Chaffee softball team ready to carry over success from historic season

The Chaffee girls softball team is ensnared in a contradiction as it prepares to launch its season after a historic 2015 campaign that ended in the program's first appearance in the Class 1 final four, where it finished third.

The squad's strength is experience, yet to be accurate, inexperience could also be its Achilles' heel.

Junior Hallie Bollinger can explain the paradox quickly.

"We have the same team basically from last year, except our pitching," Bollinger said. "Our pitching is going to be our No. 1 question mark this year."

Chaffee catcher Hallie Bollinger, center, and pitchers Kylie Wilhite, left, and Carlie Milz pose for a photo Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016 at Chaffee High School.Fred Lynch

Bollinger knows the situation as well as anyone. She caught Carleigh Burnett in the state semifinals against DeKalb, and Hannah Seyer in the third-place game against Canton.

"They were both a really big part of our team last year," Bollinger said about the pair that accounted for 188 innings on the 15-15 team. "We're going to miss them."

They were among just three seniors on last year's team, which boasted seven freshmen.

"We're still trying to figure out where we kind of stand with everything from the expectations last year at state," Bollinger said. "We're trying to put it all together and get our pitching working with our other team around us."

AJ Horn coached last year's squad to the final four, but Brian Horrell will be the one looking to solve the pitching question after Horn moved on to Advance High School.

Horrell has spent the last 25 falls as an assistant football coach, but is no stranger to the diamond. He's coached the school's successful baseball program for 17 years, and he will be assisted by Joe Hendrix.

Chaffee's Bailey Wiseman makes contact with a pitch in the second inning of a Class 1 quarterfinal against Van-Far last season in Vandalia, Missouri.Southeast Missourian file

"I played fastpitch for about 10 year and really enjoyed the game," Horrell said. "It's really a quick-paced, fast-moving game, and I've always thought about doing this but I've always been so entrenched with football my whole life. It was always something I thought about, and when the opportunity arose this year with an opening I thought it was something I would want to try before I got out of teaching and coaching.

"... Joe Hendrix is a great coach and was involved last year with the softball. He's done a tremendous job with them."

Horrell has inherited a deep sophomore class, which accounts for half of the 14 girls on the team and five of last year's starters. He's looking for the class to provide part of the pitching solution in the person of Carlie Milz, while junior Kylie Wilhite also looks to fill the void.

Both pitched over summer for the Diamond Devils, a team coached by Hendrix in a local Wednesday night league and also played in tournaments.

Wilhite played for the Red Devils as a freshman, starting her first game in the circle before moving to third base and allowing upperclassmen to take care of the pitching chores. She sprained her ankle playing basketball after her freshman year and sat out last year's softball season to assure she'd be healthy for basketball, which she said is her first love.

Her intention all along was to play softball this season.

She and Milz both pitched over the summer for the Diamond Devils, and Wilhite also pitched on occasion for another traveling team.

"I've been working pretty hard at it this summer," Wilhite said. "I went out pretty well every day with my grandpa. He pushes me pretty hard."

Horrell has taken notice of her commitment.

"She just didn't wait until the start of the season, the fall," Horrell said. "She played quite a bit this summer and played in some big tournaments, so she was able to get her footing back as a pitcher and got a little bit of a headstart, so that was good to see with her taking the year off."

When Wilhite doesn't pitch, she'll be occupying third base. When Milz is not pitching, she'll occupy first base.

Sophomore Madeline Hendrix is also viewed as a potential pitcher, but Horrell would prefer to return her to second base, calling her "probably our best overall defensive player last year."

She also helped on offense with 19 RBIs.

Shortstop Sydney Walker batted cleanup for the Red Devils in an All-State freshman season in which she hit .414 with 22 RBIs and 12 doubles.

Fleet-footed center fielder Bridgette Swinford also had an All-State freshman year, batting .340 from the top of the lineup with 11 stolen bases and 21 runs scored.

She anchors an outfield that returns intact, with sophomore Bailey Wiseman, who batted in the No. 2 hole last season, returning in left field and Abbi Brown, one of two seniors on the team, in right.

"We've got some young girls we've got some confidence in," Horrell said, "We're hoping that our hitting will step up a little more this year, so hopefully while our pitching is finding its footing through the season, our hitting might carry us -- and our defense."

Bollinger's return behind the plate is also another positive for the Red Devils, especially with new faces in the circle.

"Keeping our catcher back there is a big part of it. She's like the best pitching coach you can have," Horrell said. "A catcher, they see the pitchers every day and they have the best seat in the house. So if they see something a little off, she does a great job communicating with the coaches and we can take a better look. It's awesome having that experience back there. And the Wiseman girl catches a little bit, so we have all our catching back, so we feel really good about that."

Chaffee opens its season Tuesday at home against Kelly, the start of a challenging schedule that includes Class 3 runner-up Notre Dame and just three Class 1 programs -- District 1 foes Van Buren, Naylor and Neelyville.

"We're going to have a tremendous, tough schedule, but that's part of it," Horrell said. "You can't get beat up all season long and expect the girls to have confidence, so we've got to find a way to win some games, but our schedule is going to be extremely tough with some other teams going to spring ball now. There's not as many local, smaller schools to play. ... We're going to get to play some good competition, but these girls have played so much competition in the past. I think they'll embrace it and step up to the challenge."