On a cloudy October afternoon in Springfield, Chaffee softball fans came to their feet to cheer on freshman ace Carlyanne Cossou in the bottom of the seventh in the 2023 Class 2 state semifinals at the Killian Softball Complex. The Lady Devils were one strike away from reaching the state championship game, and Cossou was met with exuberance and a collective deep breath while on the mound against Linn High School.

Cossou, a 2023 Semoball Award finalist who was one of the state’s most dominant pitchers last season, struck out the final batter, clinching Chaffee’s 4-1 win to reach the state finals for the first time in program history.

“That was a long time ago,” Cossou, now a sophomore, said with a smile. “I just definitely knew that my defense would have my back. So I just trusted whatever the coach threw up there for the catcher to call.”

Now with a fresh season at hand and the majority of the Lady Devils’ key players back in the lineup, the question becomes: what will Chaffee do for an encore?

The program is now familiar with the big stage, but the players and coaches are sure to point to the challenges that come with reaching this level of success over and over in the near future. This season in particular, the pressure has mounted, Cossou said.

“I feel like there's definitely a big target on our back,” she said. “There's definitely a lot of expectations for this group and sometimes it can get to us. We just really try to block out all the outside noise and still have fun with the game because that's what it's all about — having fun and learning as we go.”

After making the state tournament for the first time since 2017, when the Lady Devils reached the Class 1 state semifinals, this new era of Chaffee softball marks the beginning of what could be one of southeast Missouri’s premier high school sports dynasties.

Ten sophomores — all of whom anchored the state finals run — make up nearly 40 percent of the roster this season and already have a full year of experience under their belts.

Among the standouts in that class are Cossou, Paizleigh Graham, and Addison Uhrhan, who all hit .300 or better in 2023. Chaffee also gets its most productive bat back in senior Reese Van Pelt, who led the team in batting average (.402) and RBIs (38) a season ago.

“We've played together forever,” Cossou said. “I feel like we have such a strong bond. We know what we're going to do next and we know how to pick each other up. It’s a really fun time.”

Ninth-year head coach Brian Horrell believes that his team this year has a ceiling that can challenge anyone’s and a skill set that is state championship-caliber if everything clicks.

“We talk about respecting your opponent because every day the game starts at 0-0,” Horrell said. “So, sometimes there's going to be days where you struggle offensively, and that's why we emphasize the defense. We feel like our defense is good enough to keep us in every ball game every day and that's the thing that we got to preach to the girls and stay focused on if we want to have a chance each game."

But as the noise around the program increases, Chaffee still maintains its identity on the field.

“We preach family,” Horrell said. “Since I've took over, we talk about family, family, family. We make sure we don't just say it, we make sure we mean it. We always talk about team first, teammate second, and self last. That's the mentality these girls are buying into.”

That mentality was on full display Wednesday evening when the Lady Devils defeated Jefferson (Festus), 6-1, at Frisco Field to improve to 10-1 on the season.

Fueled by Cossou’s go-ahead two-run double in the bottom of the fourth, Chaffee scored five late runs and leaned on sharp pitching from Van Pelt and sophomore Bailey Robertson, who both combined for eight strikeouts and two hits allowed through 7.0 innings, to run away with the victory.

But even with the returning stars continuing to make a splash, the Lady Devils are reloading at the same time. That’s where the freshmen come in. Infielders Millie Carroll and Jersie Lynn are the two newbies who have mixed into the starting lineup this season, and neither have shied away from the spotlight.

The young tandem went 1-for-2 against Jefferson — Lynn hitting a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning and Carroll hitting an RBI single on the ensuing at-bat.

“The freshmen do a tremendous job,” Horrell said. “Our youth league coaches do a tremendous job and we have a program called the 'Red Hots.' These girls have been together since they were six or seven years old, and they got to us. They have all the skills. All we have to do is work on the stuff at the high school level as far as staying mentally tough and mentally disciplined, but we've been blessed to have a great youth league system and youth league coaches.”

On the horizon for Chaffee is a six-game road stretch beginning Thursday, Sept. 12 at District 1 foe Saxony Lutheran.

This new chapter in Chaffee softball is continuing with a sense of accomplishment and drive for making history once again. After all, the Lady Devils did not quite get what they wanted a season ago after being a win away from capturing a state title.

“I've coached baseball and softball for 37 years,” Horrell said. “I’ve had some great teams get upset along the way and we've knocked off some top state-ranked teams in the sectional round before. So I've been on both sides of that. Heartache and heartbreak. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, the old cliche. But you’ve got to stay healthy, you’ve got to get a few breaks along the way on your state run, and you’ve got to respect the opponent that's in front of you. The best thing that we preach that gives them the best chance is to make sure you're always solid on defense, and that's what we’ve got to do.”

Defense wins big games, especially in the bottom of the seventh inning with one strike to go.