A few weeks back after Quitman had beaten the top ranked team in Class 3A, head coach Justin Dodson reminded his team that although the win was a big one, they hadn’t accomplished anything yet. They have now!
With the ten inning, 7-3 victory over Converse in the Class B quarterfinals the Lady Wolverines have reached their goal of making the state tournament in Sulphur for the first time since 2015. Now the incredibly youthful and talented Lady Wolverines have just one goal left which is to bring the state title home.
In order to do that #5 Quitman must get past #9 Anacoco, who advanced by upsetting top ranked Forest by a 7-2 score. The contest will be played on Thursday at 3pm on field 15 at Frasch Park. The winner of that contest will play the winner between #2 Holden and #3 Florien on May 1st at 3:00 pm on field 17 for the Class B title.
There were several heroes in the exhilarating extra inning victory but none bigger than Maddie Kaye Brymer. The “big bopper” who had six home runs in the first 15 games of the season but had gone 18 straight without a round tripper and had seen her batting average dip from .600 to .451 found her stroke once again in the perfect setting. Brymer torched Converse pitching to the tune of four hits in five at bats that included a double and a home run that led to three RBI.
It wasn’t just a display the found again display of power that was impressive but the clutch time in which she delivered as well. It was her double in the top of the fourth that plated Maggie Guyotte to give Quitman a 1-0 lead. Then in the top of the sixth after Converse had taken a 2-1 advantage Brymer struck again by lifting a shot over the centerfield fence that scored Guyotte again to give the Lady Wolverines a 3-2 advantage. Still again in the top of the deciding tenth inning, Brymer came up big when she stroked a single to right center to score Madison Chaplin who had led off the inning with a walk to stake Quitman to the first of the four runs in the frame.
Guyotte, who all season has played well beyond her 7th grade status, also came up big with a four of five effort and three runs scored. This included her final tally in the 10th after she singled to put runners on first and second with no outs that was a catalyst in setting up the big inning.
Finally, there was the herculean effort by 8th grader Cali Deal, who struck out ten in the complete game victory that saw her hold the powerful Converse offense to just six hits over the ten innings. Adding to the awe of the 156 pitches thrown, 102 were for strikes as she improved her record to 15-5 on the year. Deal also helped her own cause by stroking a double in the tenth that scored Guyotte and Brymer and gave Quitman a commanding three run advantage and her second and third RBI of the game.
Jada Naron, the lone senior on the youthful squad plated Deal with the final run with her second hit of the game continuing her playoff effectiveness with her second consecutive, two hit game in as many postseason outings. Madeline Vail also added a pair of hits and Marley Bell chipped in with a single.