Kansas high school state softball: Eisenhower, Newton, Valley Center reach 5A semis
Up against a 14-time state championship program in the midst of a 55-game win streak, the Goddard Eisenhower softball team didn’t feel like the typical No. 8 seed up against powerhouse Bishop Carroll.
Just two weeks before Friday’s opening-round game in the Class 5A state softball tournament at Wilkins Stadium, Eisenhower had limited Carroll to a season-low three runs and given the defending 5A champions their best game of the season.
On Friday, Eisenhower went one step further to shock the Kansas high school softball community with a 2-1 victory over Carroll, ending the Golden Eagles’ winning streak and reign as champions.
“It was a huge win being the eight seed and taking down the one seed like that,” Eisenhower coach Amber Brunswig said. “But we knew we could do it. We just had to execute when we had the opportunity when it mattered. And that’s what we did.”
With the game tied, 1-1, entering the top of the seventh inning, Eisenhower senior Hannah Weber came through in the clutch with a 2-out, RBI single through the left side to bring home what proved to be the game-winning run.
Weber again delivered for Eisenhower in the bottom-half of the seventh inning when Carroll led off with a single, only for the Eisenhower senior at second base to turn a double-play by tagging the runner and throwing to first to end the threat.
“That was such a huge swing for us to get the tying runner off of the base paths,” Brunswig said. “Hannah stepped up in a big way. All of my seniors did.”
Senior Alexis Mastin was the one who hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to tie the score, but it was freshman Karli George who rose to the occasion for Eisenhower to match Carroll ace Kadence Brewster in the pitcher’s duel.
George threw five innings and did not allow an earned run, while Audry Rumsey finished off the final two innings for Eisenhower. Brewster was once again brilliant, striking out 15 hitters in a complete game performance.
But Carroll’s typically-explosive offense was never able to catch fire. The Golden Eagles (22-1) finished with just five hits from Kory Schoenfeld (2), Brewster, Kaylee Back and Mereith Robinson.
It will be an AV-CTL Division II battle to determine who goes to the Class 5A championship game on Saturday after Valley Center advanced to the semifinals to face Eisenhower following a 5-2 victory over Spring Hill.
The Hornets have an 18-game winning streak, including a doubleheader sweep over the Tigers back on April 8, entering Saturday’s semifinal at Wilkins Stadium.
Valley Center pounced early in its game against Spring Hill, scoring in the first inning and then rallying for four unanswered runs with RBI hits from Sykora Smith, Victoria Turner and Maci George for a 5-1 lead. Turner pitched five innings, allowing just two earned runs, while Smith came on in relief to finish out the game for Valley Center.
Newton’s Teagan Livesay delivers 14-strikeout, no-hitter in win
The stellar postseason pitching of Newton ace Tegan Livesay continued in the opening round at the Class 5A state tournament, as the junior pitched a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts in the Railers’ 3-0 victory over Blue Valley Southwest.
Livesay was dynamite once again in the circle and was an error in the top of the seventh away from a potential perfect game against the Eastern Kansas League foe. In the first time against BV Southwest’s lineup, she struck out eight of the nine hitters in the dominant performance.
All Newton needed was the run it scored in the second inning when Piper Seidl singled and scored on a 2-out RBI single from Abigail Koontz. The Railers added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning on three doubles from Olivia Sandoval, Mackenzie Cusick and Gracie Rains, the final two scoring runs.
Newton (21-2) advanced to the semifinals to meet undefeated No. 2 seed Basehor-Linwood in a 1 p.m. game Saturday.
Derby, Wichita Northwest and Clearwater all finish up softball seasons
Derby finished its season with a win, a 6-3 victory over Wichita Northwest to claim the third-place trophy at the Class 6A state tournament at the Shawnee Mission District Softball Complex.
Following a dominant opening-round win on Thursday, Derby gave No. 1 seed Washburn Rural a competitive game in a 2-0 loss in the semifinals before capping off a 21-4 season with a victory in the consolation game.
Starter Morgan Haupt limited Washburn Rural to two runs, but the Derby offense failed to generate much of an attack. The Panthers twice had a runner on third base, but failed to capitalize and went down in order for the final six outs of the game.
After Northwest was no-hit in a 10-0 loss to Topeka, the eventual champions, in the semifinals, the two Wichita-area programs met for a showdown.
Derby jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning with Reagan Jackson, Trinity Kuntz and Haupt all delivering RBI hits. Addyson Canfield added two more RBI, while also pitching five innings of relief without allowing an earned run.
Brailee Bogle and Ava Mullins each had RBI hits for Northwest, while Caiya Stucky came in relief and pitched all but two outs in the game.
In the Class 4A state tournament in Salina, Clearwater’s bats were similarly silenced after its thrilling 5-run, 2-out rally for a walk-off win on Thursday. The Indians were held to a single hit in a 5-0 loss to Eudora in the semifinals, then just three hits in a 6-1 loss to top seed Wamego in the third-place game.
KSHSAA softball state tournament scores
Class 6A (at Shawnee Mission District Softball Complex)
Washburn Rural 2, Derby 0 (semi)
Topeka 10, Wichita Northwest (semi)
Derby 6, Wichita Northwest 3 (third)
Topeka 2, Washburn Rural 1 (first)
Class 5A (at Eck Stadium in Wichita)
Goddard Eisenhower 2, Bishop Carroll 1
Valley Center 5, Spring Hill 2
Basehor-Linwood 4, Topeka Seaman 3
Newton 3, Blue Valley Southwest 0
Class 4A (at Salina South)
Bishop Miege 6, Wamego 5 (semi)
Eudora 6, Clearwater 0 (semi)
Wamego 6, Clearwater 1 (third)
Eudora 4, Bishop Miege 2 (first)
Class 3A (at Twin Oaks Complex in Manhattan)
Frontenac 10, Santa Fe Trail 0 (semi)
Prairie View 4, Rossville 3 (semi, 8 innings)
Santa Fe Trail 2, Rossville 1 (third, 11 innings)
Frontenac 7, Prairie View 1 (first)
Class 2-1A (at Green Sports Complex in Pratt)
Mission Valley 5, Ell-Saline 1 (semi)
Troy 3, Central Heights 2 (semi)
Central Heights 11, Ell-Saline 1 (third)
Mission Valley 6, Troy 4 (first)
KSHSAA softball state tournament schedule
Class 5A (at Eck Stadium in Wichita)
Goddard Eisenhower (17-6) vs. Valley Center (21-2), 11 a.m.
Basehor-Linwood (23-0) vs. Newton (21-2), 1 p.m.
Third-place game, 3
Championship game, 5
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