The Chase County Explosion U-12 softball team finished in fourth place last weekend at the USSSA Class B State tournament in Shawnee.
The Explosion began play on July 10 against the SEK Kaos and scored seven runs in the first two innings, highlighted by triples by Alissa Wells and Cassidy Kelsheimer and an inside-the-park home run by Kelsheimer. Lindsay Albers, Megan Jirak, Katie O’Brien and Brianna Potter also had hits in the contest. On the mound, Potter was dominant, recording eight strikeouts in four innings as the Explosion won 7-3.
In its second game on July 11, the Explosion faced the Renegades RH and played well defensively, but couldn’t produce any runs as they slipped into the loser’s bracket with the 2-0 loss.
Chase County exploded in its third game on July 12, winning 14–0 over the Lawrence Phoenix. Potter and Tori Burkhart combined for a two-hit shutout. Offensively, the game featured two doubles by Potter; a single, double, and triple by Kelsheimer; and two singles and a home run by Wells. Albers also added to the Explosion’s attack, getting on base in all three of her at-bats and scoring two runs. Kandace Griffin, Mikala Potts and Burkhart also had hits in the contest.
In its fourth game, Chase County faced a tough Kansas Nitro team from Wellsville. Good defensive play by Kori Hopson and Jirak, along with great pitching from Wells, led the Explosion to a two-hit shutout over the Nitro and a 3-0 win.
Potter then pitched a one-hit shutout for a 2-0 victory over the Kansas Chaos. Hits from Griffin, Albers, Wells, and Potts proved to be enough offense to win the contest.
The Explosion’s final game of the tournament went into two extra innings with the Lawrence Firestix before Lawrence earned the 4-3 win. With the game tied 2-2, the Firestix loaded the bases in the fifth inning with no outs. They only came away with one run after Wells struck out two and Hopson made an outstanding catch in right field to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Potts scored on a sacrifice fly by Potter.
The Firestix then scored a run in the sixth with two outs, and Chase County was unable to answer.
Explosion players earned MVP awards given out by the opposing coaches for the first two games of the tournament. Potter received the award in Game One and Potts took the honor in Game Two. Kelsheimer and Potter were selected to the USSSA State All-Tournament team.
Chase County will wrap up its season next week as they travel to the USSSA Class B World Series July 20-26. The girls will be playing in the largest USSSA World Series ever played. Seventy-one teams from more than 10 different states will play in the U-12 division.