Airline freshman Raelin Chaffin pitched a no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over the three-time defending Class 4A state champion North DeSoto Lady Griffins on Tuesday at North DeSoto.
Chaffin, an LSU commit, struck out 14 and didn’t walk a batter. She came within two hit batters of pitching a perfect game.
Airline improved to 23-4 overall. The game was the Lady Vikings’ last scheduled one in the regular season. But they are playing a makeup game against Alexandria Senior High on Wednesday.
Raelin Chaffin
Airline is No. 6 in the Class 5A power rankings, according to LouisianaPreps.com, and will host a first-round playoff game. Pairings will be announced Thursday.
District 1-4A champion North DeSoto (16-9) is No. 2 in Class 4A.
Airline had 10 hits but wasn’t able to capitalize on all their scoring opportunities. The Lady Vikings broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the top of the fifth.
Lexi Gray led off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. She reached third on Jessica Baffuto’s one-out single and scored on Brooklyn Brandon’s sacrifice fly.
Maddie Ennis and Caroline Easom had back-to-back singles with two outs. Easom’s scored Baffuto.
Airline added a run in the seventh. After leading off with a single, Baffuto advanced to second on a groundout and third on an error. She scored on Easom’s sacrifice fly.
In a District 1-5A game Tuesday, the Parkway Lady Panthers defeated Byrd 10-3 at Byrd. In non-district games, the Benton Lady Tigers defeated North Webster 14-12 at home and the Haughton Lady Bucs fell to Natchitoches Central 7-1 at Haughton.
At Byrd, Parkway’s Abbie Norcross went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Allie Hunt had two hits and two RBI. Maecy Ingram and Emily Hammons also had two hits. Makayla Strother had a triple.
Hunt pitched a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts. She walked only one.
At Haughton, Savannah Salley and Madison Trujillo had two hits each for Haughton. One of Trujillo’s was a double.
Haughton (13-12) closes the regular season Wednesday at 5 with a make-up game at Parkway. The Lady Bucs are No. 27 in the 5A power rankings and will be on the road in the first round of the playoffs. Wednesday’s game will be Parkway’s season finale.
At Benton, Joely Fletcher went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI for the Lady Tigers. Anna Claire Kratzer went 3-for-4 with a double.
Ashley Hunter hit a home run and doubled. Olivia Olipint also homered. Emily Angelo went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Taylor Jones had two hits, including a double.
Benton (12-14) is No. 21 in the 4A power rankings and will be on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
NOTE: The above report is based on teams’ official GameChanger accounts.
— Russell Hedges, rhedges@bossierpress.com
