LA PLATA, Mo. - For five innings Tuesday night, North Shelby and Canton were locked in a championship battle defined by outstanding pitching and steady defense. Then the Lady Raiders found their opening, scoring six runs in the sixth inning to claim the Class 1 District 5 softball championship with a 7-1 victory at the La Plata Sports Complex.
North Shelby improved to 25-3 and advanced to Saturday’s state quarterfinal at Gallatin. Canton finished its season at 10-14, earning the district runner-up trophy after pushing the top-seeded Lady Raiders deep into the championship game.
Clara Uhlmeyer delivered a dominant complete-game performance for North Shelby, allowing four hits and one earned run while striking out 13 without a walk. The junior threw 82 of her 100 pitches for strikes and struck out half of the 26 batters she faced.
Across the diamond, Canton sophomore Olivia Slater matched her through much of the evening. Slater held North Shelby hitless through three innings and limited the Lady Raiders to one run through five, using her movement and rise ball to keep a productive lineup searching for answers.
“Olivia pitched a heck of a game,” North Shelby coach Dan Uhlmeyer said. “She was all around the zone. She had great spin on it.”
Canton broke through first in the fourth inning. Chayse Uhlmeyer opened the frame with a single and stole second before Claire Whiston followed with a single. Izzy Baker then placed a squeeze bunt for an RBI single, bringing Chayse Uhlmeyer home for a 1-0 Lady Tiger lead.
With runners still aboard and nobody out, Clara Uhlmeyer stopped the threat with three consecutive strikeouts. That response kept North Shelby within a run and gave its offense an opportunity to answer in the bottom half.
The Lady Raiders did just that. Clara Uhlmeyer drew a walk, and courtesy runner Sophia Luckett eventually came around on Alexis Browning’s two-out triple to deep left field. Browning’s first hit of the night for North Shelby tied the game at 1-1, though Slater recorded another strikeout to strand the go-ahead run at third.
The pitchers exchanged scoreless fifth innings, with Clara Uhlmeyer striking out the side. Canton threatened again in the sixth when Chayse Uhlmeyer collected her second single and worked her way to third, but a strikeout and an infield popup helped Clara Uhlmeyer leave her there and preserve the tie.
North Shelby’s breakthrough began with Sadie Gander leading off the bottom of the sixth with a double. Clara Uhlmeyer followed with a sacrifice bunt to move Gander to third, and Kalli Parrish singled to center to bring home the go-ahead run.
Dan Uhlmeyer said his team had become too aggressive early against Slater before settling back into its approach as the game progressed. Gander’s double provided the spark the Lady Raiders needed.
“I told her, I said, ‘First pitch you see, you hit it, and you hit it as hard as you can,’ and she did,” Uhlmeyer said.
The sacrifice that followed was just as important to North Shelby’s coach. With runs difficult to come by, he wanted to give his team every opportunity to turn Gander’s double into a lead.
“There was a good chance this was gonna be a two-to-one ball game,” Uhlmeyer said. “I was willing to give up the out to get her to third to put her in that position.”
Once North Shelby moved in front, the inning continued to build. Lauryn Thrasher was hit by a pitch, Parrish scored on a wild pitch, and Browning drew a walk. With two outs, Ada Jones drove a double to left to score Thrasher and Browning, stretching the advantage to 5-1.
Jones’ two-run hit gave the Lady Raiders valuable breathing room and added an offensive contribution to her work behind the plate catching Clara Uhlmeyer. Courtesy runner Jessa Daniel then scored on Taylin Prange’s RBI single, and Prange later crossed on a wild pitch to complete the six-run inning. Kinsley Hinshaw also singled during the rally, which accounted for five of North Shelby’s six hits.
Clara Uhlmeyer finished the championship by retiring Canton in order in the seventh, adding her 13th strikeout along the way. Both teams completed the game without a defensive error.
Browning finished with a triple, a walk, an RBI and a run scored, while Jones drove in two runs with her double. Gander doubled and scored, Parrish singled and drove in the go-ahead run, and Prange added a hit, an RBI and a run.
For Canton, Chayse Uhlmeyer went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and scored the Lady Tigers’ run. Whiston and Izzy Baker supplied the other two hits, with Baker recording Canton’s RBI.
Slater finished with 10 strikeouts in 5? innings, allowing four hits, three walks and six earned runs. Izzy Ruffcorn recorded the final out of the sixth in relief, allowing two hits and one earned run.
Canton coach Kevin Jarvis praised Slater’s development and the way his team approached the championship matchup. The Lady Tigers entered knowing they would need strong pitching, clean defense and timely execution against Clara Uhlmeyer.
“Towards the end of the season she has really come on strong and solidified her spot as the number one pitcher on this team,” Jarvis said of Slater. “She just keeps getting stronger and stronger.”
Jarvis also credited his players for carrying out their preparation against North Shelby’s pitching. Canton put together its fourth-inning scoring opportunity and remained within reach until the Lady Raiders’ late rally.
“I think the girls executed our game plan perfectly,” Jarvis said. “We ramped up the pitching machine last night to get them used to the faster pitching, and just said, ‘Put it in play. Make them make plays and good things will happen.’”
The runner-up finish closed the high school softball careers of Canton seniors Claire Whiston, Addelyn Baker, Mariah Robertson, Izzy Baker, Carter Arnold, Chayse Uhlmeyer and Izzy Ruffcorn. Jarvis praised the group’s character, classroom work and leadership by example.
For North Shelby, the district championship adds another achievement to a season that already included the program’s first conference title. The Lady Raiders now travel to Gallatin on Saturday with a place in the Class 1 state semifinals on the line.
“These girls, they’re eager,” Dan Uhlmeyer said. “We’re gonna go give them the best game we can give them.”
(This game recap is presented based upon the coverage of the Hometown Radio Sports Network. Any statistics given should be deemed as unofficial.)
Click here to listen to the broadcast of this game.
