Alexis Morton's night in the circle appeared to be over.
Then Collinsville loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth inning, and Claremore needed its starter back.
Morton returned and slammed the door.
The right-hander escaped the bases-loaded jam without surrendering a run, then worked around another baserunner in the seventh to finish off the Lady Zebras' 6-2 District 5A-4 road victory Thursday.
The late escape preserved an offensive surge led by Tilly Andrews and Bella Weaver as Claremore [7-7, 2-0] completed a two-game district sweep of the Lady Cardinals.
Andrews finished 3-for-4 and a triple shy of the cycle, collecting 2 doubles and a 2-run home run. Weaver also had 3 hits and drove in 2 runs, while Caroline Messner added 2 hits as the Lady Zebras finished with 10.
Claremore did its biggest damage during a 4-run fifth inning, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 advantage.
Morton's pitching line was more complicated than the official game log suggests. She started the game before being pulled early, then returned with the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth. She finished the game from there, keeping Collinsville scoreless during both of her late-inning appearances.
Shaylee Huey handled the bulk of the work between Morton's stints and kept the Lady Zebras within striking distance while its offense found its footing.
Lady Cardinals starter Kylee Hill allowed 5 runs — only 1 earned — on 8 hits over 5 1/3 innings. She struck out 3 and walked 2 before Emma Helm finished the game.
Claremore struck first in the opening inning.
Weaver singled, stole second and scored when Andrews ripped a two-out double to right, giving the Lady Zebras a 1-0 advantage.
Collinsville answered with all of its offense in the second.
Adde Davison led off with a double and moved to third on Bailey Mayfield's single. Pinch runner Kaydynce Harp stole second, and Davison came home on the play to tie the game.
Kennedi Hammer followed with a single before Mollie Cavanaugh drove home Harp with another base hit, putting the Lady Cardinals ahead 2-1.
Claremore prevented the inning from becoming more damaging.
Weaver fielded Ashtyn Gilkey's grounder at third and retired Hammer attempting to advance, while the Lady Zebras eventually escaped with two runners stranded.
The deficit held through the next two innings before Claremore's lineup erupted in the fifth.
Bella Michael singled and advanced to second on an error before Weaver brought her home with a single to center, tying the game at 2-all.
Presley Stimson's sacrifice bunt moved Weaver into scoring position, and Reavis delivered a two-out single to left to put the Lady Zebras back in front, 3-2.
Then Andrews provided the exclamation point.
The sophomore launched a 2-run home run to left, scoring Reavis and completing a 4-run inning that transformed Claremore's deficit into a 5-2 advantage.
The Lady Zebras added another run in the sixth.
Messner singled before Michael's sacrifice bunt moved her to second. Weaver then drove a triple into right, scoring Messner and stretching the advantage to 6-2.
Collinsville immediately threatened to erase some of that cushion.
Jordan McKeen singled to begin the bottom of the sixth before Huey walked Parker Knight and Davison, loading the bases with nobody out.
That brought Morton back into the circle.
With no margin for error, Morton escaped without allowing anybody to cross the plate. Mayfield was retired for the first out before Hammer popped up to shortstop Addison Reavis. Cavanaugh then lifted a fly ball to left, where Stimson secured the third out and stranded all three runners.
Andrews nearly added to Claremore's advantage in the seventh, leading off with her second double, but the Lady Cardinals kept the deficit at four.
Morton made sure it didn't matter.
She walked Gilkey to open the bottom of the seventh, but the Lady Zebras' defense quickly erased the runner. Ford lined a ball to Reavis at shortstop, who doubled courtesy runner Kailyn Breeding off first for two outs.
Kaylee Bendidi followed with a single, but McKeen popped out to second to finish the game.
Claremore did not commit an error and turned the seventh-inning double play to help preserve the victory. Collinsville's 6 hits came from six different players — McKeen, Mayfield, Cavanaugh, Davison, Bendidi and Hammer.
For the Lady Zebras, though, the decisive moments came from Andrews' bat in the fifth and Morton's return to the circle one inning later.
One broke the game open, and the other made sure the Lady Cardinals never got a chance to put it back together.
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