Canton’s state title defense hits snag with loss to La Plata in district championship game

La PLATA, Mo. — There will be no repeat of that state softball title Canton won a year ago. The Tigers were eliminated from the postseason Tuesday night, dropping a 6-4 decision to La Plata in the Class 1 District 5 championship game.

But Canton went down swinging.

The Tigers, who end the season 20-11, had pushed across two runs in the bottom of the seventh and had the potential winning run at the plate with runners on second and third.

La Plata senior pitcher Whitney Snow, who struggled over the final three innings after being given a 6-0 lead in the top of the fifth, worked her way out of the jam by inducing a pop fly and grounder to end the game.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” Snow said. “That was insane. It was just insane. Canton has such a great team, and they were hitting everything I threw at them. I didn’t know what to throw.”

Snow also had control trouble late in the game, walking six over the closing three innings, including three in the seventh.

“I think I scared everyone with all the people I was walking,” Snow said. “But my team backed me up and we got out of the mess.”

La Plata coach Wendi Travis, whose club is now 23-5, just shook her head afterward.

“Whitney told me she just wanted to make things interesting,” said Travis, a graduate of Quincy University.

In a more serious tone, Travis lauded the workmanlike Snow for weathering a major storm.

“She kept her eyes on the prize,” Travis said. “But what a game … what a game. Canton has such a great program.”

Snow struck out 11 — fanning eight of the nine Canton hitters at least once — and seemed in complete control until the fifth inning. Macie Fisher delivered a two-run double for Canton in the fifth and Kinsey Biggerstaff smacked a two-single in the seventh to account for the Tigers’ runs.

Biggerstaff, a senior catcher, has been an integral part of a program that reached no worse than the district finals in each of her four seasons with the team.

“We fought to the end,” Biggerstaff said. “There’s no reason to hang our heads. This has been a phenomenal four years.”

Canton coach Kristyn Arens was realistic in her assessment.

“We had the opportunities,” she said. “We had what was the winning run at the plate at the end of the game. It’s sad, but it was a great season.”

Macy Glasgow had a pair of doubles for Canton, which collected six hits. Chase Uhlmeyer rounded out the Tigers’ hit production with a single.

Allie Ruffcorn was the starting pitcher for Canton, but was knocked out in the top of the fifth when La Plata scored all six of its runs. Ruffcorn permitted just three hits in her 4-plus innings, but was plagued by wildness. Two of La Plata’s runs scored when she hit batters with the bases loaded. The first six La Plata batters in the fifth inning reached base. 

La Plata faces Braymer-Breckenridge (17-8) in the state quarterfinals Saturday. Braymer-Breckenridge defeated Schuyler County 14-2 in the District 6 finals.