By LIONEL TIPTON
ROSALIA, Kansas – Most of the time, a doubleheader split will leave the question of who is the better team largely unanswered.
But after Flinthills and Chase County split a pair Tuesday, a matchup was created in the Class 2-1A softball regional next week at Flinthills that will serve as a rubber match.
So, thanks to the 2-1A pairings, a definitive winner will be crowned in this pairing on the regional’s opening day.
The only thing that will be different from Tuesday’s twin bill will be the designated visitor and home team. Even though the regional is at Flinthills, the sixth-seeded Mustangs will be the visiting team against Chase County, the No. 3 seed.
But to advance, whether home team or visitor, the Mustangs will have to avoid allowing the Bulldogs an early lead. Chase County scored the first eight runs in the opener and jumped to a 6-2 lead in the nightcap.
In addition to the home field, Flinthills should have some confidence that in both games Tuesday, they rallied to take the lead.
In the opener, the Mustangs held on for dear life and edged the Bulldogs, 10-9. But in the nightcap, after Flinthills had a 10-6 lead, Chase County scored five runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to gain the split with a 14-10 decision.
“I thought we played fairly well (Tuesday),” said Scribner, who went 3 for 5 in the second game and 4 for 8 in the doubleheader with 4 RBI. “We just had a couple of rough innings, and we dug ourselves a little hole.”
In addition, it was Senior Night at Flinthills, and the Mustangs recognized seven athletes, including softball starters Emily Scribner (center field) and Paige Corter (first base) as well as newcomer Jalyn Wood, who is just now getting over injuries that have hindered her ability to contribute.
Mustangs coach Trevor Kemp said it’s difficult to lose Scribner and Corter.
“They’ve been such a blessing to have; we had both of them for four years,” he said. “They both have had really good careers for us.”
He remains confident in his team’s ability to be successful.
“When we click, we can be a solid ballclub,” Kemp said. “It’s just finding those spurts – I say ‘spurts’ because I haven’t seen us put seven innings together this year.
“It’s just turning those spurts – and now we have to, because we’re on to regionals – into several innings and turning those innings into games.
“We’ve got to find a way to get those spurts to games by the time we get back (for regionals).
“But it’s a good group, they’re a competitive group, they rallied that first game (and) they rallied that second game for a while.”
Erasing an 8-0 deficit shows a lot, Kemp said.
“A lot of grit … we came from 8-0 and ended up holding them to one (run) the next six innings,” he said. “Which shows that (his team) can bear down and have that grit. We just have to find it consistently as a whole team, make sure everyone is involved, everyone can get in there at any time.”
Junior left-hander Jolene Dragoo pitched 13 of the 14 innings in the doubleheader, and her outings followed a similar pattern. Chase County was able to get to her early, but then she settled down and shut off the Bulldogs’ attack.
That was the case in the first game, as Flinthills gave up just one run after Chase County’s eight-run first inning. Dragoo posted zeros in every inning after that but the sixth, including retiring the Bulldogs in order in the fifth.
“She may have started a little bit slow, but she has been a workhorse for us all year,” Kemp said. “She has given us a lot of chances to compete. What really showed for her was how much she came back after struggling early on, came and competed for us the rest of the (two) games. That really shows what type of pitcher she can be for us.”
Rallying from eight runs down might seem like an impossible task, but the Mustangs managed that despite managing just four hits in the game. They took advantage of seven Chase County errors, scoring six runs in the second and two in the fourth to create the 8-8 tie, then pulling ahead with a two-run fifth.
The road back began in the second, when Corter was safe on an error. Her sister Katelyn then walked, and both moved up on Zoey Haigler’s groundout. Dani Haigler was then safe on an error, and No. 9 hitter Nilari Cabugo walked. One out later, Corter scored on a wild pitch, putting Haigler and Cabugo at second and third. Emily Scribner walked, and Dragoo’s bases-loaded fly ball was misplayed for the third error of the inning, driving in Haigler and Cabugo.
Emily Scribner then walked, and Karynn Gleason’s single drove in Scribner and Dragoo, and suddenly Flinthills was back within striking distance, 8-6.
The Mustangs tied it in the fourth. After Cabugo drew a leadoff walk, Alex Scribner tried to bunt her ahead but wound up safe at first on the play. Dragoo was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, and Cabugo scored on Emily Scribner’s fielder’s choice. One out later, a bases-loaded walk to Paige Corter brought in the tying run.
In the next inning, the Mustangs took a two-run lead. With two out, Cabugo was awarded first base on a catcher’s interference call that Chase County vehemently disputed. She took third on Alex Scribner’s single and scored on a wild pitch. Dragoo walked, and Emily Scribner’s single drove in her cousin.
But there were still two innings remaining. The Bulldogs scored one in the sixth. In the seventh, Dragoo retired the first two hitters on strikeouts, but Chase County advanced a runner to third before Dragoo got the final out, and Mustangs fans let out a sigh of relief.
In the nightcap, Chase County’s bats came alive in the sixth, erasing a 10-6 Flinthills lead and going ahead, 11-10. Two Mustangs errors helped the Bulldogs put up three more in the seventh.
This time, the Mustangs managed 10 hits, including three by Emily Scribner (including a double), but six errors in the game proved to be their undoing.
Dani Haigler had a double and a single, Corter and Emily Scribner each drove in two runs, and Gleason had two singles.
In each game, Dragoo managed to shut down Chase County after it took large early leads. But in the second game, there were only three scoreless innings before the Bulldogs’ sixth-inning rally.
The split creates a winner-take-all situation in the regional opener. It could have been worse, Kemp said. A Chase County sweep would have put the Bulldogs in contention for the regional’s second seed, which would be decided by a coin flip.
“You can’t sit here and hang your head on what went wrong,” Kemp said. “We’ve got to build on it the next three days and figure out how to make it right.
“This should develop a hunger these next three days leading into that on Monday,” Kemp said. “(You have) that sour feeling that you were ahead and didn’t pull out a win, and now you don’t often get another chance right away, and we’ll get another chance.”
It brought the regular season to a close for both Emily Scribner and Paige Corter, who have each competed in multiple sports during their Flinthills careers.
Scribner competed in volleyball and basketball in addition to softball. She will attend Kansas State and major in elementary education.
She said that these past four years have been more successful under Kemp’s leadership than the five years prior.
“We’ve definitely improved over the four years,” Scribner said.
Overall, she said it was a rewarding four years.
“I think our class brought a lot of energy into the sports,” Scribner said. “We had a good group of girls coming in … and I think the heart was there.
“I think we should be proud of what we accomplished.”
She said she’d like to return to the district as a teacher.
“I hope to teach here someday,” Scribner said. “I’m perfectly happy staying here the rest of my life.
“I don’t feel any need to leave.”
Kemp called Scribner a workhorse and said she has been a good utility player.
“She always has that good attitude, will play where we need (her) – she has pitched for us this year, she has caught for us, she has played center field,” he said. “Last year, she played with a broken hand, catch with the opposite hand and flip her glove and still play center field, because she wants to compete that much.”
Corter, the Mustangs’ all-time leading scorer in basketball, also competed in volleyball until this season, when she decided to put her focus in the fall on basketball. It paid off, as she will attend Cowley College on a basketball scholarship, quite an accomplishment for an athlete at a small school. She said she favors majoring in sports management but also considered criminal justice.
But Corter also competes in track and could be a Mustangs entrant at the State Meet, so her scrapbook is likely to be overflowing. She’s ready to head to Cowley.
“I’m excited,” Corter said. “I’m ready for it. They’re pretty happy with me coming down there, and I’ve got lots of work to do, and I’m excited for it.”
With Cowley a member of the Jayhawk Conference, that means Corter will be returning to the county at least once in the season when the Tigers face Butler.
She said she is considering coaching in her future, and with her athleticism, she should have no shortage of interested schools.
Corter even acknowledged that she could merge her interests and be a coach for at-risk youth.
She had a single, walked twice and scored twice in the doubleheader.
Kemp said Corter started out as a catcher for the Mustangs.
“(She) flipped over the first base, where she goes and picks the ball for us, puts the ball in play, hits it with power,” he said.
Wood, the third senior, is headed for Hesston College and hopes to be able to play softball there.
“(Scribner and Corter) are two that are really tough to lose,” Kemp said. “Then you have Jalyn, who came in this year from Remington. She got bit by the injury bug about halfway through the season.”
Wood, who pitched the final inning of the nightcap, was getting her first action in about a month, Kemp said.
“She has come in, embraced the culture and had a good attitude with us,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed her to add to our team.”
Flinthills 10-10, Chase County 9-14
Game One
Chase County 800 001 0 – 9 11 7
Flinthills 060 220 x – 10 4 4
W – Dragoo. L – Neff. 3B – Phillips (CC).
Game Two
Chase County 420 005 3 – 14 11 4
Flinthills 241 120 0 – 10 11 6
W – Neff. L – Dragoo. 2B – D, Haigler, E. Scribner (FH).
