Trinity, Hesston, McPherson advance in Wichita recap of state baseball
Trailing in the fifth inning of a Class 3A quarterfinal game, the Wichita Trinity baseball team rallied at the right time to advance at the state tournament with a 4-3 win over Columbus.
With two outs in the fifth, Trinity mounted its comeback with three consecutive hits: a single by Braden Roberts, an RBI double by Josiah Sems and an RBI double by Camdon Killgore.
That was all of the cushion the Knights needed, as the bullpen combination of Bryton Baty, Caleb Back and Sems combined to toss 4 1/3 scoreless innings to close out the win.
Trinity (25-5) advanced to the 3A semifinals, where it will face No. 2 seed Humboldt (24-4) in Friday’s 1:15 p.m. semifinals at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan.
Matthew Bolt staked the Knights to an early 2-0 lead with a 2-RBI triple in the first inning. But Columbus rallied back with three unanswered runs to take a 3-2 lead after three innings. That set up Trinity’s heroics in the fifth inning, which proved to be the final runs of the game.
In another 3A quarterfinal, Hesston banged out 14 hits in an 11-6 win over Silver Lake.
The Swathers (17-6) will face eighth-seeded Sabetha, which upset No. 1 seed Jefferson West, in Friday’s 11 a.m. semifinal in Manhattan.
Leadoff hitter Blayne Wilson led the way for Hesston with a 4-for-5 performance at the plate, as he scored a pair of runs and also drove in a pair of runs. Tanner McAllister, Keagan Shelite and Landon Meyer all finished with two hits and combined for six RBIs.
The Swathers led 10-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, but Silver Lake punched back by plating six runs in the bottom-half of the inning. But that was all that the Eagles would muster, as McAllister and Andrew Huxman delivered two straight scoreless innings in relief to close out the win for Hesston. Brody Curran earned the win on the mound.
McPherson baseball advances to 4A state semifinals
Top-seeded McPherson notched a 3-1 win over Tonganoxie to win a 4A quarterfinal game in Salina.
The Bullpups (26-3) will play No. 5 seed Rock Creek (22-6) in Friday’s 1:15 p.m. semifinal.
McPherson won behind a superb effort from ace Ian Razak, who tossed a complete game without allowing an earned run and striking out seven hitters. He also delivered an RBI hit in the first inning to open the scoring.
With the game knotted at 1 entering the fifth inning, McPherson broke free with RBI hits from Brody Seidl and Carter Allen to provide the final score line.
In another 4A quarterfinal, Mulvane lost a 3-1 pitcher’s duel with Rock Creek in the nightcap.
Louisville commit Parker Clubb tossed five innings and allowed two earned runs, while Gray Sanders and Nolan Fevurly combined to toss two scoreless innings.
But the Mulvane (21-5) offense never clicked against Rock Creek ace Brock Lubbers, as the Wildcats finished with just three hits.
Mulvane scored its lone run in the sixth inning, as Hays Ensley started the rally with a single and scored on a RBI single by Clubb. But the Wildcats couldn’t muster another rally, as they went down in order in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Maize baseball loses in walk-off fashion at 6A state
Maize lost in heartbreaking fashion, suffering a walk-off loss in the bottom of the eighth inning in a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Manhattan in a 6A quarterfinal in Lawrence.
After the Eagles tied the game in the fifth inning, as Scotty Hadley, Parker Meirowsky and Sam Soderstrom strung together three consecutive hits, the two teams remained locked at 2 entering extra innings.
Maize ace Quincy Koehn was superb, limiting Manhattan to two earned runs in seven innings pitched with five strikeouts, but was forced from the game in the eighth inning due to the pitch count restriction.
Facing a new pitcher, Manhattan led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a single, moved the runner over to second with a sacrifice bunt, then scored the winning run on a walk-off RBI hit by Rylan Vikander.
Manhattan (21-6) will face top-seeded Lawrence Free State (26-2) in Friday’s 11 a.m. semifinal.
Valley Center, Eisenhower baseball fall in first 5A state game
The Valley Center offense was stifled in a 2-0 loss to top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas in the opening round of the 5A state tournament in Wichita.
Aquinas ace Will Ray limited the Hornets (17-12) to just two hits in a complete-game shutout, which included two separate inning-ending double plays.
Valley Center had runners on first and second base in the top of the seventh inning, but could not muster a hit.
Doc Needham also pitched a complete game for Valley Center, limiting a potent Aquinas (25-4) attack to just two runs.
The Saints advanced to face Hays in Friday’s semifinal.
In another 5A quarterfinal, Goddard Eisenhower lost 5-2 to No. 3 seed Blue Valley Southwest.
The game was tied at 2 entering the sixth inning, but BV Southwest found separation with three runs. The Tigers (18-11) finished with RBI hits from Jared Cobb and Colton Doll.
Remington, Douglass baseball advance to 2-1A semifinal
An RBI hit by Koby Smeeton in the fifth inning proved to be the difference for Remington in a 1-0 win over Rossville in the opening round of the 2-1A state tournament in Great Bend.
The fifth-seeded Broncos (17-8) will face top-seeded Valley Falls (23-4) in Friday’s 11 a.m. semifinal.
Remington ace Eli Claassen pitched a complete-game shutout, limiting Rossville to five hits. Rossville had the tying and winning run in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Claassen coaxed a pop fly to secure the victory.
Douglass also advanced in the 2-1A bracket with an offensive explosion in a 19-4 run-rule win over No. 2 seed Central Heights.
The Bulldogs (15-10) plated four runs in the first inning, then extended their lead to 10-0 in the fourth inning. The run-rule was enacted when Douglass scored five more runs in the fifth inning.
Kemper Cox, Jaxon Brewer, Kane Ast, Lane Schamahorn and Parker Vernia all finished with two hits, while Jace Pichler, Wyatt Laver and Bronsyn Knisley all notched a pair of RBIs.
In another 2-1A quarterfinal, Medicine Lodge lost 1-0 to Valley Falls in walk-off fashion.
It was a pitcher’s duel between Medicine Lodge’s Jack Schreiner and Valley Falls’ Trenten VanHoutan, who both threw complete games. But it was the Dragons who walked it off in the bottom of the seventh inning on a game-winning RBI single by Damian Cervantez.
Medicine Lodge (11-11) did not have a hit against VanHoutan, but did draw two walks.
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 12:00 AM.
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