Chaffee softball can't find offense, falls to Pilot Grove in semifinal and lands in fourth in Class 1

Chaffee's Shana Burden walks off the field as Pilot Grove celebrates following a Class 1 softball state semifinal on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Killian Sports Complex in Springfield, Missouri. The Red Devils fell, 4-1.

Josh Mlot ~ Southeast Missourian

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — As the Chaffee softball team found itself struggling to generate offense and trailing in the Class 1 state semifinal on Friday afternoon, coach Brian Horrell reminded his team that it had been through this before.

Just over a week earlier, in their sectional win over Dora, the Red Devils had figured things out late and rallied.

This time, though, there was no such luck.

Chaffee mustered just three hits as it fell to Pilot Grove, 4-1, at Killian Softball Complex.

Chaffee's Madeline Hendrix makes a catch in the infield during the Class 1 softball state semifinal game against Pilot Grove on Friday, October 20th, 2017 at Killian Sports Complex in Springfield, Missouri.

Israel Perez ~ Special to The Southeast Missourian

“It’s been a pretty resilient bunch and you’ve got to have a little luck along the way,” Horrell said. “We reminded them that we was in that same situation in the sectional. …You’ve just got to keep believing and stay in there and fight.

“This has been a very resilient bunch all year and they’ve been a very offensive team all year, it’s just that girl had our number on the mound today and she held us in check.”

A few hours later, Chaffee fell to North Harrison, 4-2, in the third-place game, as it settled for a fourth-place finish in Class 1.

In the semifinal, the Red Devils (18-13) managed just three hits against Pilot Grove (21-7), in large part due to the Tigers’ pitcher, Samarah Bailey.

“ … It looked like she worked the ball up a little bit,” Horrell said. “I don’t know if it had a little rise on it or a jump, but it looked like she started it above our waist and we wasn’t laying off. When it comes in a little above the waist it looks like a beachball, and unfortunately we were swinging at a lot of pitches up. Once she got ahead I believe she worked us away a lot off the plate, and you have to have that mentality with two strikes you’ve got to protect, and I believe we swung at some balls off the plate.

“That’s excellent pitching by her — to get you to chase balls out of the zone. Seemed like we did that all day long.”

Bailey got the win in the pitcher’s circle, allowing just one run on three hits in seven innings while striking out 12 and walking one.

She also led her team offensively, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, a double and a run scored.

Kylie Wilhite took the loss for Chaffee, allowing four runs on eight hits in six innings, with eight strikeouts and four walks.

It wasn’t that Pilot Grove hit the ball a ton and the Red Devils did not, it’s just that the Tigers came up with timely hits.

That started in the bottom of the first, as a leadoff walk set the table for an RBI single by Bailey.

Wilhite kept Pilot Grove quiet for a while, but Chafee’s bats never woke up and the Tigers extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth.

Another leadoff walk hurt the Red Devils, and Bailey helped her own cause again with a run-scoring double to left field.

Then Melanie Wolfe ripped a 3-1 pitch over the left-field fence for a two-run home run.

Just like that, Pilot Grove was up 4-0, and almost entirely because its two best hitters found a way to get hits at the right times.

In contrast, the Red Devils had gotten a leadoff double from Madeline Hendrix in the top of the fifth, but rather than capitalize on the opportunity, Chaffee’s next three batters were sent down — swinging, swinging and looking — by Bailey.

That missed opportunity was immediately followed up by Pilot Grove’s three-run inning, and the game was forever changed.

The Red Devils did get on the board in the top of the sixth, as Bridgette Swinford reached on a two-base error to begin the inning, moved up on a wild pitch and then scored on a single by Sydney Walker. But Walker ended the inning standing on second base and Chaffee still trailed 4-1.

Chaffee third baseman Hallie Bollinger throws from her knees toward first base during a Class 1 softball state semifinal against Pilot Grove on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at Killian Sports Complex in Springfield, Missouri. The Red Devils fell, 4-1.

Josh Mlot ~ Southeast Missourian

The Red Devils also left a runner in scoring position in the second, when Carlie Milz led off with a single, moved up on a ground out and then stole third base. But her team couldn’t find a way to bring her home.

“There’s a ton of missed opportunities,” Horrell said. “ … The inning when it was 1-0 and [Hendrix] had the leadoff double, that was just kind of a Debbie Downer moment. Coach (Joe Hendrix) was trying to bunt her over to third and get her in to tie the game and relax us a little bit. We just had a little trouble there and unfortunately stranded [her] at second.

“Pilot Grove did a good job. Once they escaped that jam they went out and put some insurance runs on the board, which made it that much tougher to come back.”

This was just Chaffee’s second state appearance, following in the footsteps of a squad that featured many of the same players in 2015.

The Red Devils lose just two starters — Wilhite and Hallie Bollinger — from this year’s team and will surely have high hopes next season to learn from the final disappointment of 2017.

“It’s a teaching moment,” Horrell said. “That’s why MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Activities Association) puts on these high school athletics. It’s a teaching moment. Unfortunately, there’s going to be bigger disappointment in these kids’ lives than just losing a ball game. It’s all about how you bounce back.”

Third-place game

It looked like Chaffee had successfully left the semifinal loss behind it when it jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first against North Harrison (22-7).

Back-to-back singles by Bailey Wiseman and Walker followed by a walk to Milz loaded the bases, and Hendrix (2-for-3) plated two runners with a base hit.

But stranding runners again haunted the Red Devils after Hendrix advanced to second on a wild pitch with one out, only to be left there.

It looked like no harm, no foul, as Wilhite was strong in the circle in her final appearance, but eventually the Shamrocks broke through.

Consecutive singles by Brandy Rivet and Ashlynn Gilpatrick got things going, and an error in the outfield allowed North Harrison’s first run to score. Audry Briggs then doubled to drive in a run before ground outs twice allowed runners to score from third for a four-hit, four-run inning that vaulted the Shamrocks on top, 4-2.

Chaffee’s only base runner the rest of the way was when Milz reached on a sixth-inning error, only to get doubled off at second base after a North Harrison outfielder ran down a ball that looked destined for the gap.

Wilhite took the pitching loss, giving up four runs — three earned — on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk in six innings.

Payton Craig was the winner for the Shamrocks, giving up two runs on five hits in seven innings, striking out eight and walking just one.

Semifinal

WP — Samarah Bailey (19-3). LP — Kylie Wilhite (17-11). 2B — Madeline Hendrix (CH), Bailey (PG). HR — Melanie Wolfe (PG). Multiple hits — Pilot Grove: Bailey 2-4, Abby Schupp 2-3.

Third-place game

WP — Payton Craig (15-5). LP — Kylie Wilhite (17-12). 2B — Audry Briggs (NH), Mason Cracraft (NH). Multiple hits — Chaffee: Madeline Hendrix 2-3; North Harrison: Cracraft 2-3.