Chester softball picks up win No. 20

Posted May 09, 2016 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Staff Writer

Faced with a chance to pick up their second big milestone of the season, the Chester Lady Yellow Jackets grabbed it on the first try.

Brie Childs scored on an error in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Chester picked up its 20th win of the season with a 5-4 win over state-ranked Steeleville on Monday.

"We wanted somebody to get on and, of course, you saw Emily (Tudor) bunt (Childs) over with two strikes, which I rarely ever do, but Emily is a good bunter," said Chester coach Tracy Colvis. "I didn't think they were going to pitch to Miah, but they did.

"We were hoping somebody on second with Miah Mitchell coming up, with an on-base percentage around .600 and batting around .600, you just want runners in scoring position when she comes up."

Childs had walked to start the inning and after Tudor's bunt, Mitchell grounded out to third, which moved Childs over to third base.

Haley Middendorf, down to her last strike of the at-bat, hit a hard grounder to third that popped out of Mackenzie Pim's glove and allowed Middendorf to reach safely and Childs to score to end the game.

"We didn't put the ball in play enough," said Steeleville coach Andy Gerlach. "We didn't get enough hits in the first couple of innings and that was key there.

"We need baserunners."

The Lady Warriors trailed Chester 4-1 entering the top of the seventh, but got a bases-loaded walk and a two-run double by Lexi Middendorf to tie the game before the Lady Yellow Jackets stopped the bleeding.

"We had our opportunities," Gerlach said. "That's the thing, you have to capitalize on your opportunities.

"We had opportunities to score at the end of the game there and we didn't capitalize."

Chester led 3-0 after two innings and each team scored in the fifth. Logan Colvis got the win for the Lady Yellow Jackets, as both teams battled a steady rain.

"It's just hard because it takes away from your stealing, the ball's wet when you throw, so it's basically keeping their heads in the game," Colvis said on the challenges of playing in the rain.

Haley Middendorf finished 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for Chester, while Lexi Middendorf finished with three RBIs for Steeleville.

Josie Raby also went 2-for-3 for the Lady Warriors.

Chester improved to 20-4 win the victory, while Steeleville fell to 20-5. Earlier in the day, the Lady Warriors rose one spot to 17th in the Illinois Coaches Association Class 1A poll, while Chester was getting votes in Class 2A.

"We want to win the rest of our games out," Colvis said, when asked if the next goal was to win the regional. "That's our goal, we're winning until the end. That's what we want."

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