Reece DeSimone had already made a big play with her bat, but it was her glove that deserved the play of the game.
The Jefferson City second baseman made a diving catch on a ball down the right-field line to end the game and strand the tying run at third base Tuesday in the Lady Jays' 5-4 win against the Hickman Kewpies at Vogel Field.
"That's as good as it gets," Lady Jays coach Zac Miller said. "That ball's kind of in 'no man's land' over there. For her to be able to lay out and make that catch, that's huge.
"It's either on the line or in foul territory, she's got nothing to lose."
Both teams were coming off strong performances this past weekend in the Capital City Invitational. The Lady Jays finished runner-up in the 16-team tournament, while the Kewpies placed third.
"Hickman has been playing very good softball lately, and we have been too," Miller said. "We knew it was going to be a dogfight against a huge district opponent. The girls were a little amped up for this game for sure."
Jefferson City led 5-3 entering the top of the seventh. After Hickman's Emily King hit a leadoff single, Lady Jays pitcher Mychael Jett got back-to-back infield pop-ups.
Brooke Green hit a two-out triple into the right-field corner, scoring King to make it a one-run game. Pinch hitter Josie Moore hit the first pitch she saw for a low liner down the right-field line.
"With a runner on third for the tying run, I wanted to do everything I could (to get to that ball)," DeSimone said.
Jefferson City left the bases loaded in the second inning, but the Lady Jays pushed through with three runs in the third.
DeSimone and Kara Daly hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. Megan Green followed with a two-run single into the right-center field gap to put the Lady Jays ahead 2-0.
Jefferson City opened five of its six innings at the plate with a leadoff single.
"That's softball," Miller said. "Any time you can get that runner on early and nobody out, you have a lot more you can do with it."
Later in the inning, Green scored from third on a throwing error from Brooke Bates' sacrifice bunt attempt to make it 3-0.
Hickman answered with a solo home run by Athena Wheeler top begin the fourth. The Kewpies loaded the bases with no outs later in the inning, but Jett got a strikeout and Daly snagged a line drive at shortstop that started an inning-ending double play.
"That's where we feel real comfortable, is with our defense," Miller said.
DeSimone hit a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the fourth to give the Lady Jays a 4-1 advantage.
"We had a baserunning mistake that kind of took the wind out of our sails, but then the next pitch, Reece hits it over," Miller said. "That kind of got the momentum swung back in our dugout."
Olivia Wallace added an single to score Daly to give Jefferson City a 5-1 lead after four innings.
Hickman (12-2) trimmed its deficit to 5-3 with a two-run single by Green in the fifth. Green went 3-for-3 with three RBI to lead the Kewpies.
Jett struck out two and walked one to earn the win, scattering 12 hits in seven innings.
"She does a great job of hitting her spots, trying to get us those ground balls," Miller said.
Daly went 3-for-4 with three singles to lead the Lady Jays and Addison Morgan added a pair of singles.
The Lady Jays now have two wins against district opponents, having defeated Rock Bridge earlier this season on the road. They host Battle next Tuesday for another chance to help their district seeding for next month's tournament.
"We knew going in this game was going to be tough," DeSimone said. "It's good to have this one under our belt, to have this confidence."
Jefferson City (7-2) plays Thursday at Blair Oaks on Honor Our Heroes night at the Falcon Athletic Complex. The JV game will begin at 5 p.m., followed by a ceremony to recognize both active and retired veterans. The varsity game will start around 6:45 p.m.
Hickman won the JV game 10-1. The Lady Jays finished with two hits, one each by Justice Green and Chloe Sooter.