Chaffee wins second straight district title in dramatic fashion

In a season where the senior class has been heavily relied on for Chaffee’s success, it was a freshman who came through with the game-winning hit.

Rolen Reischman capped off a 3-for-5 game with a walk-off single to deliver the Red Devils a 4-3 extra-inning win over Meadow Heights to win their second straight Class 2 District 3 championship on Wednesday, May 15, in Perryville, Mo.

“I was nervous,” Reischman said. “I just wanted to win the game for my team.”

Reischman found regular playing time after senior Peyton Vaughn was injured mid-season. Since then he has produced numerous big-time hits for the Red Devils.

“He just came up big all year,” Chaffee head coach Aaron Horrell said. “He’s been huge. He’s got a little pop, got a long swing but he just battles. Even right there, I think it was 0-2, he worked it back to a full count and then just got the game-winning hit, which for a freshman is pretty tough. He’s been big for us. It’s been a big surprise.”

Experience is leading the way for the Red Devils, who look to return to the Class 2 semifinals. They averaged 6.8 runs per game a year ago and are currently averaging 9.5. Every senior in the lineup, including some of the underclassmen, has been in similar situations since their freshman year, and the Red Devils have played in seven straight district title games.

“I think that senior leadership paid off because if you’re a young and you blow a three-run lead, you might crumble and fold there and lose it in the eighth or whenever,” Horrell said. “But the kids are resilient. They don’t want their season to end and so I’m proud of them.”

Chaffee pitcher Levi McKinnie throws against Meadow Heights in the Class 2 District 3 Tournament on Wednesday, May 15, in Perryville, Mo. Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Chaffee senior ace Levi McKinnie threw eight innings allowing three runs on five hits and two walks with 12 strikeouts. He took a shutout to the seventh inning but the Panthers pounced and tied the game on a three-run rally highlighted by a two-run single by Mason Mayfield.

“That was not championship baseball,” Horrell said. “We got lucky to get out of it tied so that we could keep our season alive. We gave them 543 free feet of bases on the throw down to third. … We just gave them too much. They had strung a few hits together but we were giving them free basis and that's just you can't win championships that way.”

McKinnie came back in the eighth inning to quiet the Panthers' bats and give the Red Devils a chance to walk off.

“We had him at 90-91 pitches there so he was able to go back out in the eighth,” Horrell said. “He’s a senior, he’s really good, and we were gonna get every pitch that we’re allowed to get out of him, and he got us through that eighth inning.”

Eli Glueck pitched the final two innings in relief, where he kept the Panthers without a hit. He also went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored.

Kolbey Estes went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI and Kade Atkins also drove in a run.

Braeden Hays started the game on the mound for Meadow Heights and went five innings with three runs allowed (two earned) on five hits and three strikeouts in the no-decision. Ransom Grindstaff, Meadow Heights’ lone senior, threw the final 4.2 innings of the game and his career. He gave up five hits and struck out three batters before giving up the walk-off.

The Panthers conclude their season with a 16-9 record, a six-game improvement over the previous season.

The Red Devils (23-4) will travel to Class 2 District 4 champion Bismarck (14-8) in the sectional round on Monday, May 20. The winner will take on the winner between C2D1 champ Portageville and C2D2 champ Van Buren in the quarterfinal round.