Paris softball has had to wait 23 years for this opportunity.

Paris vs Clopton Photo Gallery

The state No. 8 Lady Coyotes advanced to their first district championship game since 2001 with a 4-3 win over Clopton on Saturday in the Class 1 District 4 tournament at Community R-6 in Laddonia. It was a wait for the Paris offense since it scored all of its runs on four of its five hits in the fifth inning but have earned the chance to play state No. 7 Community R-6 (21-11) at 6 p.m. Monday in Laddonia.

Head coach Collin Huffman said it definitely has been a while since Paris (21-6) had a chance at a district title. The daughter of assistant coach Rick Reading, Thena, actually pitched for that team before pitching for Division II Truman State. However, this year's Lady Coyotes earned it by not quitting after falling behind 3-0 on Saturday.

"They don't give up," Huffman said. "They have not given up this year. There's no 'give up' in them, and I love that about them."

Paris had a pair of outfield errors through the first four and half innings to allow Clopton (13-11) to build a lead with its No. 1 pitcher in the circle. Ashlyn Noah hadn't pitched against Paris before as the Lady Coyotes hadn't played Clopton in 11 years. Noah struck out 11 and allowed four runs in five hits and three walks.

Huffman said it was a "tight" strike zone that left Kennedy Ashenfelter searching for strikes but finding six walks. Ashenfelter, who Huffman refers to as the "heart and soul" of the team, battled with five strikeouts and one earned run on five hits in seven innings.

"Clopton is very patient at the plate," Huffman said. "I just told Kennedy to just keep doing your job, and we're going to be fine."

While Clopton is patient at the plate, Huffman admitted Paris tends to not be as patient. He said he wasn't surprised to see some struggles by his team against Noah, given the offensive identity of Paris. 

"One thing that hurts us is we're aggressive," Huffman said. "We like to swing, and we like to get base hits. You can see by all the hits we have (this season). It also leads strikeouts because sometimes we chase stuff. Today would have been a better day to be a little more patient and see if she is actually throwing them in there."

Sisters Emma and Kennedy Ashenfelter didn't wait too long in the fifth inning. Emma hit a RBI single on the second pitch and Kennedy creamed the first pitch to bring home a run with a single. However, that was third third time through the lineup.

"We've just seen the pitcher two times through," Emma Ashenfelter said. "We just finally got our heads in."

The inning was eventually extended to cleanup hitter Reese Sutton. On an 0-2 pitch, Sutton crushed a "if it's fair, it's gone" two-RBI home run down the left-field line for a 4-3 Paris lead.

Sutton said she was used to the movement of Noah's ball by that point and her timing was perfect for her blast. In her first two at-bats, she struck out swinging.

"I didn't want to look at it," Sutton said. "I was really scared because I thought it was going to be foul or a popout. I was looking at my first base coach Reading, and he didn't have a reaction for once, which was weird because he usually overreacts about everything. I rounded first and kept going, and I still didn't want to look at it, and then I heard everybody cheer."

As Sylvee Graupman has done consistently this season as the leadoff hitter, she reached base via a bunt single before scoring on Emma's base hit. Huffman said kids like that are valuable due to Sutton accounting for all six of the team's home runs and a team-high 13 doubles. He said her extra practice in Auxvasse paid off.

"She's been struggling a little bit -- just pulling been pulling her head a little bit," Huffman said. "That's why her slugging percentage is in the .800s. We need a hit because we always have girls in that top of the lineup get on. Sylvee Graupman gets on, but we've got to have somebody bring her home."

Along her offensive contributions, Emma Ashenfelter helpd out her sister and team by throwing out two runners trying to steal. She cut them down in the second and fourth innings to remove a run-scoring opportunity for Clopton.

"I trust my shortstop (Sutton) so that also helps," Ashenfelter said. "I just knew we were down two or three and need to get some baserunners off."

"We've been playing together for a long time," Sutton added. 

Huffman is proud of the program Paris has built this season with this group of girls moving up through school together. 

"It's been an amazing season so far," Huffman said. "Everything these girls have done, shattering records -- individual and team -- and they keep going out and keep coming up when they really need them to come up."