ball tonight and nobody ever gave up. We were behind (Wednesday) to make it to this night and we came from behind and we had a shot to do it tonight, too," Blancett said. "They had a little more timely hitting than we did, but it was a good game, though. Two good teams."
Parker Ernst was 3 for 3 with two runs, a home run and a triple to lead the offense.