Neosho falls 3-2 to Nixa in Class 6 District 6 semifinal

May 18—SPRINGFIELD — The seventh-seeded Neosho Wildcats baseball team fell just short of another upset as it lost 3-2 to third-seeded Nixa in their Class 6 District 6 semifinal on Friday night at Kickapoo High School.

The Wildcats (10-23) entered the game after a 2-1 extra-innings upset of second-seeded Republic in their quarterfinal game on Wednesday, but their luck ran out Friday at the hands of the Tigers, who will face top-seeded Glendale on Saturday for the district title.

Neosho got on the board in the top of the third inning when Cade Spiva smacked a line-drive double to left field that sent Hudson Williams across the plate.

Nixa (23-14) responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the frame, when Wyatt Vincent singled to plate Broden Mabe and tie the game at 1-1.

The Tigers added two more scores in the bottom of the fourth inning off a Rylan Michel single that brought Adam McKnight and Maxon Nicoll home.

Neosho tightened the game to 3-2 in the top of the sixth inning, courtesy of a Brody Crane single to right field that scored Alex Rodriguez, but that is all the Wildcats could muster as they watched their season come to an end.

Neosho outhit the Tigers 7-5, with Spiva finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Neosho starter Quenton Hughes was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs on five hits with six strike outs and three walks in four innings of work.