Chandler got a no-hitter from junior Kennedy Allen in the first round and made it to the semifinals of the state tournament before falling to eventual state champion Lone Grove last week.
It capped a remarkable season for the Lady Lions, who finished 35-6. They peeled off 10 straight wins to start the season, won 17 straight in another stretch and shut out 18 opponents.
“Our goals were to win our district, host a regional, host and win a super regional and get to the state tournament,”said coach Bryan Herring. “Every goal we set in front of ourselves at the start of the season, we achieved.
“It’s a 100 percent successful season. Like I told the girls, only one team gets to leave Hall of Fame Stadium happy. Unfortunately, it wasn’t us this year, but we’re going to keep going to work and keep getting better.”
Chandler started the tournament with a bang, as Allen struck out 16 Lindsay batters and threw a no-hitter en route to a 6-0 win.
She was in command the entire game and never found herself in a jam.
Chandler broke open a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth when Brenlee Correa scored on an infield grounder and Hadlee Massengale roped a single to right to score pinch-runner Elli Hilgenfeld.
Although those runs were all Allen needed, Chandler got four more on RBI hits by Blaklei Smith and Rylee Capps and a two-run single by Halle Pittman.
“When Kennedy gets in the mode she was in today, she’s dangerous,” Herring said. “Our junior high coaches are here helping us, and she walked over to one of them and said ‘if we score, it’s over.’
“It’s amazing. Every team here in the state tournament is a quality ballclub - good hitting, good pitching, good defense. For her to go out and throw a no-hitter in the first round is amazing.”
Allen said she was unaware during the game that she didn’t know she had a no-hitter going.
“I had no idea,” she said. “It was after the game, when we were talking the dugout.
“It wasn’t as intense as I would have liked it to be. The first three innings were pretty intense - a 0-0 ballgame - but as we got deeper into it, it kind of lost that a little bit because we had insurance if something were to happen.”
It was the Lady Lions’ first appearance in the state tournament since 2016, when they won the state championship. Herring said the team will waste no time in getting ready for a repeat trip next year.
“They got so close so many times to the state tournament, then they got here and got into the semifinals,” he said. “Our seniors are going to feel they left a little something on the field, but it’s good for our underclassmen going forward.
“They know how to get here. Kennedy is going to get stronger as a senior. We hope to be right back here next year.”