Morgan Jones was mostly okay that the only thing that kept her from a 4-for-4 day Thursday was hitting into bad luck. She hit two line drives right at Glendale fielders.

The Nixa pitcher had a harder time accepting the strike zone of the home-plate umpire. She wasn't getting the strikes around the outside corner she had hoped for.

"I kind of got a little frustrated," Jones said. "But I think I did good job (staying composed) after coach said, 'Calm down.' You can't control it. You just have to work through it.'"

Jones worked her way to a 10-0, five-inning Nixa victory versus Glendale in a Class 4 District 10 semifinal. She threw a three-hitter.

"I had a little talk with Morgan about showing no emotion and that you can't control what the umpire is going to call," Lady Eagles coach Matt Walker said. "She did good job settling down after that."

The run support Jones received surely help her state of mind, as well. Nixa (15-14) plated three runs in the first inning, one in the second, five in the fourth and clinched the game with its 10th run in the fifth.

Jones was among the headliners in the Lady Eagles' 12-hit attack. She had two hits, as did Jaden LaBarge, Emma Vincent, Sam Aring and Maya Herman. 

It was Jones' third two-hit game in Nixa's last seven games. But she still had endured an 8-for-28 slump to end the regular season.

"She was definitely in a slump," Walker said. "She was struggling for a couple of weeks. She's getting out of it and coming around. But she keeps hitting right at girls."

"I'm finally putting better swings on the ball," Jones said. "I'm hitting like I should be."

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