Skyline uses big fifth inning to advance to Class 2 final four

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By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

URBANA — After striking out in her first two trips to the plate on Thursday, Skyline second baseman Angelina Curtis wanted to make sure she was focused for her third at bat.

So the senior made a simple — and perhaps unconventional — request of her coach.

Yell at her.

“If you yell at me, I tend to do better,” Curtis said.

One pitch later, Curtis drilled a three-run, inside-the-park home run that gave Skyline its first lead of the game. Suddenly teammates, coaches and hundreds of fans were all yelling at Curtis — and Skyline was well on its way to its first Final Four appearance in school history.

Curtis delivered the go-ahead hit during a monstrous six-run fifth inning as Skyline broke the game open and punched its ticket to the Class 2 Final Four with a 9-2 victory over Warsaw.

The District 7 champions will play District 1 winner Kennett at 7 p.m. next Friday, May 21, at Springfield’s Killian Softball Complex for a berth in the state championship game.

“It means everything to us because we’re the group to finally do it,” Curtis said of advancing to the Final Four. “It made everyone so proud. This is the biggest crowd we’ve ever had and they’re so supportive. It just means everything to everyone.”

The achievement is the latest in a long list of accomplishments for the Tigers, who have outscored opponents 261-46 during a dominant 22-1 season that includes the first Mid-Lakes Conference championship in school history and their first district title in 19 years.

For a team that finished as the district runner-up in four of the past five seasons — including the past two — and then lost all of 2020 due to COVID-19, this year is even more special.

“The most deserving group is this group,” Skyline coach Shawna Bybee said. “They have worked hours on end for the last four years. To come up short (for) two years and then not have a season last year, I mean, look at all the fans. That’s because they know how much time and hard work they have put into this program. Kudos to them. They deserve it.”

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME

Curtis had just two strikeouts the entire season before doubling that in two at-bats on Thursday, as Evangel commit Kylee Fajen baffled the entire Skyline lineup with high rising pitches they had not seen for most of the year. Fajen had 11 of her 14 strikeouts in the first four innings, as Skyline mustered just three hits on its first two trips through the lineup.

But Alexa Curtis — Angelina’s younger sister — fouled off pitch after pitch with one out in the fifth inning and walked after a lengthy at bat. Keelie Holmes then doubled down the left field line, giving the Tigers two runners in scoring position and a prime chance to take the lead.

That’s when the elder Curtis sought some extra motivation.

“Before her at bat, she asked me to yell at her,” Bybee said. “That’s the type of kid she is. I just told her you’re not playing your game. You’re playing a stressful, I’ve-got-to-do-it-now game. Play your game. Do what you know best.”

And that’s what the senior did, crushing a pitch that eluded the Warsaw outfielder and hustling around the bases to score standing up. That turned a 2-2 tie into a 5-2 Skyline lead.

“I just did not want to strike out,” Angelina Curtis said. “I just wanted to get a base hit and get on. Every pitch she threw me, the first pitch was right down the middle. So I just took it.”

From that point on, Skyline was unstoppable.

Ella Dougherty had an RBI double to right, Grace Edge brought her home with a triple and Jorden Hodges and Taylor Hunt added RBI singles as Skyline ended the inning ahead 8-2.

“Our energy just went through the roof,” Dougherty said. “One hit just makes more hits come along. Hitting is so contagious and I think that’s what we did. That was the difference.”

The Tigers went 6-for-9 with a walk in the frame after netting three hits in their first 16 at bats, then Holmes added a solo inside-the-park home run in the sixth inning for a seven-run lead.

“I was pretty mind-blown in the first three innings, my two lefties were the only kids to put the ball in play,” Bybee said. “For a pitcher to do that to my lineup — because we’re pretty strong 1 through 9 — is impressive. Had us all worried, I think, at that time. But I think our nerves got the best of my hitters. I think they settled down once they got through that first round.”

With Fajen keeping the Tigers at bay, the Wildcats took a 2-0 lead when Taylor Howe brought Faith Tharaldson and Aspen Whitaker home with a two-RBI single in the third.

But those were the lone blemishes on an otherwise stellar day from Skyline starter Lilly Whitten, who struck out 15 in her first start since missing a month with mononucleosis.

The Mizzou commit, who made two relief appearances after being cleared for the district tournament, allowed just two hits over the final four innings on Thursday — and six overall.

“I was a little nervous in the beginning,” Whitten said. “I feel like that kind of got to me, but then once we all started losing that nervousness and started focusing on one pitch at a time, we all just got together and held our own and played together as a team.”

The Tigers pulled even on a pair of Warsaw outfield errors in the fourth inning.

Dougherty reached base on a dropped fly ball, then scored when Edge hit a blooper to right field that appeared to get lost in the harsh sunlight. Edge also scored on the play, which was ruled a hit and error and kept Skyline from finishing with three inside-the-park home runs.

“Name of the game, right? Hit the ball where they ain’t,” Warsaw coach Steve Larson said. “They hit some over our head. But (Fajen) has done a good job for us all year. She’s basically the only pitcher we have. And she graduates, but I have an eighth-grader coming. A left-hander. Throws as hard as her. We’ll be good.”

Larson said he won’t be coaching next season, as he plans to retire after 22 years.

He finished his final year 14-4, leading the program to its fifth appearance in the state quarterfinals since 2007 and first since moving from fall to spring softball this season.

“We moved some girls around during the season,” Larson said. “They played some positions they don’t normally play and it worked out well. I mean, 14-4. I’m not going to complain. You know, 22 years, it’s a hard way to go out. But they worked hard.”

For Skyline, the hard work continues.

The Tigers are preparing to travel to Springfield as the No. 2-ranked team in Class 2, the highest of any team still in title contention after top-ranked Park Hills Central lost in its district tournament, and are just two wins away from the first state title in program history.

And with three players who finished as state runners up in basketball and seven who went to the state volleyball quarterfinals, they will bring plenty of big-game experience in tow.

“Literally my goal for this group has been every practice, every game is for postseason,” said Bybee, who also coaches the Skyline volleyball team. “That’s all that matters at this time. How are you preparing for the most important game, which is the last game that you may play in your high school career?

“I think that mentality, that’s a mentally tough team. They were down 2-0 and we were like ‘Oh my gosh, they’re going to make this interesting.’ And then to score that many runs in that one big inning against a really good pitcher, I mean, they got the job done.”

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