Chester softball sets record, wins tournament

Posted May 07, 2016 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Staff Writer

After shaking off some recent struggles, the Chester softball team accomplished one goal and is on the verge of another.

The Lady Yellow Jackets rallied to beat Zeigler-Royalton-Christopher on Thursday, giving them the elusive - and history-making - 16th win, and Chester followed up by winning all three games of the Benton Invitational Softball Tournament on Saturday.

Against the Tornadoes, Chester trailed 7-1 after the second inning, but chipped away at the deficit. The Lady Yellow Jackets scored three runs in the third and four in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 8.

"I was not happy with the way we started," said Chester coach Tracy Colvis. "We made a lot of errors, played really shaky defense, Logan's (Colvis) pitching wasn't on, but the girls pulled through, they got into the game, they were very intense and were not accepting they were going to lose."

Chester ended up with five errors, but it's how you finish games that makes the difference. After Z-R-C plated a run in the top of the seventh, the Lady Yellow Jackets responded with two of their own in the bottom of the inning.

With two outs and runners on second and third, Kaitlyn Dillow hit a walkoff single that scored Emily Atchison for the winning run and a place in the CHS record book.

"At first, I thought we were kinda down because our two big losses against Trico, we didn't play well," Coach Colvis said. "I thought that was it, but maybe in hindsight, maybe it was because they were so nervous they wanted to get No. 16 so badly."

With the victory, the Lady Yellow Jackets broke the single-season wins record of 15, set during the 1992 season under coach Jeff Kordys.

Throughout the run to the record, the team has had carried a 1992 picture of Jenny (Carter) Wilson, who was the winning pitcher for all 15 games of that season.

Wilson is the sister of Coach Colvis and has known most of Chester's players since they were 5 years old. The players affectionately refer to Wilson as "Aunt Jenny."

"I have two sisters - one was the starting center fielder, the other was the starting pitcher and it's a nice family affair with a lot of trash talking going on between my team and my two sisters about knocking them off their reign," Colvis said. "Now, Logan and Karson will take over from where their aunts were at."

With the record out of the way, Colvis was asked what the next goal was.

"We're going for 20," Colvis said. "We want to go as much as we can so that nobody is ever going to knock us off in 20-something years."

In pursuit of that, Chester set its sights on the Benton tournament - which the Lady Yellow Jackets won by defeating Benton, 9-8, in comeback fashion on Saturday.

Chester led 9-7 entering the bottom of the sixth. The Rangerettes scored a run and then loaded the bases with one out against Lady Yellow Jacket pitcher Logan Colvis - who was the winning pitcher in all three of Chester's games of the day.

Chester got the second out on a force out at home and Dillow, who was at third base, made a backhand stab at a line drive off the bat of Cristen Shaw, knocking the ball down and then reaching to tag the bag for the third out.

The game, which also included a 30-minute lightning delay, was called after the sixth inning due to the time rule. It was the first time Chester had won the tournament since 2000.

"I am so incredibly proud of how the girls kept their composure and stayed in the game to finish the long day with a win," Colvis said. "They played so well. We had the total package going - defense, pitching and hitting along with intensity and heart."

Dillow finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the win, while Chester teammate Miah Mitchell went 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored.

The Lady Yellow Jackets improved to 19-4 with the victories, which also included wins over Galatia-Thompsonville (9-3) and Hamilton County (12-1).

Chester will go for its 20th win tomorrow at home against Steeleville. First pitch, weather permitting, is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

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