Chiefs have shot at repeat

Senior Logan Kirchhoff battled his way out of jams to send the Chiefs into the state championship game. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

SPRINGFIELD - Being defending Class 1 champions didn't keep the Santa Fe baseball team from a case of what head coach Josh Fisher called "underclassmen with the state jitters."

Keep in mind that four of the top-ranked Chiefs starters during Wednesday's semifinal game of the MSHSAA Championships at Springfield's spacious Meador Park has a combined four at-bats on last year's title team. But the Santa Fe veterans came through during a 3-2 victory over No. 2 Cooter.

Senior Logan Kirchhoff yielded only one earned run, throwing ground balls -- mostly to fellow all-state senior Taylor Wesley, with five fine picks at shortstop during one three-inning stretch. It was small wonder that Kirchhoff would bring Taylor in with what would prove to be the winning run with a two-strike ground ball to first base in the top of the third inning.

"Guts, determination and teamwork -- especially teamwork," Kirchhoff explained what's led to Santa Fe's sustained success against good competition. Cooter (24-2) had its 22-game win streak snapped, while the Chiefs saw a 29-game spree stopped by Class 2 playoff-bound Higginsville nearly a month ago.

Santa Fe never trailed, but neither could it pull away from the Wildcats. A walk and wild pitch with one out in the first inning put junior Matt Lovercamp on second base, from where he scored on senior Ben Catlett's single.

"I was just trying to shorten up and do what I could with it," Catlett said. "I got out in front and poked it over the infielder's head."

Senior Aaron McCaig singled to lead off the bottom of the first, but it took Santa Fe miscues to let him score. Senior Devon Quearry laid down a sacrifice bunt, which sophomore Ross Tieman -- who later threw away two routine bouncers, neither causing damage -- fielded cleanly and fired to first.

Except nobody was covering Tieman's third-base bag. He raced back, but wasn't prepared to jump high enough to snag sophomore Nathan Wesley's throw from first.

McCaig scrambled home, but Kirchhoff didn't let another runner get past second base during the next four frames.

"We came in trying to hit our spots, hoping that would throw them off," Kirchhoff said. "Putting the ball where they weren't expecting it."

Lovercamp and Wesley singled to start the third, putting Chiefs on the corners. Lovercamp came in on a wild pitch and Wesley was bunted to third by freshman Dalton Wilkinson to make it 3-1 on Kirchhoff's grounder.

That would be all Santa Fe would get off of McCaig, who racked up 10 strikeouts -- four on called third strikes. After an infield single by Wesley in the fifth, McCaig closed the game by retiring nine straight batters.

"He had good speed and mixed it up a lot," Catlett noted, "but we were helping him out."

Senior Parker Watkins scorched a double, stole second base and came in when a Kirchhoff offering sailed behind the batter to close the margin to one run in the sixth.

However, pop flies and rollers were the rule the rest of the way. Sophomore No. 9 hitter Zach Hixson flared a single to center with one out in the seventh, but Kirchhoff fought his way through to the final out -- which came after Quearry fouled off four 3-2 pitches in a row.

"Even though I was getting a little bit tired, it was fulfilling" to go the distance, Kirchhoff admitted. "I was going to finish it, since it was the last inning I'd pitch in high school."

Today, Wesley will be in the same spot, and his will to see the Chiefs (17-1) become only the second small-school team to win back-to-back titles since 1973 is palpable. If Santa Fe defeats Dora -- which downed LaPlata, 4-3, in the nightcap -- in today's final, it will be up to the youngsters to match New Bloomfield's Class A "three-peat" in 1991-93.

"This is our last chance," Catlett declared. "We want to go out with a bang."