Eudora softball thwarts Tonganoxie hopes for state berth
Tonganoxie High takes on Eudora during a Class 4A regional championship game Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at the Eudora softball complex. EHS won, 11-2.
EUDORA — The Tonganoxie High softball team did what it needed to do to have a shot at a state berth Tuesday afternoon.
THS, the No. 7 seed in the Class 4A East Bracket, handled No. 10 Louisburg, 5-1, in the regional semifinals. That set up a rematch with No. 2 Eudora for a shot at the state tournament in the all-Frontier League regional. Eudora shut out Paola in the other semifinal game.
The Cardinals escaped Tonganoxie with a 5-2 victory against the Chieftains in the regular season, so perhaps it was Tonganoxie’s turn to return the favor.
Eudora, though, just had too much firepower for Stephanie Wittman’s THS squad. The Cardinals eventually pulled away with an 11-2 victory and a fifth straight state berth.
EHS will take a 22-4 record into the state tournament next week in Salina, while Tonganoxie ends its season at 14-8. The Chieftains were pretty consistent in 2024. The team opened the season at 1-3, but the squad never lost multiple games in a row after dropping three straight early. The team also had three-game winning streaks twice and a four-game winning streak once. That four-game winning streak took place during the final couple weeks of the regular season.
As for the 4A state field, it’s now one team from being set. No. 1 Scott City (19-3), No. 7 Andale/Garden Plain (17-9), No. 3 Towanda-Circle (23-5) and No. 4 Clearwater (20-7) have advanced from the West Bracket.
No. 1 Wamego (22-4) and No. 3 Fort Scott (20-5) join Eudora in the East Bracket. The Rock Creek Regional will be played Wednesday, with No. 4 Rock Creek (17-5) taking on No. 13 Ottawa (7-14) and No. 5 Labette County (14-5) meeting No. 12 Holton (9-13) in the semifinals.
Eudora placed third at state in 2023 and won it all in 2022. Interestingly enough, Tonganoxie’s last state appearance (2018) was the last time Eudora did not play in a state tournament. THS placed third that year.
Tuesday’s regional marked the last time three seniors would be playing in THS uniforms. This year’s seniors were Sage Isaacs, Jordyn Vorbeck and Abby Clarkson.
Frontier League has another state team
Spring Hill is headed to the 5A state tournament.
The No. 1 seed in the 5A East Bracket, the Broncos shut out No. 16 Leavenworth, 15-0, and then No. 9 Lansing, 3-0, for the regional title. Spring Hill will take a 26-2 record to Wichita for the state tournament..
Basehor-Linwood (20-5) also is headed to 5A state. Piper could join both Wednesday when the Pirates host their East Bracket regional.