Chaffee slugs past Advance, prepares for St. Vincent in district title matchup

Despite the best efforts of Advance in a battle against top-seeded Chaffee, the Red Devils and two-way threat Levi McKinnie proved far too much for the Hornets as Chaffee moved on to the championship game of the Class 2 District 3 tournament with a 7-1 victory.

Despite an early back-and-forth from the offenses, Chaffee used a late swing of momentum, including a three-run sixth inning, to solidify its spot in the championship game against St. Vincent on Tuesday night.

Chaffee's Levi McKinnie winds up for a pitch during a game against Advance in Chaffee, Mo. on May 15, 2023. The Red Devils won the game, 7-1.Cole Lee ~ Southeast Missourian

“We want somebody to beat us and not have us beat ourselves and through three innings, we were beating ourselves,” Chaffee coach Aaron Horrell said. “We got picked off I think four times in three innings. He had five or six walks but we weren't making them pay because we just kept getting picked off.”

The offense settled in, however, as the Red Devils forced a jam in the fourth inning to score a run and added three later to finish with a seven-run win.

Levi McKinnie pitched six innings for the Red Devils while also notching a multi-hit night at the dish for the team. His effort played a large role in Chaffee’s punched ticket to the district championship, but Horrell already understood that the junior’s game is special.

“To others, it probably was a special performance. To us? It was a good one, but he's been way better,” Horrell said. “But that just shows you the standard that he’s set. I’ve said it before: I'll take him over anybody in this area.”

While Chaffee continues to dance at 18-9, the loss ends Advance’s season at a two-over 11-9 for the Hornets, losing to the Red Devils for the second time in the 2023 campaign after a 4-1 loss in April.

“We couldn't get that timely hit, you know?” Advance coach Neil Johnson said. “Kudos to Chaffee. They got it done. We threw our best, and they hit our best a little bit. They had timely hitting and we did not.”

The win sends the Red Devils to battle against St. Vincent, who took a 3-1 battle against Saxony Lutheran on the road, scoring a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to put the Crusaders out of a late battle in which the visiting Indians didn’t record a single hit.

All three runs for St. Vincent scored on walks, with runners getting on base solely through walks and errors. Saxony Lutheran’s Aaron Eubanks, Brayden Moore and Lucas Koenig finished with the only hits of the afternoon as the Indians took a narrow contest.

St. Vincent pitcher Blake Monier threw 7.0 innings for the Indians, allowing three hits and earning a run, walking five batters and striking out four to punch St. Vincent’s ticket into the district championship against Chaffee.

Horrell’s been in this spot before, and despite a loss last year against Scott City in a Class 3 district championship game, he appeared ready for the stage after the team’s win against Advance.

“We played some guys,” Horrell said. “We play a tough schedule and hope it prepares us for whatever tomorrow. We can't just be the McKinnie show when he's on. We've got to build a team effort, and we're gonna go try to do that tomorrow.”