Spies’ miraculous catch sends Chaffee past Portageville, into Class 2 final four

Chaffee's Levi McKinnie, right, looks on in celebration as teammate Carson Spies, left, makes a miraculous catch to end a Wednesday, May 22, 2024 MSHSAA Class 2 quarterfinal between the Chaffee Red Devils and the Portageville Bulldogs at Harmon Field in Chaffee, Mo. Chaffee defeated Portageville, 2-1.

Cole Lee ~ clee@semoball.com

It came down to the very last pitch, and just when it looked as though Portageville had won the at-bat with a blast to the deepest part of the yard in right field, Chaffee’s Carson Spies had a different idea.

With the tying run on second, and representing the winning run, Rylan Partin got all of Levi McKinnie’s final pitch, sending a dart nearly over the fence for a go-ahead homer.

But with a hope and a prayer, literally, Spies took off 180 degrees in the other direction and, in what can only be described as Willie Mays-like, got the full extension and pocketed the ball over his shoulder for the final out.

The catch sealed a dominant defensive effort, with Chaffee winning 2-1 after holding the Bulldogs scoreless until the seventh in a home MSHSAA Class 2 quarterfinal.

“I'm sitting there – I'm honestly praying, I'm like, ‘Please Lord, if it's in your will.’

“That ball got hit to me, and I started running. I got a really good jump right off the start, and I just kept running.”

At first, it seemed as if nobody could believe it, and rightfully so.

The ball, soaring for what felt like a lifetime, seemed predestined to tie up a game that Chaffee had firmly controlled since Kade Atkins unloaded on a ball in the fifth inning to give the Devs the lead.

But with that one stretch, Spies finally put away a late Portageville rally as he toppled to the ground, his teammates racing to his side to pick him up in feverish delight.

Gloves began to fly, and the Portageville crowd’s screams and cries of the hard-hit ball that looked sure to tie the game up turned into whoops and hollers of celebration for Chaffee.

“I caught it. I looked down at the ball in my glove – that was the best feeling ever. I'm telling you, that was the best feeling ever.”

Chaffee coach Aaron Horrell, now heading to his second final four in as many seasons, fell to the ground and stayed there, breaking down in the moment.

Horrell’s always vouched for his boys, and all year long, he stuck up for them with the motto that the Devils still had “something to prove.”

They put it on shirts, on team posts, on everything that someone would read it or listen. Horrell’s M.O. was that his Chaffee squad wasn’t done yet, and those boys held to it.

“We had a meeting in December, and that's what we talked about,” Horrell said. “Running to the fight, not running away from it. We knew we’d have a target on our back, but we weren't gonna hide. We were gonna turn around and take it head on.”

All year long, the Class 2 favorites were anticipated to meet in the postseason, with Portageville dropping down from the Class 3 ranks while Chaffee looked to defend its post.

When the Bulldogs came to Harmon Field, met with a crowd bigger than any you’d ever expect at 11 a.m. on a Wednesday, those Devils were sound in their execution as they put away any doubt to get back to the final four.

Now, fresh off that euphoria off getting back to the state semifinals, the first time in program history that Chaffee has reached back-to-back final fours, it’s beginning to settle in.

But there are still two games standing in the way of where Chaffee is and where it wants to be.

After the feeling of getting the door slammed in its face in an 11-5 loss to Salisbury last spring, the feeling of just getting to state doesn’t mean quite as much for these Red Devils.

They’ve got their eyes on the gold, their fourth in program history, and Horrell believes that his Chaffee squad has the juice to push it over the edge next week in Ozark, Missouri.

“We should be ready this time,” Horrell said. “All these kids have experienced it. We've only got one kid in the lineup that wasn't there last year with us. So hopefully, nerves aren't a factor.

“Obviously it's a big situation, but we expect that with the experience that we’ve got we can go get it done.”