Bentley's one-hitter leads Diamond past CHC

May 14—SARCOXIE, Mo. — The Diamond Wildcats set softball history on Thursday.

Madi Bentley pitched a one-hitter, and the Wildcats tallied an early unearned run to nip College Heights Christian 1-0 in a Class 2 quarterfinal game in front of a standing room only crowd at the Sarcoxie softball field.

The Wildcats (20-2) advanced to the state semifinals for the first time and will play Potosi (25-3) at 4 p.m. Friday, May 21, in Springfield at the Killian Softball Complex.

"After sophomore year (2020) when our season got canceled, it was really hard," Bentley said. "But we came out and we worked so hard for this, and we deserve it."

"I knew it was going to be a battle of pitchers, and I knew it could come out close," Diamond coach Kelsey Parrish said. "It was a little stressful, especially being seven months pregnant, but that's OK. We'll take it."

Bentley (15-1) flirted with a perfect game, retiring the first 12 batters she faced until Maddy Colin walked on a 3-2 pitch to start the fifth inning.

Bentley lost her no-hitter when Jayli Johnson lined a double to left-center field with two outs in the sixth, but Bentley struck out the next batter and retired the Cougars in the seventh on a popup and two strikeouts, giving her 14 for the game and 208 for the season.

"The rise ball was working very well," Bentley said. "A lot of outside fastballs were working, but mainly I was pitching those rises and they kept swinging at them."

"I'm super proud of Bentley," Parrish said. "She worked hard in the circle. She's a pretty dominant pitcher, especially in the spring. She came out and showed her dominance tonight. She hit her 200 strikeouts for the season ... we always tell her that's not her job, but she excels and throws hard."

Diamond supported Bentley with errorless defense. In the fourth inning, shortstop Emilee Shallenburger moved toward the hole and threw out the speedy Kloee Williamson by a step. and in the fifth, left fielder Caitlyn Suhrie made a diving catch to rob Avery Good of a hit and end the inning.

"I feel confident that we're solid (defensively)," Parrish said. "And I think that helps Madi, too, knowing she has the support of her sisters behind her."

Colin (16-3) also pitched a strong game, allowing seven hits and striking out nine, giving her 224 for the season.

"I can't say enough about that kid," CHC coach Mike Howard said. "Being a freshman, being able to keep her composure when things aren't going her way ... they put a few hits together, get a couple of baserunners, but she is able to settle in and not allow any earned runs."

Diamond got three of its hits in the second when it scored its run on the game's only error.

Bentley, who went 3 for 3 with a double, led off with a single to left but was forced out on Lexy Bridges' grounder to shortstop. Piper Brewer's bunt went for a single, and Leslie Watson's hit off the bat handle landed between first baseman Layne Johnson and second baseman Good to load the bases.

With Grace Irwin batting, catcher Sarah Painter's return throw to the circle was a little high, and the ball glanced off Colin's glove as Bridges alertly came in to score.

"I'm really proud of my girls for being aggressive on the bases," Parrish said. "All season that's what we've been working on, them seeing it before we see it. They took advantage of the opportunity."

"It's one of those things," Howard said. "It's tough, but I'm not going to hold it against them. They lost 1-0 to a team that might end up winning the whole thing. If one or two things could have gone different, we could have seen a different game."

The Cougars' defense saved a run in the fourth when third baseman Lauren Ukena reached high and snagged Watson's line drive.

College Heights (18-4) scored 33 runs while winning three district games, but the Cougars couldn't catch up with Bentley's high pitches.

"We were not very disciplined today," Howard said. "I think we let the game itself get to us. They've never been to a quarterfinal before. The overall complexion of this game is we didn't have very good approaches at the plate. That really hurt us in the end because when (Bentley) is able to get ahead of us in counts, she's able to pitch whatever she wants to hit, and that's tough to hit when you have that kind of speed."

Follow Sports Editor Jim Henry on Twitter at @Jim_Henry53.