You can’t really call them underdogs. They were ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in Class 5A for most of the year but after having to battle through the loser’s at the regional tournament the Chandler Lady Lions had their doubters.
In the first round at state Chandler took on Sulphur and cruised to a 7-2 win behind a three-RBI performance from Paige Weber. Darbie Duncan also drove in two runs in the opening round game.
Baleigh Herring leaps for joy after scoring the game winning run in the Class 5A slowpitch title game – Photo Provided
In the semifinals Chandler took on Muldrow and picked up a big 11-1 run-rule victory. In the semifinals it was Neleigh Herring, Jayden Solberg and Kylee Lynch who did the heavy lifting on offense sending the Lady Lions to the state finals.
In the championship game the Lady Lions met a familiar foe, the Valliant Lady Bulldogs. In 2015 the two teams squared off in the championship game and Valliant walked away with 10-4 win. This year though Chandler was on a mission to make sure the outcome was different.
Both teams would score two runs in the first inning but Valliant kept the offense going and eventually took a 5-3 lead into the fourth.
The Lady Lions got a big lift though when junior outfielder Katie Lane blasted a three-run triple and put Chandler up 6-5.
Not going away quietly Valliant managed to scratch out two runs and take a brief 7-6 lead but a three-run home run from Weber gave Chandler a 9-7 lead headed into the final inning.
Chandler Slowptch players pile onto teammate Darbie Duncan after she drove in the game winning run in the Class 5A championship game. – Photo Provided
Valliant again wouldn’t go down without a fight and managed to plate two runners and threatened to spoil Chandler’s championship hopes but left the bases loaded in the inning and the score stayed tied.
Nobody scored until the top of the ninth when Valliant managed to get one run across and take a 10-9 lead, leaving Chandler one last chance to at least tie the game and force another inning of play. Three straight one-out singles from Brooke McCullough, Baleigh Herring and Lynch loaded the bases and had Chandler threatening to not only tie the game but to win it.
The next hitter Kelsie Cowden managed to get a ball in the air for a sacrifice fly that scored McCullough and brought Duncan to the plate. Duncan worked herself to a full count but finally got a pitch she could handle and singled up the middle to score Herring and give Chandler the walk-off win.
Duncan said her only thought when she made contact with the ball on the game winning hit was hoping it got through to the outfield grass.
“I was just hoping it would be a base hit so Baleigh could score that winning run,” Duncan said.
The Chandler slowpitch team celebrates as they are presented the state championship plaque – Photo Provided
When asked what it is like to now get to walk around with the lauded “state champion” moniker Duncan said it is a great feeling.
“It feels amazing. All of us felt what it was like not to win last year. We were not going to let that happen this year,” Duncan said. “We have one senior and we all wanted to win for her. Everyone played hard and we worked hard to achieve our goal and did what we needed to do to achieve it.”
Neleigh Herring said that she and her teammates knew coming in that Tuesday would be their moment, their time to shine.
“We knew it was our day right from the start. Everyone was playing great and we were all determined to get the championship,” Herring said. “There were ups and downs in the last game, but we came out with the win and I’ve never felt anything like it before. I still can’t believe it. It was the most unimaginable excitement and joy. We had finally done it.”
With only one senior leaving the team due o graduation look for Chandler to be a favorite to claim fastpitch gold in the fall and then defend the slowpitch title next spring.
