LITTLETON — The situation looked pretty bleak for Chatfield’s softball team heading into the bottom of the fifth inning Tuesday.
Cherokee Trail had just batted around in the top of the fifth inning to score 6 runs and take a commanding 12-4 lead in the non-league battle between two solid squads that are just outside the top-10 of the newest CHSAANow.com Class 5A softball rankings.
However, after the dust settled and the sun began to set behind the foothills Chatfield rallied for a remarkable 15-13 victory in the game that lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes.
“I’ve never been involved in a game like this,” Chatfield coach Jen Lazzeri. “In the fourth inning I was thinking about all the things I was going to say to them. ‘Where has my team gone?’ I can’t find our bats. We’ve been struggling and in a funk.”
The Chargers (8-4 record) showed up in the bottom of the fifth inning. Freshman Kendall Holloway reached on a throwing error to start the marathon inning that had Chatfield send 13 batters to the plate, crank out 8 hits and plate 9 runs to take a 13-12 lead heading to the sixth inning.
“We tried to stay calm and not think about things too much,” Chatfield freshman Lexi Balfanz said about her approach during the 9-run fifth inning for the Chargers. “I didn’t want things to get into my head. That never works out very well for me.”
Senior Dakota Dipaola tripled to drive in two runs to cut Cherokee Trail’s lead to 12-9. Sophomore Aubrey Henshaw drove in Dipaola to make it a 2-run game. Balfanz then had her biggest hit of her young high school career with a 2-run home run to tie the game at 12-12.
“They did it themselves,” Lazzeri said of the incredible rally. “They kind of sparked off each other.”
Junior Brooklyn Levin gave the Chargers their first lead of the game with an RBI single that scored Holloway to close out the 9-run inning.
Henshaw and Balfanz both delivered again in the top of the sixth inning with RBI hits. Balfanz nearly left the yard again with a line drive that hit the base of the fence in left-center field for an eventual double to give Chatfield a 3-run cushion heading to the final inning.
“We have got to remember this,” Lazzeri said of the 15-hit attack. “We need to use this as momentum for the next three games before we start league. We finally got the bats going.”
It was a roller coast ride for Levin who started in the circle for Chatfield. She was actually lifted from the mound to start the third inning with the Chargers trailing 4-1. Holloway and senior Abby Washco both pitched in relief before Lazzeri put Levin back in to pitch in the middle of the top of the fifth inning.
“It wasn’t my best day. It was rough. After I got pulled I was very frustrated with myself,” Levin admitted who gave up 4 runs on 5 hits in the first two innings. “When I got put back in I knew I had to focus. My teammates had my back, so I needed to have their’s.”
Levin said she was surprised when Lazzeri put her back in the circle no outs in the fifth inning. Cherokee Trail scored four runs off her in the inning, but the junior retired the Cougars in order in the top of the sixth inning and gave up just a run in the seventh inning to close out the game.
“She (Levin) was a resilient kid for sure,” Lazzeri said.
Cherokee Trail’s offense finished with 16 hits, plating 13 runs. The Cougars’ first four hitters — Ryleigh Cruz, Brooke Scott, Addison Krei and Caitlin Cushenbery — combined for 11 hits and 7 RBIs in the loss.