Kansas high school softball regional scores: Kingman tops Cheney for 3A state bid
If the Kingman softball team wanted the chance to win its first Kansas high school state championship, it had to go through the defending state champions — for the third time in less than two weeks.
Kingman was up for the challenge in a Class 3A regional title game on Tuesday, as the Eagles prevailed for the third straight time over Cheney with a 4-3 victory.
Cheney finished its season with a 19-4 record with three of its losses coming to Kingman in the last 10 days. Meanwhile, Kingman (21-2) will be looking for the first win at the state tournament in program history when it plays in the Class 3A state tournament at Twin Oaks Complex in Manhattan next week.
After Kingman swept the regular-season finale with 5-1 and 8-5 victories, the rematch on Tuesday promised to be even more competitive between two teams with their championship dreams on the line. Both proved to be two of the best teams in Class 3A this season.
And sure enough, Cheney came out firing and took a 3-1 lead in the top of the second inning with clutch hits from Elina Bartlett and Chesney Hoch. But the Cardinals helped Kingman out with throwing errors and a passed ball that allowed Kingman to tie the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the second inning.
The game-winning score came across in the bottom of the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Alex Schreiner for a 4-3 lead, as Kingman was able to hold Cheney scoreless for the final five innings.
In the lone Class 5A regional in action, Valley Center emerged victorious in dominant fashion after an 11-1 win over Arkansas City and 8-1 win over Emporia in the finals to punch the Hornets’ ticket to the state tournament with a 20-2 record.
A pair of AV-CTL Division IV powers, Clearwater and Andale-Garden Plain, were the two area teams to advance to the Class 4A state tournament through wins on their home fields.
Clearwater (21-1) made short work of its competition with a 9-4 win over El Dorado and a 7-0 win over Rose Hill, while Andale-Garden Plain (20-2) was also efficient in a 13-3 win over Wellington and 10-0 win over Winfield in the finals.
In Class 2-1A regional action, Belle Plaine upended No. 1 seed West Elk on Monday and then captured the regional title with an 18-2 romp over Oxford on Tuesday to advance to the state tournament with an 11-8 record.
At the Marion regional, two of the top teams clashed in the finals with Bluestem prevailing with a 1-0 victory over Moundridge on Tuesday. The Lions advanced to the state tournament with a 22-1 record.
Kansas high school softball regional scores
Class 5A
Valley Center regional
Valley Center 11, Arkansas City 1
Emporia 13, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 6
Valley Center 8, Emporia 1
Class 4A
Clearwater regional
Clearwater 9, El Dorado 4
Rose Hill 8, Mulvane 0
Clearwater 7, Rose Hill 0
Andale-Garden Plain regional
Andale-Garden Plain 13, Wellington 3
Winfield 8, Concordia 4
Andale-Garden Plain 10, Winfield 0
McPherson regional
McPherson 12, Abilene 2
Rock Creek 20, Augusta 0
Rock Creek 5, McPherson 2
Pratt regional
Pratt 12, Circle 2
Class 3A
Council Grove regional
Council Grove 16, Hesston 0
Hillsboro 3, Smoky Valley 2
Halstead 14, Minneapolis 4
Council Grove 11, Hillsboro 3
Halstead 9, Southeast of Saline 3
Council Grove 6, Halstead 1
Humboldt regional
Prairie View 11, Wichita Trinity 0
Douglass 8, Eureka 4
Prairie View 9, Douglass 0
Kingman regional
Kingman 15, Ellinwood 0
Ellsworth 15, Nickerson 6
Cheney 12, Chaparral 0
Haven 11, Lyons 1
Kingman 6, Ellsworth 1
Cheney 7, Haven 2
Kingman 4, Cheney 3
Class 2-1A
Burden-Central regional
West Elk 16, South Haven 1
Belle Plaine 10, Cedar Vale-Dexter 0
Oxford 15, Udall 0
Burden-Central 7, Sedan 6
Belle Plaine 15, West Elk 7
Oxford 4, Burden-Central 3
Belle Plaine 18, Oxford 2
Marion regional
Bluestem 5, Chase County 1
Remington 17, Flinthills 2
Moundridge 7, Sedgwick 0
Marion 12, Hutchinson Trinity 8
Bluestem 5, Remington 1
Moundridge 4, Marion 1
Bluestem 1, Moundridge 0
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