From the Capital Journal:
MANHATTAN — For a program making its first state tournament appearance in four seasons, the Rossville softball team sure made the first inning of its opener look like old hat. The breezy victory kept Rossville (21-0) perfect on the season and advanced the Bulldawgs to an 11 a.m. Friday semifinal matchup with No. 5 seed Perry-Lecompton.The No. 2-seeded Bulldawgs recorded three swinging strikeouts in the top of the first, plated four runs in the bottom of the frame and rolled to an emphatic 12-0 victory in five innings over No. 7-seeded TMP-Marian on Thursday afternoon at Twin Oaks Softball Complex. “I challenged them to come out and send a message here in the first inning of the first game, and they did. I’m very proud of them,” Rossville coach Adam Roorbach said. “It doesn’t mean anything tomorrow, so we’re going to come out and get ready to play. But yeah, it couldn’t have gone any better for us.” Junior Giorgia Miliorini and senior Lora Shinn each clubbed two-run home runs in the first inning for Rossville, Nos. 36 and 37 for the power-hitting Bulldawgs on the season. The two shots were almost identical, each clearing the complex’s long path to the left field fences with relative ease. “They were no-doubters off the bat, in my mind,” Roorbach said. “We’ve hit a lot this year and we can usually tell right away, and they put good swings on those pitches and really did well.” All told, the Bulldawg lineup notched 10 hits in four innings and knocked TMP-Marian starter Alison Helget out after just 1/3 of an inning. The four-run cushion was more than enough for Rossville starter Amanda Hill, who entered the game with an 11-0 record, two no-hitters and 110 strikeouts this season. Staked to a 9-0 lead after two innings, she was pulled from the contest before the top of the third. She struck out five in her two frames, leaving the door open for the dominant senior to play a key role in Friday’s two contests. “It was very important,” Roorbach said. “She’s a great pitcher, and we’re going to go as far as she takes us. She knows that. She’s a senior, she’s ready for this and she wants it really bad. To be able to get her to just get a few innings and get out, she’ll come back fresh tomorrow. It was a really big deal for us.” Roorbach said a doubleheader earlier this season against Manhattan helped get the team used to this turf-surfaced facility. It also appeared to ease any potential nerves in the victory over the Monarchs (17-7). “We came out and played like we could,” Roorbach said. “It was one of our goals at the beginning of the year, to win a state title. Some teams run away from that, and we ran toward it. We talk about it every day. “It was good to get the butterflies out.”
PERRY-LECOMPTON 3, SOUTHEAST-SALINE 1 — The Kaws (22-2) advanced thanks to the arm of starting pitcher Megan Fast — and, in no small part, the arm of her battery mate Graci Folks.
Fast limited runners and damage for the complete game effort, while the catcher Graci gunned down a Southeast-Saline would-be base stealer at second in a pivotal moment that ended the sixth inning, and the No. 5-seeded Kaws scored the minor upset over the No. 4-seeded Trojans (20-2).
Kaw second baseman Abbi Folks ran in to receive Graci Folks’ throw, then lunged backward for the inning-ending tag.
“Well, they hadn’t tested Graci’s arm yet, and Abbi (Folks) is such a smart player — got in front of her and got her,” said Perry-Lecompton coach Jill Bradney. “I’m not surprised by it. She’s done it quite a bit this year. But that girl was pretty fast, too.”
The Kaws took advantage of a pair of Trojan errors for a three-run second inning, and Fast maneuvered through the Trojan lineup the rest of the way. With the potential tying run at the plate, Fast induced a game-ending flyout to right field that put the Kaws in the semifinals.
MARYSVILLE 9, CHENEY 3 — A two-run home run off the bat of Kali Chrome essentially put the game out of reach in the sixth inning, and the No. 6-seeded Bulldogs (19-4) scored the upset over the No. 3-seeded Cardinals (20-2).
Marysville stuffed the bases constantly, notching 13 hits en route to scoring at least two runs in every other inning. Bulldog starting pitcher Shelby Downard, meanwhile, allowed only three hits in a complete-game effort, helping Marysville earn an 11 a.m. Friday semifinal against top-seeded Riverton.
Fast limited runners and damage for the complete game effort, while the catcher Graci gunned down a Southeast-Saline would-be base stealer at second in a pivotal moment that ended the sixth inning, and the No. 5-seeded Kaws scored the minor upset over the No. 4-seeded Trojans (20-2).
Kaw second baseman Abbi Folks ran in to receive Graci Folks’ throw, then lunged backward for the inning-ending tag.
“Well, they hadn’t tested Graci’s arm yet, and Abbi (Folks) is such a smart player — got in front of her and got her,” said Perry-Lecompton coach Jill Bradney. “I’m not surprised by it. She’s done it quite a bit this year. But that girl was pretty fast, too.”
The Kaws took advantage of a pair of Trojan errors for a three-run second inning, and Fast maneuvered through the Trojan lineup the rest of the way. With the potential tying run at the plate, Fast induced a game-ending flyout to right field that put the Kaws in the semifinals.
MARYSVILLE 9, CHENEY 3 — A two-run home run off the bat of Kali Chrome essentially put the game out of reach in the sixth inning, and the No. 6-seeded Bulldogs (19-4) scored the upset over the No. 3-seeded Cardinals (20-2).
Marysville stuffed the bases constantly, notching 13 hits en route to scoring at least two runs in every other inning. Bulldog starting pitcher Shelby Downard, meanwhile, allowed only three hits in a complete-game effort, helping Marysville earn an 11 a.m. Friday semifinal against top-seeded Riverton.
ROSSVILLE 12, TMP-MARIAN 0 (5 innings)
TMP-Marian 000 00 — 0 3 2
Rossville 451 2x — 12 10 1
Rossville 451 2x — 12 10 1
Helget, Lacy (1) and Rupp and L. Gottschalk. Hill, Kippes (3) and L. Shinn and Kirk. W — Hill. L — Helget. 2B — Rossville: Miliorini, Lundin. HR — Rossville: Miliorini, L. Shinn. Records — Rossville 21-0, TMP-Marian 17-7.
MARYSVILLE 9, CHENEY 3
Marysville 202 302 0 — 9 13 0
Cheney 030 000 0 — 3 3 3
Cheney 030 000 0 — 3 3 3
Downard and Crome. Monson and Campbell. W — Downard. L — Monson. 2B — Marysville: Downard; Cheney: Higgins, Jones. 3B — Marysville: Pacha. HR — Marysville: Crome. Records — Marysville 19-4, Cheney 20-2.
