Both Neosho baseball coach Eddie Crupper and Joplin coach Kirk Harryman stressed the importance of a victory to their teams prior to Tuesday’s meeting between the two rivals.

However, in all reality, the game served merely as a dress rehearsal for the two district foes. Before the first pitch was thrown at 4:30 p.m. by Joplin’s John McDermid, it was rather clear that Joplin and Neosho were battling for position in the upcoming Class 4 district playoffs.

Parkview, Nixa and Kickapoo are jockeying for the top three spots and Springfield Central is likely the sixth and final seed. The winner, by all accounts, would be the No. 4 seed and the loser would be No. 5.

That means a rematch is on the horizon Monday at Kickapoo High School.

So, it’s hard to judge how much stock you can put into the outcome Tuesday, but for the record the Eagles showcased an impressive offense and won 13-3 in six innings.

Perhaps troubling for the Wildcats was the fact that the Eagles (10-16) stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to win the game by run rule in a three-inning span.

“Everyday is different,” said Crupper. “We play great on Monday (against McDonald County) and play terrible today. How we play will determine next Monday.

“We weren’t holding anything back today. Last year we beat them in the regular season and they beat us in districts.”

Neosho (8-14) had chances early to build a lead on McDermid, but couldn’t get the big hit. In the first inning, two runners were left stranded. Ty Anderson had an RBI single in the second inning to score Scott Wilson, but the Wildcats left the bases loaded.

Joplin, coming off a victory over Class 7A No. 1 Fayetteville on Monday, tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning when Jake Brummer had an RBI double.

Neosho tacked on single runs in the third and fourth innings to grab a 3-1 lead. Kyle Dickens singled and his courtesy runner, Chris Bevis, scored on Wilson’s double to right field in the third inning.

Anderson reached on a two-base error in the fourth and scored on an error on Drew Miller’s hard-hit grounder, making it 3-1.

On defense, Neosho was doing its part to keep Joplin out of scoring position. Taylor Byrd was thrown out trying to take second on a wild pitch in the third inning. Later in the inning, Shayne Hoke, a Missouri Southern signee, doubled, but was picked off second base by pitcher Anthony Westfield and shortstop Carter Marion.

However, the Neosho defense and pitching struggled in the fourth inning as Joplin struck for five runs on a mere three hits.

Barrett Noirfalise walked and moved to second base on Travis Kunce’s single. With one out, Brummer, a sophomore, hit a home run to left field. The homer gave Joplin a 4-3 lead and it never looked back.

“Jake has been scuffling so that was a sign of improvement,” said Harryman, a Neosho grad. “He had a good day batting.”

Cory Simmons singled and moved to second base when Dane Kolkmeyer reached safely on an error with two outs. Byrd was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for Joplin.

Hoke then hit a two-run single up the middle, making it 6-3 in favor of Joplin.

“That three-run homer changed everything,” said Crupper. “We were the aggressor early on, making plays and throwing base runners out. Then we started giving them bases. Funny thing, momentum. We need to believe we can change it back.”

Neosho was trailing by the three runs when it batted in the sixth inning and looked to have some things going the right way. Anthony Hendrix singled and Anderson reached on an infield single then.

A strikeout and a groundout put two outs on the board — well, not technically since the scoreboard at JHS wasn’t working — and moved runners to third base and second base, respectively.

The Eagles escaped the jam, catching Anderson off second base and starting a rundown. Hendrix was thrown out at home on a play, going 1-6-5-2 for those scoring at home.

With that jam escaped, Joplin didn’t give Neosho another chance to bat. The Eagles scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure the victory.

It all started with a leadoff home run by Drew Douthitt, his first career homer. Kolkmeyer walked before going to second on a groundout.

The last eight batters reached safely to end the game.

Hoke had an RBI double, making it 8-3. Noirfalise followed with an RBI single and moved to second base on a fielding error. McDermid hit a pop fly that landed just fair inside the left field line to drive in another run. Simmons had an RBI single, before Douthitt drew a bases-loaded walk, making it 12-3. Kolkmeyer singled in his second at-bat in the inning to drive in Garrett Ramsey, a courtesy runner, for the final run of the contest.

Neosho returns to action Thursday, hosting East Newton at 4:30 p.m. on Senior Night.

The Eagles will host Springdale, Ark., Wednesday at home.