Whitmire leads Lady Bucks in history-making season

Whitmire leads Lady Bucks in history-making season News Staff Tue, 04/23/2024 - 4:24 pm   Chloe Whitmire 321 strikeouts this season going into this week’s playoff warm-up against Graham and bi-district playoff against Iowa Park. She threw her 800th strikeout Tuesday, April 16 against Early. Photo/Mike Williams By Mike Williams news@breckenridgeamerican.com While the Lady Buckaroos earned a feat not achieved in 23 years, Breckenridge High School is recognizing pitcher Chloe Whitmire as the all-time strikeout leader in softball. Whitmire is a four-year starter of the Lady Buckaroos and is considered by coach Cynthia Herrera to be the heart and soul of the team. She entered the season with 491 strikeouts and has had a dominant year in the pitcher’s circle with 13 games with double-digit strikeouts, including a 15-strikeout outing against Windthorst at the Iowa Park tournament and a season-high 16 strikeouts against Stephenville in an 8-0 win on Feb. 27. The Honeybees hit a single in the top of the seventh inning that kept Whitmire from a no-hitter. Whitmire has thrown four no-hitters this season and seven games with only giving up one hit. The biggest strikeout of Whitmire’s softball career came in the seventh inning Tuesday, April 16 in a game at Early High School. With one out and one runner on base, Whitmire struck out the Lady Horns’ Leslee Beard for her 800th career strikeout. Two batters later, she struck out Emilee Wallace for strikeout 801, a number that BHS Athletic Director Casey Pearce considers to be a school record. “Chloe is a resilient competitor and team leader. She has shouldered the pitching duties for four years with grit and aggressiveness,” he said. “She has owned her performance and silenced her critics along the way. We proudly call her a Lady Buckaroo and our all-time strikeout leader.” The strikeout came in a game where the Lady Bucks were fighting to earn the district championship, their first since 2001, before any player on the team was born. In the next game, a 10-0 win Friday, April 19 over Peaster, she threw for 11 strikeouts while giving up just three hits. The win clinched the District 8-3A championship. Whitmire added 10 more to her count Monday at a playoff warm-up against Graham that was played Monday, April 22 and a best-of-three series against Iowa Park scheduled for April 25-27. Whitmire will enter the playoffs with 822 strikeouts. “It means a lot just because it’s a small town,” Whitmire said. “We all grew up together loving the same game. It’s kind of a shocker that we have such good chemistry. It’s a tiny school but we’ve all come together and it’s definitely grown. The chemistry has grown since freshman year.” Whitmire, coach Herrera said, is a leader on the team both on and off the field. “She’s the glue that holds us together,” Herrera said. “We would be nothing without Chloe. I 100% stand on that. She’s contagious. Her smile is contagious, her spirit is contagious. Everybody just wants to be around her. When you have a pitcher like that, why would you not want to go out and play for her? That’s what this team does. They know that Chloe is going to handle business in the circle. I’ve been saying this since I got here last year, her job is not to strike everybody out. We’ve got to make the defensive plays and routine plays. Chloe is the glue that holds everything together and everybody knows it.” After graduation this year, Whitmire’s softball career will continue in the collegiate ranks. In February, Whitmire signed her National Letter of Intent to play softball at Dallas Christian College. DCC is a private Christian college located in Farmers Branch. Its athletic teams participate in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division II level as an independent school. This means the school is not part of a conference within the NCCAA. “It’s really exciting,” Whitmire said after signing her NLI. “I’m excited to make new bonds with new girls and keep playing. It means a lot to me. Everyone (in Breckenridge) has helped me with everything I’ve needed to do. It’s exciting to carry (the Lady Buckaroos) name with me.” Sports Log in to post comments