Just 24 hours after the Lancers opened Districts with a thrilling 10-7 comeback win over Parkway West, they were eliminated from Districts in controversial fashion on Oct. 7. In a 12-1 loss to Eureka, Head Coach Scott DeNoyer was ejected for questioning an umpire’s ruling, which appeared to swing the momentum in favor of the Wildcats.

With the Lancers up 1-0 in the second inning, a field umpire informed freshman pitcher Jessica Andrews that her foot placement was illegal.

According to Activities Director Steve Berry, this rule did not apply to Missouri State High School Athletic Association (MSHSAA) competition. When DeNoyer questioned the umpire’s call and offered to check the MSHSAA rulebook, he was ejected and told to leave the field.

“Instead of getting it right, you let pride get in the way,” Berry said of the umpire, “[DeNoyer] was wrongly and unfairly removed from the game.”

In DeNoyer’s absence, Assistant Coach Ashley Lewis was forced to keep the team focused on maintaining its one-run lead.

“[DeNoyer] stands up for the girls. It was unfortunate that he got kicked out. I had to step in and the players were already fired up,” Lewis said, “But we couldn’t put any more hits together and that’s the reason we lost.”

DeNoyer was allowed to return to the field after Berry made a call to the Eureka activities office. But by the time he resumed coaching, the Lancers were down 2-1 and had allowed the Wildcats to load the bases. From there, the Wildcats went on to score 10 unanswered runs in the 12-1 victory.

“I think the coaches that were there coach differently than [DeNoyer]. Like there were some times when they would tell us to bunt when it would have been better to hit. But it wasn’t that big of a deal because we still lost by a lot,” junior Monica Winckel said.

The loss gave Lafayette a 16-13 record to end the season. Although it may have been a dissappointing end, junior Linsey Button says it won’t put a damper on the season.

“It was sad but we were definitely glad that everything worked out in the end and we had a great season,” she said.