Losing no-hitter in seventh doesn’t bother John as Liberty softball team holds on to defeat Blue Devils

QUINCY — Chandler John was oh-so-close to a no-hitter, but the run differential after the final out was all she was concerned about.

The Liberty sophomore right-hander was two outs from a no-hitter against Quincy High School on Wednesday before Avary Hlubek thwarted John’s chances at a no-no with a single through the left side, but John finished the complete game and a 5-2 Liberty victory after allowing two unearned runs in the seventh.

“We still got the win, so it’s fine,” John said.

Hlubek’s sharply struck base hit came on a 2-2 fastball.

“It was a little bit over the plate,” John said.

Eagles coach BJ Fessler thought they had Hlubek right where they wanted her after a late swing earlier in the at-bat.

“Avary fouled one off hard to the right side, and I said, ‘Let’s go inside, get on the handle. We’ll jam her,’” Fessler said. “We left it just a little bit too fat, and she got one.” 

That base hit sparked a Blue Devils rally. Kamryn Hlubek drew a walk to put runners on first and second, then Maycee Seward singled to right on the next pitch. The ball rolled under Shea Ionson’s glove and to the fence, allowing both Hlubeks to score and bring the tying run to the on-deck circle.

“They started to loosen up, thinking they had a chance,” Fessler said. “You can’t ever give a quality team a chance to catch their breath. Keep your foot on their throat, or anything can happen.”

John locked in and struck out Kendyl Byquist, then Eagles catcher Ally Lefringhouse threw out Seward attempting to advance to third on a ball in the dirt.

Even when three consecutive batters reached base after she was two outs shy of a no-hitter, John kept her composure.

“I was under control,” John said.

Lefringhouse expected nothing else.

“She’s really good at shaking things off,” Lefringhouse said. “She doesn’t let things get to her. That’s really nice. You can’t have a pitcher who’s down on herself the whole time. That works really well when she can shake things off and just keep going.”

Blue Devils coach Anjay Heinecke said her team’s inability to adjust at the plate until it was too late did them in.

“We were under the ball a lot, and I don’t know that it was anything she was throwing. We just weren’t adjusting,” Heinecke said. “(John) does place the ball really well. She’s got some good movement. She definitely hits her corners. We just weren’t adjusting to that.”

Three runs in the third and two more in the top of the seventh gave John and the Eagles the cushion they needed. Lefringhouse broke a scoreless tie with a two-run single in the third, and Ionson drove in another with a two-out single. An Andi Mixer single and Anna Dietrich’s two-out double brought in the Eagles’ runs in the seventh.

The Eagles cranked out 13 hits, their sixth straight game with double-digit hits or runs, all of which resulted in victories.

“They’ve been hitting the ball well lately,” Fessler said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in them.”

The Eagles (15-4) have won seven games in a row since April 11. The Blue Devils (5-11) have lost five of their last six after a three-game winning streak.