Inside the special meeting that sparked a perfect season for Maize South softball
When Maize South softball coach Cody Stucky sensed a slight slip in his team’s championship standard, he came up with a creative way to catch the attention of his players.
He went digging in the school’s trophy case and pulled out the state championship won by the baseball team in 2017.
“Do you want this,” Stucky said holding up the championship trophy.
“Or this,” he said while clutching the tiny fourth-place medals that the Mavericks had to settle for last spring.
Everyone desperately wanted redemption after a crushing loss in the state semifinals last spring when Bishop Carroll rallied for four runs in the seventh inning to abruptly end Maize South’s title hopes. But up until that meeting in mid-April, the source of motivation had largely gone unspoken.
Stucky’s theatrics helped remind Maize South why it doesn’t want this season to follow the same fate. The Mavericks have responded with their best season to date, improving their perfect season to 28-0 on Tuesday by capturing a Class 5A regional title on their home field with a 9-2 victory over Valley Center in the final.
Maize South will be the top seed in next week’s Kansas Class 5A softball state tournament at Wilkins Stadium.
“That was definitely eye-opening for us,” Maize South senior Lizzy Lassley said. “We’re such a motivation-driven team and that kind of gave us a visual of what we’re working for. It was definitely heartbreak last year when we came so close, but this year we have a different mindset and we’re on a roll.”
With all but three players back from last season’s team, Maize South knew this season could be special. But the Mavericks have exceeded all expectations to this point.
UNLV signee Sophie Stockam has been electric in the circle with a 15-0 record, a 0.59 earned run average and 230 strikeouts in just 94 innings. She’s added a team-best 10 home runs and 44 RBIs while also batting .477 in the heart of the lineup.
Lassley (.570, 54 runs, 33 RBIs), Kinslee Cottner (.511, nine homers, 42 RBIs, 13-0 record, 1.42 ERA) and Kiley Thornquist (.412, 39 RBIs, 38 runs) have given the Mavericks four of the best players in the state. The rest of the lineup is littered with production from Kinley Davis, Ava Jakubov, Gabby Gaither, Payton Southard and Camren Moses.
On the season, Maize South has outscored opponents 288-27.
“We knew this was going to be a special group and they’re just a blast to coach,” Stucky said. “That last day of the state tournament last year was about as heartbreaking as it gets for softball, so I think that has really motivated the girls. They’re obviously very talented, but they’re also really motivated and it’s just fun to watch.”
No one was better than Cottner on Tuesday when she combined for a 6-for-6 performance at the plate with two home runs and 10 RBIs in Maize South’s 11-4 win over Goddard and 9-2 win over Valley Center.
“We all talked about what happened last year and it lit a fire under our butts,” said Cottner, a sophomore. “We all said we’re not going to let that happen again this year. We want to do it so bad for our seniors. It’s just a really fun group and we have a great time every day in practice. When it comes to game time, we all know we have each other’s backs.”
The team has accomplished two of its three goals for this season — win the AV-CTL Division I championship and win a regional title. The last one? Win a state championship.
The Mavericks have proven this season that they are a championship-caliber team, but Stucky knows that won’t count for much when the tournament starts next Thursday.
“(28-0) doesn’t matter too much now,” Stucky said. “We’ll enjoy this (regional title) for now and get back to grinding in practice. They know what’s at stake now.”
Other Wichita-area softball teams headed to state tournament
Ava Boden and Addison Gutzmer combined to throw 12 scoreless innings to propel Derby (21-7) back to the 6A state tournament. The Panthers notched two straight shutouts in regional play, notably a 5-0 victory over Lawrence Free State in the final behind another standout performance from Boden in the circle. Karlie Demel led the way with a multi-hit game and two runs scored, while Carsen Carpenter, Jersey Ramirez and Ashlyn Hamilton all delivered RBI hits in the final.
The undefeated season of McPherson (28-0) rolled on with a pair of comfortable victories to earn a spot in the 4A state field, courtesy of a 9-2 victory over Mulvane in a regional final. The Bullpups jumped out early in both games, including a 14-4 run-rule win over Clay Center, as Addison Chapman, Haely Hagemann, Pera Bauer, Addie Herrera, Carmin Pavlovich and Rylie Whitfield all continued their standout seasons.
Circle (20-8) extended its winning streak to 13 games en route to winning a 4A regional title in Hoisington, featuring a 16-1 run-rule over the hosts in the finale. Kendyl Acker hit a home run and drove in a game-high four runs, while Lauren Swilley collected three hits with three runs, Brynne Bowman added two RBIs and Whitney Wilbur earned the win in the circle and added a pair of RBIs at the plate. The Thunderbirds actually trailed by four runs entering the bottom of the fifth inning of their first game, then exploded for 12 runs in the inning to earn a 14-7 win over Augusta. Swilley, Logan James and Bowman all finished with multi-RBI games.
After splitting with Buhler just three weeks ago, Clearwater (24-4) left no doubt in a rematch in a 4A regional final with a 13-3 run-rule victory over the Crusaders. Liv Miller, Makena Hampton and Taylor Nielson all hit home runs, while Trista Welty drove in a pair of runs at the plate and earned the win in the circle. Hampton and Camryn Carlson combined to drive in seven runs in a 15-0 victory over Hugoton to open the day.
Cedar Vale-Dexter (26-1) outscored its regional competition by a combined score of 43-3, including a 15-1 win over West Elk in the final, to advance to the 2-1A state tournament. The team has been led this season by Edee Boatman, Zoe Davidson, Gracie Webb, Kylie Hedgecock and Kendall Ghram.
In a battle of 1-loss teams that handed the other their only loss this season, Inman (22-1) won the rematch over Bennington, 8-1, on its home field to capture a regional title and advance to the 2-1A state tournament. The Teutons received a superb outing from Lyla Levin in the circle, while Maddi Parsons, Marlee Ballard, Allison Schrag and Alexis Noone all notched RBI hits.
Kansas high school softball regional tournament scores
Class 6A Derby
Derby 5, Lawrence Free State 0 (final)
Derby 10, Dodge City 0
Lawrence Free State 16, Wichita Northwest 7
Class 5A Maize South
Maize South 9, Valley Center 2 (final)
Maize South 11, Goddard 4
Valley Center 6, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 5
Class 5A Great Bend
Topeka Seaman 7, Great Bend 6 (final)
Great Bend 13, Andover Central 1
Topeka Seaman 7, Goddard Eisenhower 3
Class 5A Salina Central
Salina Central 15, Salina South 8 (final)
Salina South 16, Newton 1
Salina Central 8, Emporia 0
Class 4A McPherson
McPherson 9, Mulvane 2 (final)
McPherson 14, Clay Center 4
Mulvane 15, Larned 0
Class 4A Chapman
Chapman 5, Andale-Garden Plain 3 (final)
Chapman 6, Concordia 2
Andale-Garden Plain 10, Pratt 7
Class 4A Clearwater
Clearwater 13, Buhler 3 (final)
Clearwater 15, Hugoton 0
Buhler 13, Rose Hill 3
Class 4A Hoisington
Circle 16, Hoisington 1 (final)
Hoisington 8, Ulysses 5
Circle 14, Augusta 10
Class 3A Halstead (first round)
Wichita Trinity 10, Chaparral 0
Kingman-Norwich 4, Cheney 3
Halstead 3, Conway Springs-Argonia 1
Haven 7, Hesston 0
Class 2-1A Inman
Inman 8, Bennington 1 (final)
Bennington 17, Sterling 3
Inman 13, Salina Sacred Heart 2
Class 2-1A Moundridge (semifinals)
Bluestem 7, Sedgwick 6
Remington 3, Moundridge 2
Class 2-1A Flinthills
Central Heights 16, Lebo-Waverly 6 (final)
Central Heights 9, Southern Lyon County 0
Lebo-Waverly 15, Flinthills 5
Class 2-1A Sedan
Cedar Vale-Dexter 15, West Elk 1 (final)
Cedar Vale-Dexter 13, Oxford 2
West Elk 12, South Sumner County 8
This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 6:01 AM.
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