The Chamberlain Chiefs are used to people counting them out.
Even some of their own players who quit the team counted them out.
Those that stayed behind are playing for a state championship. The Chiefs defeated South Fork 3-0 to earn a spot in the Class 6A state title game. They will take on Forest LIVE on BHSN Channel 47/HD 1147 Saturday at 7 p.m.
The girls will miss the school's prom, but they're going to the big dance.
Chamberlain got on the board early with sophomore Reganne McCarl's RBI single in the top of the first. Then pitcher Shannon Maloney got out of an early jam with back-to-back strikeouts to strand South Fork runners on first and second.
Senior Jenna Brownell made it 2-0 in the third with an RBI double that scored Hope Hernandez.
McCarl added her second RBI in the sixth to extend the Chiefs lead to 3-0.
Maloney, very fittingly for coach Larry Rodriguez, closed out the game with her fifth strikeout.
"They're a team, no superstars," Rodriguez said. "We have a pitcher everyone thinks they can hit. Game's over and we win. We're just playing good. Good teamwork, it's that simple.
"This is a really good team. We had some adversity early. We had a couple of kids that left us. And these girls really pulled together and made up their minds to finish this."