Springfield, MO - The Norwood Pirates jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first inning of the Class 1 state baseball championship, but the lead would be short lived as the Santa Fe Chiefs came storming back to claim a 12-3 win.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top half of the first inning, Norwood answered in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs on a hit and 2 Santa Fe errors. Unfortunately that would be all the offense that the Pirates would get on this day. Sante Fe pitcher Keaton Graf settled in and dominated the rest of the way, allowing just 2 hits on the day. "He was throwing smoke," Norwood senior Chase McIntosh said. "I like high pitches and I couldn't catch up to it."
The Chiefs offense came alive in the 3rd inning as they tied the game on a pair of RBI singles. The big blow came in the 4th when Sante Fe centerfielder Andrew Curry took a Riley Jenkins pitch over the fence for a 2-run homerun. The long ball put the Chiefs up 6-3 and they never looked back.
"It was sweet getting here and it's bittersweet leaving without the trophy that we wanted," Norwood head coach Jason Duey said. "We'd have liked to win one more game, but getting here was something really special that we won't forget." The Pirated finished the season with a record of 22-6.
