Teams At 3A State Softball

CLASS 3A STATE TOURNAMENT AT MANHATTAN, STARTS MAY 25

Here are capsules of four of the teams competing.

Central Heights

Coach: Lea Stegner.

Record: 15-8.

How they got here: beat West Franklin, 4-0; beat Jayhawk-Linn, 17-4; beat Humboldt, 15-12.

First-round game: vs. Riverton (23-0), 5 p.m.

Key players: Megan Davis, sr., P-1B; Riley Roll, jr., OF-P; Lindsay Burson, jr., 2B; Demeree Pendleton, sr., SS; Tess Cotter, sr., C; Shelbi Hettinger, jr., OF-1B.

Worth noting: Vikings qualified for state for first time in program’s 20-year history, knocking off top-seeded Humboldt in regional title game — the first regional final for the program as well. … Hettinger leads Vikings with .488 average. … Davis has struck out 139 batters. … Cotter (.333), Davis (.333), Pendleton (.394), Burson (.348), Hannah Savage (.319) and Abigail Brown (.333) all are hitting above .300.

Marysville

Coach: Bert Lord.

Record: 18-4.

How they got here: beat Riley County, 12-6; beat Nemaha Central, 4-0.

First-round game: vs. Cheney (20-1), 7 p.m.

Key players: Shelby Downard, so., P; Sydney Pacha, jr., 1B; Kali Crome, sr., 3B; Macy Larson, sr., SS.

Worth noting: Bulldogs were North Central Kansas League champions, going 9-1 in league play. … State trip is first since 2013 when Bulldogs took third in 3A, the program’s best state finish. … Downard is 17-4 with 2.35 ERA and 160 strikeouts. … She’s also hitting .592 with 14 HRs and 36 RBI. … Pacha is hitting .493 with 4 HRs and Crome is hitting .426 with 5 HRs. … Larson also has 3 HRs and Marysville set program record with 32 home runs this year.

Perry-Lecompton

Coach: Jill Larson-Bradney.

Record: 21-2.

How they got here: beat Riverside, 17-2; beat Oskaloosa, 8-3.

First-round game: vs. vs. Southeast-Saline (20-1), 7 p.m.

Key players: Harleigh Robertson, sr., OF; Megan Fast, jr., P-1B; Cassody O’Connor, jr., 3B; Abbi Folks, sr., SS; Graci Folks, so., C; Ronna Erickson, sr., 1B-P.

Worth noting: Kaws clinched first state trip since 2008 when they lost in first round of Class 4A tourney. … Perry was Big Seven League champions and only losses came to Royal Valley and Valley Falls. … Record is best in program history and 14 of 21 wins are by run-rule. … Robertson has hit .613 with 16 HRs with 67 RBI. … Fast is 11-0 with 1.88 ERA and 73 strikeouts and also is hitting .603 with 5 HRs and 32 RBI. … O’Connor is hitting .597 with 31 RBIs and both Folks are over .490 with a combined 59 RBIs. … Erickson is 9-2 and is hitting .365. … Kaws avenged last year’s regional loss by beating Oskaloosa in regional title game.

Rossville

Coach: Adam Roorbach.

Record: 19-0.

How they got here: beat Osage City, 10-0; beat Silver Lake, 12-3.

First-round game: vs. TMP-Marian (17-6), 5 p.m.

Key players: Amanda Hill, sr., P; Lora Shinn, sr., C; Sara Shinn, sr., OF; Giorgia Migliorini, jr., 3B; Avery Anderson, fr., SS; Kinlyn Lundin, fr., 1B; Kelci Kippes, so., RF-P; Ashley Zemek, jr., 2B; Rylee Brecheisen, jr., DP; Sami Murray, sr., LF.

Worth noting: Bulldogs return to state for first time since 2013 when they lost in first round. … Rossville captured Mid-East League title for second straight year and are unbeaten in league play the last two years. … Bulldogs own sweeps of 4A I qualifier Wamego and 2-1A qualifier Wabaunsee. … Six Bulldawg regulars are hitting .400 or better led by Lundin (.551) and Migliorini (.547). … Sara Shinn has 10 HRs, Lundin has 9 , Migliorini has 7 and the Bulldawgs have 35 as a team. … Lundin has 43 RBI and Shinn has 35 while six others have at least 13. … Hill is 11-0 with two no-hitters and 110 strikeouts. … Kippes is 7-0 with a no-hitter and 36 strikeouts.