Olathe West felt like they were the best softball team in the state this season and wanted to prove it.

But this nascent program saw its first trip to state, in just the fifth year of the program’s existence, nearly end abruptly in the state quarterfinals.

Instead, Olathe West delivered four runs in a seventh-inning comeback and never looked back on its way to proving exactly what they knew all along.

Olathe West secured the Class 6A state championship with a 10-0 victory over Washburn Rural in just five innings during the championship final on May 26 at Arrocha Ballpark in Lawrence. Senior third baseman Madison Walker delivered two home runs in the final and finished with six RBI across the team’s three games at state.

Walker said this group of seniors, which included second baseman Madison Grant, first baseman Rori Hornung, catcher Allyson Miller, center fielder Emma Veach, outfielder Saleana Tipon and herself, were driven all season by their goal of finishing their high school careers by winning a state title together.

“The seniors wanted to play for each other,” Walker said. “We came here for a reason. We didn’t want to get second and we got first. It was great.”

In addition to the great play from the seniors, sophomore pitcher Breyvn Kellepouris led a strong group of underclassmen that helped turn Olathe West into a team that lost one game all season.

Kellepouris earned five strikeouts and allowed just two hits in 12 innings across two games on the final day of state. She also had two hits and one RBI during the state tournament.
 

Olathe West head coach Cynthia Adams had complete confidence that this group could get the job done. Still, the way the championship game played out left her in a little bit of shock.

“It didn’t feel real just because we were ahead by so much,” Adams said. “But these girls, that’s the way they’ve been playing all year and they showed everybody who the best team is in the state.”

Indeed, the Owls made a habit out of earning run-rule victories during the season and never really broke that habit in the postseason. Olathe West won 10 of its last 12 regular season games by at least 10 runs and won its two regional games by a combined margin of 27 runs.

To add even more confidence for the Owls, their championship opponent Washburn Rural knocked out the only team to beat Olathe West this year. It also took everything the Junior Blues had in the tank to earn their spot in the state final.

Washburn Rural went through a 12-inning marathon against previously undefeated Olathe Northwest in the first state semifinal of the day, ultimately winning 3-1. The Junior Blues also earned a state quarterfinal victory over Shawnee Mission North, which was one of two teams to finish only one run back in a loss to Olathe West during the regular season. Washburn Rural was the only other team to finish within three runs of the Owls, with Olathe West earning a 7-4 victory April 13 at home.

Washburn Rural senior pitcher Emmerson Cope took to the mound in the final having already thrown 193 pitches earlier in the day against the Ravens. Cope took down Olathe West’s first two batters with a ground out and strikeout, but Walker waited out a ball three before she swung for the fences and sent the ball over the centerfield wall.

“I told myself that if she gives me something, I’m going to hit it,” Walker said. “I’m gonna swing with all I have and I saw that pitch and I drove it.”

Still, Walker hesitated a tick longer than usual as she waited to see the ball disappear over the wall.

“I still had to make sure it cleared it before I started celebrating,” Walker said.
 

Adams said she knew after Walker’s bomb that her team was good the rest of the way.

“I knew once Madison hit our first home run that that was it,” Adams said. “Because once she gets going, that gets the whole team going. Once she gets in that groove, everybody follows

Washburn Rural decided not to test Walker again when she was up to bat in the third inning, but walking her gave the Owls runners on first and second with just one out. Miller took advantage as she sent a fly ball to right field, earning a double and sending Walker and sophomore shortstop Maliyah Warren home.

Cope ended up with the bases loaded after she hit one batter and walked another. Hornung hit a ground-ball single to left field to send sophomore outfielder Kyla Crawford home as Miller’s courtesy runner. Cope struck out sophomore outfielder Isabella Jaso, but a single from freshman outfielder/pitcher Emma Heinemann and a double from Veach sent across four more runs.

Washburn Rural put senior pitcher Piper Titsworth on the mound to secure the final out in the inning, but the damage was already done.

“Our top five hitters are tough,” Adams said. “If you’re not going to pitch to Madison, you gotta pitch to Ally Miler. You’re going to have to pitch to Brevyn Kellepouris.”

Instead of walking her again, Titsworth took a try at pitching to Walker to kick off the bottom of the fourth. Walker delivered another homer. Titsworth responded by forcing the next three batters into either a fly out or a ground out.

In the bottom of the fifth, Hornung and Jaso hit singles while Titsworth walked Veach to give the Owls bases loaded once again. When Tisworth walked Warren, Hornung went across to give Olathe West the 10-0 lead and induced the run-rule finish to the game two innings and two outs early.

Derby tried to give the Owls trouble in the state semifinals earlier in the day, only for Olathe West to advance with a 5-2 victory. 
 

After Hornung scored on an error in the bottom of the second inning, the Panthers scored a run in the top of the third inning to tie the game at 1-all. Olathe West responded by immediately scoring three runs in the bottom half of that inning.

Walker and Miller hit doubles on back-to-back at-bats to send Miller in for a run. Kellepouris singled with a fly ball to left field. Grant singled on a bunt to send home Crawford as Miller’s courtesy runner.

Hornung grounded out to first, which allowed Kellepouris to score one more run during the inning.

Derby tried to get back in striking distance with a run in the fifth. Demel hit a sacrifice fly that allowed Frager to score after tagging up.

But the Owls kept Derby off the board the rest of the way while also scoring one more run in the sixth. Hornung scored on an error again, this time in the bottom of the sixth inning to go up 5-2.

Walker said she thought the team maintained its momentum from the Derby game through the championship final.
“That momentum propelled us,” Walker said. “We played like a team and I think that’s really what gave us an advantage.”

Olathe West’s biggest scare was actually in the state quarterfinal. Olathe North broke open a tied game in the top of the sixth inning by driving in four runs. Olathe West responded by scoring five runs over the final two innings, including the Owls’ own four run inning in the seventh, to win 7-6.

It was again Walker who got her team going in that game-deciding final half inning. She hit a line-drive double to left field, sending two runners home in the process. Kellepouris tied the game up at 6-all with a single sending Walker across home plate.

With just one out and two runners in scoring position, Hornung hit a walk-off fly ball to center field to send Kellepouris in for the game-winning run.

“Our first game was not our best game, but we trusted each other,” Kellepouris said. “We played for each other, we didn’t give up. We were down by four in the six, three in the last inning and we didn’t give up.

“We trusted each other with our lives, basically. We were ready, we wanted it.”

When Kellepouris celebrated the state championship victory with her teammates, she began to tear up. She said her tears were specifically because she was thinking about this being the last game with this year’s seniors.

“They’re really good role models,” Kellepouris said. “Madison set the tone for every game. They’ve been through all of this, they know how it works. So they’re like pros at this. Being underclassmen, you’re gonna have to learn that all by yourself without those role models.

“And they’re really great friends.”

With no juniors on this year’s squad, Kellepouris and the rest of the Owls’ sophomores will face the challenge of becoming the team’s new role models who will try to lead this group on their new mission: defend the team’s newly earned designation as the best team in the state.