Campus softball ends Derby’s perfect season with stunning 6A state upset
For one frozen second, nobody knew where the ball would land.
Derby’s perfect season was hanging in the air. Campus’ belief was hanging in the air. A state softball semifinal berth was hanging in the air.
Campus freshman Reese Storm had just flipped a two-out blooper down the right-field line in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday afternoon at Trusler Sports Complex in Emporia. If it drifted foul, No. 1 seed Derby remained tied. If it found grass, Campus was about to turn the Kansas Class 6A high school softball state tournament upside down.
The ball dropped just inside the line.
Storm’s two-run hit gave Campus the lead for good in a stunning 3-1 upset over previously undefeated Derby, ending the Panthers’ bid at a perfect season at 28-1 and sending the Colts into Thursday’s Class 6A semifinals. Campus (17-12) will play Mill Valley (25-3) at 11 a.m. Thursday at Wilkins Stadium on Wichita State’s campus.
“We were scared, or at least I was scared,” senior center fielder Madi Harris said. “So when Reese stepped up and did it, it felt so unreal. We always knew we could do this, but it was still such an exciting moment to see everybody come together.”
Derby struck first in the bottom of the first inning when senior Olivia Parra ripped an RBI double down the left-field line for a 1-0 lead. Against most teams, that was usually the beginning of Derby taking control.
But Campus never let the game get there.
Kylie Matthews did not overwhelm Derby with strikeouts. That has never been her game. She pitched to contact, trusted the defense behind her and kept forcing the Panthers to earn every inch.
“Honestly, I just trust in God and trust in my teammates behind me,” Matthews said. “I remember thinking, ‘We got this.’”
The defense made that trust look smart.
In the third inning, Derby threatened after an error and a walk put two runners on base. The Panthers tried to pressure Campus with a double steal, but third baseman Lily Clements fired to second, where Storm applied the tag for the inning-ending out.
In the sixth, catcher Kyra Caudillo delivered another critical play, firing a rocket throw to second base to erase a Derby baserunner and help Matthews keep the game tied.
Those plays mattered because Campus kept leaving runners on base.
The Colts loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but Derby pitcher Addi Gutzmer escaped with a swinging strikeout. Campus finally broke through in the fifth after Aubrey Storm and Harris strung together back-to-back singles. With two outs, Alexis Butler lined an RBI single to left field to tie the game, 1-1. Campus loaded the bases again, but Derby escaped again.
The Colts could have folded after those missed chances. Instead, they kept pressing.
“We were really excited, but if I’m going to be honest, we always knew we could win,” Campus coach Emily Prichard said. “We are a better team than what we’ve showed. So we knew if we played our game, we could do it.”
That belief had survived a season that looked nothing like a state semifinal run for most of the spring.
Campus was 9-12 earlier this month. Prichard, in her first season as head coach, was blunt when asked why the Colts struggled to find consistency early.
“Honestly, me,” Prichard said. “Being a first-year head coach, I don’t feel like I was ready enough early on to get these girls to be successful.”
But Campus never fractured. The Colts still had talent. They still had power in the lineup with Butler, Emmi Cooper, Clements, Caudillo and Brooklyn Burling. They still had seniors in Caudillo and Harris who remembered Campus’ run to the 6A state championship game in 2024.
And after a walk-off win over Garden City earlier this month, something clicked.
The Colts brought a seven-game winning streak into Tuesday’s quarterfinal, including a 4-3 road win at Washburn Rural in the regional championship game despite being outhit 12-3.
They had already learned how to survive tense games.
Then came the seventh inning against Derby.
With two outs and the score tied, Butler doubled to start the rally. Caudillo followed with a single to left. Butler rounded third and was waved home by Prichard, but Butler tripped and fell, forcing her to retreat to third.
For a moment, Campus’ best chance looked like it might disappear.
A wild pitch moved Caudillo to second, putting two runners in scoring position for Reese Storm .The freshman did not hit it hard, but she hit it perfectly.
Her blooper down the right-field line dropped fair, scoring Butler and Caudillo for a 3-1 lead. Suddenly, Derby’s perfect season was three outs from ending.
Matthews retired the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh, but Derby made one final push. An error allowed Kelby Clingan to reach base, and Jaycie Thomas followed with a line-drive single to left field, taking second on the throw home.
The tying run was on second. The winning run was at the plate.
Prichard walked to the circle.
“I just had to remind them that we are the ones controlling this game,” Prichard said. “We are the ones who control the next pitch. Everybody take a deep breath.”
One pitch later, Matthews induced a harmless pop-up to first base.
Campus players stormed out of the dugout, celebrating a win that shocked nearly everyone except the team that pulled it off.
“We always knew we were better than what our record showed,” Prichard said. “We felt like we could have easily been the No. 1 seed, so it honestly didn’t take much motivating the girls. We knew who we were, and we all believed in each other.”
Derby had been perfect for 28 games.
Campus only needed one perfect moment to end it.
This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 8:43 PM.
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