A promising postseason for the Fox softball team went up in smoke in the district playoffs last week.
Under first-year head coach Rachel Sauer, Fox already had passed some key tests before reaching the semifinals of the Class 5 District 1 tournament at Seckman. The Warriors beat Seckman in the championship of the Jaguars’ annual tournament last month and ousted Northwest 7-4 in the first round of the district tournament.
There are no teams Fox enjoys beating more than Seckman and Northwest. Seckman was a Class 4 state quarterfinalist in 2016 and 2017, while Northwest took fourth place at state just a year ago. Fox, which last tasted state glory with a third-place finish in 2015, strung together a seven-game winning streak in the middle of this season and came into the district as the No. 5 seed.
After their upset of No. 4 Northwest, waiting for Fox in the semifinals on Oct. 15 was top-seeded Notre Dame of Cape Girardeau, a program steeped in state tradition. The Bulldogs have reached the final four nine times, finished second in the state four times and won a title in 2009.
The Missouri State High School Activities Association expanded softball from four classes to five this fall and moved Notre Dame from Class 3 to Class 5, an unusually big jump.
It didn’t matter. The Bulldogs crushed the Warriors 13-1 in five innings and went on to claim the championship, beating Jackson 6-3 in the final.
Notre Dame (25-2) moves on to the sectional round this week against Marquette (8-3) while Fox calls it a season at 14-9.
“I’m extremely proud of how they played all season,” Sauer said. “This is my first year as their head coach and they met my expectations and things will continue to get better. The more times they play games like this, the better they’ll be able to handle them.”
Fox junior Brooke Loveall and Notre Dame senior Caroline Lochmann each had a single in the first inning for their teams, but the game was scoreless going into the second.
That’s when the Bulldogs took control.
Sophomore Daleigh Cairns was in the circle for Fox to start the game. She didn’t make it out of the second inning, relieved by another sophomore, Marissa Geist. Both pitchers clutched the ball unsure of where to throw it after the opportunistic Bulldogs laid down repeated bunts, and Notre Dame racked up eight runs before the Warriors knew what hit them.
Sauer didn’t blame her young hurlers.
“Nerves got the best (of the two pitchers), but this is the game of softball and sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t. Today just wasn’t our day,” Sauer said. “We wanted to mix up our pitches. We’ve got to play better defense. You can’t make mental mistakes on the field. We’ve got to be in the right place at all times.
“We didn’t have it today.”
The big blow in the second-inning onslaught was a two-run home run by Lochmann, who finished 3 for 4, scored two runs and had three RBIs. Notre Dame scored two runs in the inning on wild pitches by Cairns.
Bulldog pitcher Hailey Kutz retired the Warriors in order in the third and her team went right back on the attack in the bottom half of the frame. Audrey LeGrand, Kalie Compas and Lochmann singled and scored. Fox’s third sophomore pitcher, Aubrey Andrews, relieved Geist after senior Halle Heuring’s RBI single. Andrews retired the next two Notre Dame batters on groundouts.
Trailing 11-0, the Warriors tried to get back in the game in the fourth. Andrews singled and stole second base. Kutz walked Loveall, who reached second on a passed ball, giving Fox two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Junior Hannah Underwood’s sacrifice fly to right field scored Andrews to make it 11-1. Junior Anastasia Baer then singled, pushing Loveall to third base.
For just a moment, the Warriors could dream of another miraculous comeback like they had Sept. 23 at home against Farmington. Fox trailed the Knights 8-0 after two innings but rallied to win 11-8.
Not this time. Kutz retired the next two batters and the Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the fourth, the first on a leadoff homer by sophomore Ainsley Burnett.
Fox needed at least three runs in the fifth to extend the game, but despite singles by freshman Briahna Hart and senior Kyle Austin, the Bulldogs didn’t allow another run and the game ended by the mercy rule.
Was Sauer thinking about that comeback win over Farmington as her team tried to pull off an even bigger rally against Notre Dame?
“Absolutely. This team had to fight all year and they didn’t quit today,” she said.
“Once you get down, you press in the batter’s box a little bit and that’s something we talk about. One swing isn’t going to change the game, so you’ve got to make that up by taking good approaches.”
District softball results
Class 5 District 1
At Seckman
Seeds: 1. Notre Dame Cape Girardeau; 2. Jackson; 3. Oakville; 4. Northwest; 5. Fox; 6. Seckman; 7. Poplar Bluff
Oct. 13
Fox 7, Northwest 4
Jackson 6, Poplar Bluff 2
Oakville 15, Seckman 5
Oct. 15
Cape Notre Dame 13, Fox 1
Jackson 12, Oakville 1
Oct. 16
Cape Notre Dame 6, Jackson 3
Class 5 District 2
At Washington
Seeds: 1. Washington; 2. Lafayette; 3. Marquette; 4. Eureka; 5. Parkway South; 6. Kirkwood; 7. Lindbergh; 8. St. Joseph’s Academy
Oct. 14
St. Joseph’s Academy 6, Washington 4
Eureka 9, Parkway South 4
Lafayette vs. Lindbergh
Marquette 4, Kirkwood 1
Oct. 15
Eureka 5, St. Joseph’s 0
Marquette 6, Lafayette 0
Oct. 16
Marquette 9, Eureka 2
Class 4 District 1
At Bonne Terre
Seeds: 1. Hillsboro; 2. Farmington; 3. Cape Girardeau Central; 4. Sikeston; 5. North County; 6. Festus; 7. De Soto
Oct. 14
Sikeston forfeit North County
Farmington 16, De Soto 6
Cape Central 5, Festus 4
Oct. 15
Hillsboro 10, Sikeston 0
Farmington 10, Cape Central 1
Oct. 16
Farmington 5, Hillsboro 2
Class 4 District 2
At Windsor
Seeds: 1. Webster Groves; 2. Windsor; 3. Rosati-Kain; 4. Nerinx Hall; 5. Incarnate Word Academy; 6. Mehlville; 7. Cor Jesu Academy; 8. Affton
Oct. 14
Webster Groves 15, Affton 0
Incarnate Word 15, Nerinx Hall 6
Windsor 16, Cor Jesu 1
Rosati-Kain 10, Mehlville 0
Oct. 15
Webster Groves 14, Incarnate Word 4
Rosati-Kain 2, Windsor 0
Oct. 16
Webster Groves 15, Rosati-Kain 0
Class 3 District 1
At Perryville
Seeds: 1. Perryville; 2. Lutheran South; 3. Ursuline Academy; 4. Notre Dame St. Louis; 5. Westminster Christian Academy; 6. Fredericktown; 7. Herculaneum
Oct. 13
Notre Dame 3, Westminster Christian 0
Lutheran South 8, Herculaneum 6
Ursuline 17, Fredericktown 11
Oct. 14
Perryville 9, Notre Dame 0
Lutheran South 11, Ursuline 1
Oct. 15
Perryville 9, Lutheran South 1
Class 2 District 4
At New Haven
Seeds: 1. Elsberry; 2. St. Pius X; 3. Jefferson; 4. New Haven; 5. Bishop DuBourg; 6. Louisiana; 7. Hermann
Oct. 13
New Haven 15, Bishop DuBourg 0
St. Pius X 11, Hermann 1
Jefferson 11, Louisiana 3
Oct. 14
Elsberry 15, New Haven 5
Jefferson 4, St. Pius X 3
Oct. 16
Elsberry 12, Jefferson 8