Chor selected as Forum’s All-Fall female athlete

By HENRY JANSSEN/DAILY FORUM
Sarah Chor cuts one loose in Platte Valley’s victory over Stanberry in the District championship last month. Her team went on to win the Sectional and Quarterfinal games before meeting its fate against Clopton in the Semifinal.

Of all the high school athletes from the seven school districts in Nodaway County, Platte Valley pitcher Sarah Chor was undoubtedly the definitive standout across all fall sports contingents.

Chor led her team to a third-place finish in the MSHSAA State Softball Championships, and only allowed two runs in a semifinal game in which her team had a difficult time squarely hitting the ball against Clopton’s rise-ball pitcher.

The Eagles seem to come out poised, ready to realistically make a run for a State title any given season, be they listed as Jefferson or the freshly christened Platte Valley moniker. But all championship aspirations can be shattered quickly without a stalwart on the hill.

Chor was a pleasure for fans to follow over the course of the Eagles’ season. Her even keel and cool demeanor let the defense behind her know that pitcher and position player could and should function symbiotically – if Chor got in a jam, she knew her defense was strong enough to mitigate damage and get her out of it. Likewise, if the defense made a few blunders and booted it around a bit, they knew that Chor would hone in on the next batter as she would any other.

“The whole season, we knew we were going to back each other and get better no matter what,” Platte Valley head coach Shelly Deen said. “Sarah works really well with Kayla [Schmitz] there behind the plate. She knew that everyone else is there to support her and we’d all go together. She’s come a long way, she’s such a hard worker. She knew deep down that she had her defense behind her. That’s what was nice about our team this year, we really trusted one another.”

Chor finished the season with a 17-5 record in the circle. Her losses all came against Class 2 and 3 schools in weekend tournaments and in the State semifinal. She was simply brilliant at times, never physically overpowering batters but finding her unhittable spots with just as much precision as any of the Class 3 or Class 4 girls competing at the same Killian Sports Complex over that Championship weekend. Chor recorded an eye-popping 109 strikeouts throughout the season versus only 33 runners allowed on by bases on balls.

Chor conceded just 31 earned runs across 131.0 innings pitched, or 1.66 earned runs per seven-inning ballgame. Coming into the Final Four weekend, she had an earned run average a full 10th of a point lower.

“She came out ready every game as we’re making a run in the State tournament, and that’s just the senior in her,” Deen said. “She wasn’t ready to be done. She did a great job and we were ready. Most games, we just had to approach it like we had the better pitcher, and I believed in that.”

Chor, who allowed seven runs throughout the State tournament, battled through adversity time and time again throughout her team’s quest toward MSHSAA hardware. In the District championship against Stanberry, Chor and the Eagles went down two runs mid-game before bouncing back with a huge inning. Against Norborne in the Quarterfinal round, Chor allowed an absolute bomb to the first batter of the game to take an instant 1-0 deficit. Even after allowing two runs in the Semifinal game her team would go on to lose, Chor gritted her teeth and allowed just two hits from there on, clawing back with a run in the sixth before fizzling out.

Each comeback throughout the final few weeks of the season seemed to include the markedly common theme that the most underrated part of Chor’s game was on display – her importance at the plate.

As the three-hole hitter for the Eagles, Chor batted .411 in 95 official at-bats. In terms of average, only fellow senior Kelsi McQuinn could claim a superior line, hitting .427 across 103 at-bats. Chor walked six times on the season and was sent back to the dugout on strikes four times all year. McQuinn had the fewest strikeouts of all Eagles with just one on the season, and Sarah Chor and sister Stephanie Chor were tied for second best.

Chor said that as much as she will miss pitching and the game of softball in general, she understands that having to move on is what made the experience so special across her four years in the blue and gold button-up.

“I knew I had my best friend behind the plate,” Chor said. “She’d always tell me what pitches were working, what wasn’t working. She does a great job of setting up where she’s supposed to be, it’s easier to pitch to her. It’s kind of heartbreaking, being my last year. We wanted to go out with a bang. My teammates know I gave them everything I could. This group of girls will keep going pretty far.”

Chor’s athletic career is far from over, as she and her Jefferson teammates look to basketball with much the same annual optimism they had entering the softball season.

With her leadership skills and indomitable will, it should come as no surprise if all the hubbub is about Chor again in March