As the throw from third baseman Amelia Smith smacked into the glove of first baseman Addi Thompson and secured the final out of a 3-1 victory over metro rival Crossings, the Chargers stormed out of the dugout to celebrate a campaign no other fastpitch team at Heritage Hall has ever achieved...a perfect regular season!

The win over the Knights put a stamp on the 22-0 run for head coach Jordan Semore's squad. The triumphs didn't all come easily – a Jacie Cochran Memorial tournament title featuring narrow wins over Crescent, Cashion, and Crossings; a pair of 3-0 wins over district contender Perry; a 1-0 win at State contender Plainview; and the final victory over Crossings.

Semore credits his team's competitive spirit and deeper pitching staff for spurring the team onward to the amazing season. 

"Over the past four years, our program has grown. Each incoming class has brought more girls in that already have experience with the sport. We have great kids, a great group, and a team filled with girls that have experience and who know how to compete. Also, us having two pitchers in the circle with as much skill as Addi and KeKe puts less pressure on our offense and we don't have to outscore the opponent from the plate like we have in past seasons. We feel that if we can score two runs per game, we will be very successful!"

The 22 wins is the best start to a season, highest win total in a season, and the longest win streak in program history. While the team has posted these admirable marks, record-setting has been a trend for the individual players on this team as the season progressed.

Thompson has been uncommon at the dish. Her season marks of .582 (currently on pace for a season record), 9 doubles, 3 home runs, and 20 RBI have led the Charger offense this season. She broken the program's career records for hits (125), doubles (37), RBI (85), and is on pace to surpass the batting average mark (.514) held by Katie Wilson '12 (.487) since the 2011 season concluded.

In addition to her success at the plate, the Michigan commit has been practically untouchable in the circle. This season she is 14-0 with a 0.90 ERA, allowing just 23 hits and 22 walks, and fanning 172 hitters in 78.1 innings. She owns the top four seasons for strikeouts in Charger history - 172 as a freshman, 203 as a sophomore, 157 as a junior, and 172 and counting this season (KyAnn Woods '21 freshman campaign of 122 is fifth). Addi has already surpassed career marks for wins (45) and strikeouts (704) and will undoubtedly finish atop the leaderboard for career pitching win percentage (currently .776) and ERA (currently 1.55).

Thompson reflected on this historic regular season, "Winning the Cashion tournament with my teammates was an awesome experience. I am so beyond happy and proud of them and what we continue to accomplish together! My favorite game this season was definitely our game against Alva. As a pitcher, you don't always have your stuff, so it is very refreshing to know that your team has your back always. Onward Chargers!"

Catching Thompson's heat the past few seasons, veteran defensive standout Kendall Beres also shattered a career record this season. The speedster has terrorized opposing defenses on the basepath and now has 54 career stolen bases heading into her final postseason run. Beres broke the previous mark of 47 steals by Alina Wilson '19. She is now second all-time in doubles (29) and tied for the fourth most hits (90) in program history – and is scattered across the leadboards in several other offensive categories.

Beres looked back on some of the big moments and hard work that has gone into this special season, "I feel as if the early season tournament games [at Devon Park and Cashion] prepared us to handle the long days that we'll have later into the season. Tournaments like these really challenge each players mental side of the game with the heat, multiple games, and different situations. My favorite win so far was the semi-finals of the tournament against Cashion. It was a super tough game, with both sides being super competitive. I'm really proud of the underclassmen for getting some big hits during the last inning, to help us move onto the finals, which led us to winning the whole tournament."

Newcomer KeKe Jobes has made a significant impact during her first season at The Hall. Offensively, she's hitting .364 with 6 doubles, a triple, a home run, and 11 RBI. In the cirlce, she has provided rest for Thompson without the Chargers experiencing a drop-off. Jobes has posted a 7-0 record with a 0.63 ERA, allowing just 13 hits over 44.1 innings, walking only 14 and striking out 71 opposing batters. 

Jobes reflected on her senior year, "The highlight of my season so far is definitely how much fun I'm having with this team and these coaches. It's been such a blessing getting to play with these girls and also building deep relationships on and off the field. I'm so happy the Lord brought me here, and has put all these special people in my life!

The Chargers' lineup is stacked full of great talent this season, including senior third baseman Amelia Smith (.281, 6 doubles, 2 home runs, 10 stolen bases), freshman second baseman Jasey Hernandez (.373, 2 triples, 10 RBI), freshman center fielder Kenzie Wells (.333, 14 runs, 15 stolen bases), and sophomore shortstop Emerson Callahan (.327, 7 doubles, 13 stolen bases) have come up clutch in big moments against formidable opponents.

With the storybook regular season now etched in the archives, the Chargers will set out on a mission to capture the program's first ever State Championship. They'll begin the postseason by hosting Regionals, taking on the winner of a game between the 3A-4 Marlow Outlaws (14-18, 7-6) and 3A-1 Comanche Indians (9-22, 2-8) at 3pm on Thursday, October 2nd.

Wait for it...it's going to be...legendary!

Written by Luke Steelman '93
Photos by Tina Walker