C2D3: Chaffee rallies late to down St. Vincent

CHAFFEE - It took five innings, but the bats of the Chaffee Red Devils rallied to knock off the St. Vincent Indians 6-3 in the Class 2 District 3 championship game on Wednesday at Harmon Field.

As Easton Fowler stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth with the game tied at three and a runner on, he knew what his approach should be.

“I was just thinking ‘Don’t do too much’,” Fowler said. “I just wanted to put it in play and make (St. Vincent) do the work.”

What followed was a line drive that would score a run to give Chaffee a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

“He’s probably our best hitter in the leadoff spot,” Red Devils coach Aaron Horrell said. “Sometimes I think he’s a little too anxious and he doesn’t give himself enough credit for how good of a hitter he is.”

While Chaffee tacked on two more runs in the sixth to win 6-3, things didn’t look great early on as they fell behind 3-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth.

“We weren’t throwing enough strikes early,” Horrell said. “But, we settled in and Kade Atkins did a great job of coming in and just hammering it down there at the end.”

The Red Devils would score the game's first run in the bottom of the second when Fowler grounded a ball to the left side that the Indians botched, allowing the first run to score.

St. Vincent wouldn’t take long to respond as they posted a three-run top of the fourth behind RBIs from Grant Abernathy, Simon Barber and Christian Schaaf.

“We got down 3-1 but we responded there,” Horrell said. “We’ve done that all year. Early on I think we were anxious.”

With two on and one out in the bottom of the fifth, it was Carson Spies who came through with a two-run opposite-field single to tie the game at three.

Horrell had high praise for the resiliency his team has shown all season long.

“We talked early in the year about building an identity,” Horrell said.

As the Red Devils entered the top of the seventh three outs away from a district title, Conner Berry made a diving catch to take a hit away from Simon Barber.

“It sets the tone for the inning,” Horrell said. “If that ball gets down and gets by then you’re in the stretch and worrying about all the different things. It was big to get that first out there.”

Peyton Vaughn got the start for the Red Devils and he tossed 3.2 innings allowing three runs on four hits.

Getting the win for Chaffee was Kade Atkins who went 3.1 innings allowing no runs on one hit while striking out three.

St. Vincent handed the ball to Liam Krauss who lasted 4.1 innings allowing two runs on four hits and four walks.

Spies carried much of the load offensively for the Red Devils as he went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs in the win.

Fowler’s RBI served as the game-winner as he finished the day 1-for-3 with a walk, RBI and a run scored.

St. Vincent finishes its season with a record of 15-9.

Chaffee (19-9) advances to the Class 2 State Tournament where the Red Devils will take on Crystal City on Monday, May 22.