Kelly no-hits Red Devils

~ The Hawks improved to 2-0 behind the pitching of Kalie Hughes.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Kelly's offense reached double digits in hits for the second straight game, and pitcher Kalie Hughes added to Chaffee's offensive funk with a no-hit effort in a 9-0 rout Tuesday.

The Hawks are now 2-0, having scored 32 runs on 32 hits. Chaffee fell to 0-2, with a pair of shutouts and just one hit.

"We're not hitting the ball," Chaffee coach Debbie Lewis said. "If we're going to be competitive, we have to hit the ball."

While just the second game of the season for both teams, Tuesday's game took on a bigger meaning with Friday's district assignments pairing Kelly and Chaffee together in Class 2 District 2. Both squads won district titles last year, Kelly in Class 2 and Chaffee in Class 1.

The teams will meet again at Kelly on Sept. 27, and could have another meeting in the district tournament.

"It was a good conference win, but we're still not out of the woods," Kelly coach Rhonda Ratledge said. "They're in our district and you can't let your guard down. It is still early. You can't take anything for granted."

Kelly's main weapon against Chaffee starter Sarah Benton was its running game. The Hawks swiped nine bases in the game, helping to put runners in scoring position in nearly every inning.

"We picked up on it early and took advantage," Ratledge said.

Single runs in the second and third innings gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead.

In the fourth, Kelly put things away with a hitting spree. Londyn Backfish started the inning with a one-out infield single. After Backfish stole second, Ashley Vetter drove her in with a hit. Ashley Flayhardy had an RBI triple, Brittany Ponder added an RBI single, and Katee Moore had an RBI double.

Backfish, a freshman, led the Hawks with three hits. Moore, a sophomore, added two hits and two RBIs. Ponder also had two hits.

"All nine players can put the ball in play," Ratledge said. "Usually you depend on the older girls, but I'll take these young girls any day that will do that."

Kelly finished the scoring with three runs in the sixth. Moore and Hughes each drove in a run, and the Hawks scored their other run in the inning on a stolen base play with runners on first and third. The catcher threw to the shortstop, but the return throw was not in time. Kelly had scored on a similar play in the second.

"We just have to get our routine plays in," Lewis said. "Right now we're not getting our routine plays down."

Hughes fanned 12 against just four walks in no-hitting the Red Devils. Chaffee had more than one runner on base in just one inning. Hughes was tough against the bunt as well, forcing nearly every Chaffee bunter to pop the ball up.

"She's improved a lot since her junior year," Ratledge said. "She's stronger. She gave us a good game. I'm proud of her for that. Her work ethic shows through."

Chaffee will be back in action Thursday at East Prairie. Kelly will play at St. Vincent on Monday.

KELLY 9, CHAFFEE 0

Kelly 011 403 0 -- 9 11 1

Chaffee 000 000 0 -- 0 0 2

WP -- Kalie Hughes, 2-0. LP -- Sarah Benton, 0-2. 2B -- Katee Moore (K), Brittany Ponder (K). 3B -- Ashley Flahardy (K). Multiple hits -- Kelly, Londyn Backfish 3-4; Ponder 2-3; Moore 2-4. Records -- Kelly 2-0, Chaffee 0-2.