A two-hit shutout by junior Logan Kirchhoff gave the Chiefs their fifth district title in eight years. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

CONCORDIA -- Santa Fe's hitters didn't exactly rake the ball Thursday during the championship game of the Class 1, District 15 Tournament at Concordia.

They didn't need to. All that was required of the Chiefs in any of the three district games was a lone run, since junior Logan Kirchhoff -- as did the previous two starting pitchers, sophomore Matt Lovercamp and junior Taylor Wesley -- blanked Pilot Grove for a 9-0 title defense.

"Holy cow!" exclaimed Santa Fe head coach Josh Fisher. "Defense wins ball games, and those boys on the mound sure did the job."

The second-ranked Chiefs out-scored opponents 37-0 during their sweep, allowing only four hits.

Their staff has whitewashed six foes this season, tied for seventh in the MSHSAA Records Book with Walnut Grove -- which played 24 games, as opposed to Santa Fe's 16, as was the case of all the higher-ranking teams.

The arms which propelled the Chiefs into the state tournament last year with a 2.51 earned-run average encouraged high hopes for this season - and haven't disappointed, with a 1.77 ERA.

"We had high expectations coming in, we surely did," Fisher admitted. "This is exactly what we expected."

And now Santa Fe will be shooting for a return to Springfield, but it won't come easily since Monday's sectional contest will be at I-70 Conference rival Wellington-Napoleon -- which has given the Chiefs their stiffest tests of the season with a pair of four-run games, their closest of the season.

"They're a solid ball club," Fisher noted. Tigers head coach David Hunter, a Slater native, "will have those boys ready to play."

Pilot Grove (15-2) didn't appear to be ready to play -- despite losing to Santa Fe, 7-1, in last year's title showdown -- and got a loud tongue-lashing from head coach Todd Maher after surrendering four unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning.

The real trouble started with a bobbled grounder to shortstop, which put Wesley on first base with two outs. Senior Kenzie Thorp walked and a run scored when senior Logan Wesley's bouncer to short was also flubbed.

Lovercamp walked to load the bases and senior Brandon Schmidt delivered a nicely-swung opposite-field single to right field to plate two runs. After a wild pitch, Schmidt came in on Kirchhoff's solid single to left.

"We're going to try to capitalize on mistakes," Fisher said. "You've got to be efficient when you get on [base]."

However, the Tigers' starter, senior Jordan Williams, got tougher as the game progressed. After giving up an RBI single to Thorp in the second, he blanked Santa Fe over the next two frames -- striking out the side in the third.

"We were getting frustrated because we didn't hit the ball," Fisher said. "If we don't jump on them early, you don't know what the outcome's going to be."

Actually, it was pretty clear from the start what was going to happen, since Kirchhoff (8-0) was next to unhittable. He faced the minimum number of batters, didn't give up a hit until senior Nick Haller legged out an infield single in the fifth, and struck out 11.

"He was very confident coming into this," Fisher explained. "He was itching to get on the mound."

The Chiefs finally made the margin more comfortable with three runs in the fifth. Logan Wesley and Schmidt singled, both scoring on erratic throws. Kirchhoff and junior Max Capps walked, chasing Williams, and junior Ben Catlett made it 8-0 with a sacrifice fly.

Santa Fe tacked on a run in a strange sixth inning, which began when Taylor Wesley was awarded third base when he collided with a fielder while rounding the bag at second following a gapper to right-center.

Wesley scored on Thorp's grounder, but then Logan Wesley went to third base on a pair of errors on a routine fly ball to center field -- only to be called out when Fisher, coaching third base, touched him.

The episodes made for high comedy, but didn't matter. Williams doubled with one out in the seventh, but the game ended on an appeal when he left the bag early on a fly out to center.

There will probably be few such light moments when the Chiefs (16-0) play Wellington to begin their fifth playoff appearance in eight years.

"It's a new ball game," Fisher declared. "The record's 0-0 for both of us."