Choudrant falls in state semifinals on walk-off

After a lights-out pitcher’s duel through six innings, the Choudrant softball team fell just short of advancing to the Division V non-select state championship – losing 3-1 to No. 4 Converse in Friday’s state semifinals. 

No. 9 Choudrant (23-8) and Converse were tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh until Converse pitcher Avery Prine walked it off on a two-run home run over the left center field wall to advance the Wildcats to the state championship. 

It was just the Wildcats’ fifth hit of the ballgame, but it was the one that mattered in the end, according to Choudrant head coach Wayne Antley. 

“We just didn’t hit as well as we usually do,” Antley said postgame. “They gave me everything they had. And they did. Up until those last four hitters, we were in it.” 

While the bats were cold, Choudrant sophomore Holly Bennett gave her team all she had in the circle, going 6.2 innings, striking out 10 batters, and allowing 3 ER on 6 hits. 

Bennett kept the Wildcats off balance with effective pitches out of the zone, getting multiple chases – including three-straight innings that Converse stranded a runner in scoring position. 

And she did it all even after being hit by a pitch on her throwing elbow, leaving Antley even more proud of the effort his young pitcher gave him when it mattered most. 

“She got hit on her pitching arm, and she still pitched well for us,” Antley said. “One pitch could go either way. I’m proud of her.” 

Outside of the winning homer, Prine shut down the Aggies’ bats, fanning 13 batters in seven innings of work with 1 earned run on five hits with an effective change up that saw the top of Choudrant’s lineup struggle to time up the pitch. 

Up until the seventh, the teams had a combined eight hits to 19 strikeouts with one run each on a pair of RBI doubles in the third inning. 

Bennett helped herself in the top of the third on an RBI double to center to bring home Kylie Willis to give the Aggies an early lead, but Converse punched back with a double in the home half on a towering fly ball to center, causing Choudrant outfielder Emma Bell to fall down and lose the ball due to the sun overhead. 

The Aggies may have come up one game short of playing for the school’s second state title, but Antley knows this young group has the makings of another deep postseason run in the future. 

Choudrant will lose four seniors to graduation but will return its top two pitchers and home run leader Zoey Smith in 2024. 

“They got out here and got a taste of what it’s like, and hopefully we’ll build on that next year,” Antley said. “We lost four seniors, and we’ve got a good group coming back.” 

Smith, who led the Aggies with 12 HR as a sophomore, singled in her first at bat Friday but was intentionally walked in her last three at bats by Converse. 

It was clear the Wildcats wanted someone else on Choudrant besides Smith to beat them, and the gamble paid off. 

“She wanted to bat, and I don’t blame her. I would too,” Antley said of Smith. “The other coach, he was classy; he came up afterward and said why he did after the game. Every coach tries to avoid your good hitters. Didn’t work out for us today.” 

No. 2 Quitman and No. 4 Converse will play for the Division V non-select state title on Saturday.