Cossou goes the distance, Chaffee downs Notre Dame

It was the Carly Cossou show on Wednesday at Frisco Field in Chaffee.

The freshman went the distance tossing seven innings allowing one run on three hits while striking out 12 in Chaffee's 3-1 win over Notre Dame.

“I was able to get them to chase the higher pitches,” Cossou said. “But, any pitch I threw I knew my defense was going to have my back so I was confident in those pitches.”

Red Devils coach Brian Horrell had high praise for Cossou’s performance.

“She’s an outstanding freshman,” Horrell said. “That’s a credit to their youth league coaches. I’m just reaping the benefits as a coach. Our city and our town are so lucky to have girls like that. The Red Hots coaches deserve a lot of credit.”

It was a pitching duel early between Cossou and Notre Dame’s Taylor Kutz.

Kutz tossed six innings allowing two earned runs on six hits.

Chaffee would strike first in the bottom of the fourth when Jocelyn Hanlon dropped down a sacrifice bunt to make it 1-0 Red Devils.

“That was great to see from her,” Horrell said. “She’s been excited this year and she’s been out in front of the ball a lot. She finally stayed back better today and I think the bunt might have been what helped her.”

The Bulldogs had a quick response however as they tied the game in the top of the fifth with a sacrifice bunt of their own when Cierra Landewee delivered.

As the Red Devils came to bat in the bottom of the sixth with the game tied at one, Horrell gathered his team and made sure they were aware of the moment and not anxious.

“I trust the girls,” Horrell said. “But, I just wanted to remind them that we’re in the sixth inning and that we expect to be in games like this all year long. We want to be battle tested for the playoffs.”

Horrell’s speech worked as Chaffee would tack on a pair of runs courtesy of sacrifice flies from Hanlon and Paige Wilhite.

“It makes me wonder why I didn’t give that speech earlier,” Horrell laughed. “If it was the speech that worked, I’ll have to say it earlier next time.”

Cossou would slam the door in the seventh to give the Red Devils a 3-1 win.

“We showed a lot of resilience,” Horrell said. “These are the kind of games that we need to be in all throughout the year to get us tested for the end of the season.”

On top of Cossou’s impressive outing in the circle, she also tacked on a pair of hits to go 2-for-3 at the plate.

Notre Dame’s three hits came courtesy of Avery Wagoner, Ava Miller and Lauren Estes.

Notre Dame (1-2) will be back in action at 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 31, when they host Doniphan in their opening game of the Notre Dame SoftballFest at Notre Dame Regional High School.

The Bulldogs will also battle with Neelyville at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Chaffee’s impressive start to the season continues as they move to 4-0. The Red Devils will return to the field at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 31, when they host Van Buren at Frisco Field in Chaffee.

“We’ll enjoy this one until our heads hit the pillow,” Horrell said. “But, I tell the girls, when our heads hit the pillow it’s time to flush it and wake up and be ready for the next one.”