Chaffee victorious once more, claiming softball bronze over Linn in offensive outburst

Chaffee's Paige Wilhite (left) and Reese Van Pelt (center) walk the MSHSAA Class 2 third-place trophy back to their team during the November 1, 2024 MSHSAA Class 2 third-place game between the Chaffee Red Devils and the Linn Wildcats at Killian Sports Complex in Springfield, Mo. Chaffee defeated Linn, 10-2.

Cole Lee ~ clee@semoball.com

In a bronze medal game destined to pit two heartbroken teams up against each other, Chaffee softball looked more than ready to roll over Linn in a 10-2 victory in the MSHSAA Class 2 third-place game.

Claiming the lead as soon as the first, the Red Devils hammered Linn pitching from the get-go as it mounted a daunting 3-run lead by the end of the opening frame and just kept adding on.

Ending the earlier semifinal with the offense’s foot on the gas and then some, the urgency for a third-place trophy was plenty apparent as the Devs steamrolled their way to the bronze and the winning finish to a long year.

It wasn’t the prettiest day for Chaffee softball, but to end the weekend going out with a sizeable victory over a state powerhouse certainly won’t sour the trip home at all.

“Once we got on this field to warm up before the game, these kids are resilient, I knew they were going to flip the switch,” Chaffee coach Brian Horrell said

Star sophomore pitcher Carlyanne Cossou wasn’t perfect, but she did more than enough to help the Devils to the win as she finished her third-place outing with a strong night against phenomenal competition.

Her line: Six hits, zero walks, two strikeouts and just one earned. There’s no doubt that the sophomore brought her best game in the final matchup of the year.

She got two hits on offense as well, joining Reese Van Pelt, Jersie Lynn, Jocelyn Hanlon and Jordynn Brown in that club while fellow sophomore Paizleigh Graham led the squad with three hits.

In the final game of the year, Chafee may have put its best offensive outing of the season together as it took a fellow final-four defense to the woodshed and its mighty victory to claim third place.

Though the season’s been fraught with ups and downs, the Red Devils didn’t let the situation mar their efforts as for the second time in as many years, Chaffee ends its season among the greatest in Class 2.

“It was nice to come out and jump on them in the first inning,” Horrell said. “Those girls are resilient, tip your hat to them.

“It's not the one we wanted, but it's still nice to end your season with the win and play as well as we did.”

The Red Devils got the scoring going quickly as with the first two batters getting on easily, Reese Van Pelt blasted an RBI double onto the gap in right-center to score the first and put runners on second and third with none away.

Paizleigh Graham extended that early lead with a 2-RBI single, making it a 3-run Devs lead before even recording the first out.

Linn pinched off the rally shortly thereafter, but after a frame, Chaffee had already shot forward to claim a presuming lead in this one.

In the bottom of the second, Cossou made it from first all the way around to score on an error, beating out a play at the plate to slide into a 4-0 lead.

Cossou allowed a big launch in the top of the third, but for the second time in about six hours, Addison Uhrhan slammed into the wall on a leaping grab to rob the opposition of an extra-base hit.

Another big rip for Graham, this time a double, allowed her courtesy runner to easily score as freshman Jersie Lynn took her place on second on the first pitch, making it 5-0 Chaffee in the third.

If that wasn’t enough, Jocelyn Hanlon kept the line moving with a double of her own, rolling all the way to the foul pole in left to easily score a sixth.

That wasn’t enough, huh? Alright, add on a Jordynn Brown double way out to the wall to score a seventh run should be enough.

The Red Devils finished with four doubles in the third inning, turning this one from an early lead to a runaway rout in the third inning of a bronze medal game.

Chaffee added another pair in the fifth inning, threatening to end it via mercy rule with a pair in scoring position but finishing the frame up 9.

Down inside the final few innings, Linn needed a jolt of life to have even an inkling of a chance, but Kiana Hostetler had just the thing.

The Wildcat senior crushed a ball over the wall in center to cut that massive lead down to 9-2, plating a pair to finally get Linn on the board in the top of the sixth.

Chaffee batted around well enough to bring home a run in the sixth, but three outs in the seventh were enough to wrap this one up, a bronze finish for the Devils in Springfield.

That’s that, so it seems. As abrupt as it comes. One trophy presentation later, one medal ceremony later, the 2024 Devils enter history – one more chapter in a long book.

So ends the second consecutive season in Springfield, a perfect conclusion for a squad that entered the year with great expectations but, more importantly, delivered when it mattered the most.

Any old Southeast sports fan knows about how great Chaffee has been lately, but there’s so much more to these kids than wins and losses.

Through tears, coach Brian Horrell expressed his admiration for his squad one last time under the dim lights across the road from Missouri State’s stadium, gutted by the moment.

He scoots to the side as relatives, friends, administrators gather, celebrating the blissful end to another exceptional season for Chaffee softball in troves, most smiling in cheer.

The seniors, somber. Reese Van Pelt and Paige Wilhite, both who helped redefine Chaffee softball, embracing the moment head-on, sharing the spotlight in one of their toughest moments.

It may be over, concluding a long day in Springfield that took the Devils from sulking to celebration in just a few short hours, but for the time being the community of Chaffee can claim its rightful place as third-place victors.

For that, Horrell is grateful.

“It's not the result we wanted, but it beats the alternative,” Horrell said. “Making some lifetime memories, because we’re still going to have good memories from this trip.”