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Diamond softball held off a seventh-inning rally from defending state champion Skyline to beat the Tigers 6-4 and claim the program’s first state championship and the school’s first state championship in any sport since 1988.
The first inning saw no significant action with Diamond getting one on in the top of the first followed by Diamond pitcher Madison Bentley striking out the side in the bottom of the frame.
Diamond put another runner on via a walk. The runner advanced to third on steals, but was stranded there to keep the game scoreless.
Bentley continued to roll in the bottom of the second with two more strikeouts before Grace Edge hit a line drive off the left field foul pole for the game’s first run. Bentley struck out the next batter to end the inning giving her six strikeouts through two innings.
Diamond had an answer in the top of the third. After two strikeouts, Grace Frazier singled to right with two outs and stole her way to third base. She came in to score on Caitlyn Suhrie’s double to left field to tie the game.
The game remained knotted at 1-1 until the top of the sixth.
Suhrie got things started again with a single. She promptly stole second base and advanced to third on an over-throw. Bentley brought her home on a single to center to give Diamond a 2-1 lead. Lexy Bridges smashed a double to the wall in right to give Diamond runners at second and third with no outs.
Skyline pitcher Jadyn Foster worked out of the jam with no more damage.
The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the sixth.
That was when Diamond’s bats broke through.
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Kabrie Parmley led off the inning with a single. That was followed by an infield single from Suhrie. Frazier knocked an RBI double to give Diamond a little more breathing room at 3-1. After a lineout and strikeout, Bridges strode back to the plate and hit her first home run of the season to give Diamond a commanding 6-1 lead with just three outs to get.
Skyline did what champions do and wouldn’t go away quietly.
The Tigers came alive working counts and getting hits in the bottom of the inning. Skyline scored two runs to make it 6-4, but a great throw from Suhrie in centerfield cut down Skyline’s would-be fifth run.
Diamond focused on staying calm.
“They stayed composed. That is what we have been working on all year. We played a tougher schedule so that when we got to those big moments we could stay calm, stay relaxed and just play our game and they did excellent at it,” Diamond head coach Kelsey Parrish said.
The Tigers still had a chance with the winning run at the plate and two on, but a pop-out to the shortstop ended the game and set off the celebration for Diamond.
Speed was key for Diamond in the game with seven total stolen bases.
“I think it was a key ingredient in our program. One of our goals this year was to be aggressive on the bases. We saw that we had the opportunity to do that and the girls took advantage of that,” Parrish said.
The top of the order got it done the Wildcats as Lauren Turner, Frazier and Suhrie combined to go 7-for-12 at the plate with four runs scored, two RBI and five stolen bases.
Diamond finishes with a 29-3 record overall. The Wildcats will say good-bye to three seniors including Bentley, Bridges and Victoria Apfelbaum.
For Skyline, it marks the end for three seniors as well with Foster, Taylor Hunt and Jorden Hodges all set to graduate.
“Each senior brings something different to the table. I know I am talking to a lot of people in the state of Missouri right now, but Jorden Hodges she is talking to all athletes out there. She is not a very athletic kid, but she has busted her butt to get there and be a starter for me. Jadyn Foster tore her ACL and hasn’t played softball in two years and she went 16-2 this year. Taylor Hunt is just a great competitor and she is very smart. She is going to be tremendously missed,” Skyline head coach Shawna Bybee said.
Skyline will look to make it back to a state championship level with many new faces next year.
“We are going to try and start back to square one. We have a good freshman class coming up,” Bybee said. “They were out here and I hope they learned they need to put in the time. This doesn’t just happen overnight.”
