Chaffee softball team upends Norwood, moves on to Class 1 quarterfinals

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The Chaffee softball program's playoff run reached a historic level on Wednesday at Frisco Field.

Pitchers Carleigh Burnett and Hannah Seyer combined for a one-hit shutout to help the Red Devils edge the Norwood 2-0 in a Class 1 sectional and advance to the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

"We just made history today," Chaffee coach A.J. Horn said after the game while the team and its fans celebrated the win as Kool & The Gang's "Celebration" echoed from the speakers. "This is the first time a Chaffee softball team has ever advanced past the sectional round, and we want to continue our run. We were shaky on defense a little bit today, but that comes with nerves.

"The really great thing is our kids kept battling on the field, put their mistakes behind them and made the next play. And I cannot applaud Hannah Seyer enough for coming in from right field and pitching those last four innings after Carleigh Burnett did the best she could and didn't allow a run in the first three innings. They were lights out for us."

Chaffee took a 1-0 lead when it calculated an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning and set the final score when it scored once more in the bottom of the fifth.

The Red Devils did all of their damage with two outs in the first.

Chaffee's No. 3 hitter, Julia Sutterfield, made it all the way to third base when she hit a ball to shallow right field that bounced past the Norwood defense. Sutterfield later scored from third when cleanup hitter Sydney Walker hit a ground ball to third base that was fielded and thrown high to first. The high throw pulled a Norwood defender off the bag and allowed Walker to reach safely as Sutterfield crossed home plate.

"It was good to come out on top early to have some insurance," Sutterfield said. "But we never got complacent and stayed hungry for another run."

The Red Devils manufactured their second run in the fifth when Seyer collected a leadoff single, Bridgette Swinford laid down a sacrifice bunt to move pinch runner Abbi Brown to second base and Bailey Wiseman followed with a one-out RBI single to center field.

"I cannot applaud Bailey enough," Horn said. "She has hit the ball well all year. Her batting average doesn't show it. She's a sub .200 hitter, but she has had many line-drive hits late in games. ... She hit the ball hard all day and came up with a big hit, which is all we can ask for."

Norwood threatened early but never scored.

The Pirates loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second after cleanup hitter Emma McIntosh drew a leadoff single. No. 5 hitter Cherokee McGraw followed with a single, and No. 7 hitter Melody Campbell drew a one-out walk. Burnett escaped the jam unscathed when she collected back-to-back strikeouts of Megan Campbell and Chloe Crain to end the second.

"When they get bases loaded, you are just hoping as a coach you can make plays," Horn said. "And as the season has went on, we've learned as a team we have each other's backs and no matter what the situation, we are going to get out of it. Carleigh Burnett did a great job battling out of jams, and we made great plays at shortstop."

Norwood loaded the bases again with one out in the third after Maria Chadwell and Jenna Ogletree reached base on infield errors and McIntosh drew a one-out walk.

Burnett got the next hitter, McGraw, to ground into a 6-2 fielder's choice and secured the third out when the following hitter, Nelson, grounded into a 1-3 fielder's choice.

"Our shortstop is amazing," Burnett said, referring to the 6-2 fielder's choice in which shortstop Sydney Walker got a force out at home. "I had every bit of faith in her she would make that play. We all mesh so well together. We know where we are going to go and how we are going to execute plays."

Seyer replaced Burnett in the circle at the start of the fourth. Seyer retired 12 of the 13 hitters she faced to secure a 12-out save.

"The main thing was to come in and hit my spots," Seyer said. "I think I did pretty well at that and throwing at the speed we needed to throw to them. I was just trying to hit my spots the entire game."

Burnett picked up the win in three innings, striking out five and walking three.

"It's awesome and amazing," Burnett said. "All the hard work we put in finally paid off. We have an awesome team."

Chaffee extended its winning streak to six games with the victory.

"Team morale has been big," Seyer said of the run. "Everybody just picks everyone up. We are one big family. Together is our big thing. When you do something wrong, someone else picks you up, and when someone else does something wrong, you pat them on the back. Everybody having each other's back is carrying us through these games."

The Red Devils, who were seeded third in their four-team district, upset second-seeded Naylor 9-4 in a district semifinal and beat top-seeded Van Buren 2-0 in the district final to reach Wednesday's sectional.

"Right now our kids are not trying to do too much, and we have came together and bonded as a family and team," Horn said. "Everybody has everybody's backs. The biggest thing coach Hendrix and I have talked about that we've noticed is our pitchers are starting to throw strikes, and we are limiting our walks. If we don't limit our walks, we are going to struggle. The biggest thing for us right now is to limit our walks and get key hits to push across a few runs."

Chaffee is slated to take on host Van-Far, which defeated St. Elizabeth 12-2, in a Class 1 quarterfinal Saturday.

"Me and Carleigh Burnett embraced after the game," Sutterfield said. "I just told her, 'We couldn't do this any bigger, and we are not done.'"

Norwood 000 000 0 -- 0 1 2

Chaffee 100 010 x -- 2 5 3

WP -- Carleigh Burnett. LP -- Emily Chadwell. Save -- Hannah Seyer. 2B -- Sydney Walker (C).