The Hays High softball team faced a fairly front-loaded schedule, opening the season with a key Western Athletic Conference contest against Garden City before playing a road doubleheader against defending Class 5A champion Valley Center. 

A 13-6 win over Garden helped set the tone in WAC play, while 19-0 and 8-2 losses against a loaded Valley Center squad served as a learning opportunity for Hays. 

Both of those early-season matchups served Hays well on the road to its first WAC title in 12 years. 

Hays wrapped up the outright conference championship this week by picking up three straight wins over Liberal, finishing WAC play at 11-1. 

“I think it set the tone for our whole season being able to come out and take Game 1 against Garden at their place,” Hays coach Abby Gillan said. “We had success at the plate against Brie Manwarren, who’s just a tremendous talent and really is a next-level pitcher. I think that gave us the boost we needed. We hit the ball against Valley Center but they’re just on another level. But I think our girls still felt pretty confident.”

Hays owns a 13-3 overall record heading into the final week of the regular season. 

Hays’ last conference championship was in 2011. Gillan was head coach of the team from 2009 to 2015, and is now in her second season back as coach after taking a six-year break from coaching. 

Hays took two of three games against Garden City, handing the Buffaloes (14-2) their only two losses. In a home doubleheader on April 11, Hays dropped an 8-2 decision to Garden before winning the rubber match of the series, 5-1.

“(Winning WAC) has been a long time coming,” Gillan said. “It always seems like there’s just one hiccup along the way. A lot of times it was Garden City that stood between us and the conference championship.”

Since the Valley Center losses, Hays has gone 12-1 and currently owns a nine-game winning streak. 

“That’s the standard,” Gillan said of the Hornets. “That’s the culture and the standard we want for our own program. Getting to go face off against them and getting to see where we stack up, places where we’re not too far from being in the ballpark with them, and just seeing places where they just excel and are elite. I think it gave our girls something to strive for and allowed them to set some goals. 

“I think our focus and our work ethic at practice really kicked up a few notches after that doubleheader.”

Junior Aubree Thomas has been sharp in the circle. She’s fashioned a 7-2 record with a 2.11 ERA. Thomas recently became the second player in program history with 300 career strikeouts. 

She tossed a five-inning no-hitter against TMP-Marian on April 27. 
 
“She came out just amazing to start the season, and then it always feels like we hit this point where get some soreness or something, so we’re figuring out how to manage that right,” Gillan said. “Because she’s a kid that will throw through and play through any injury. We want to make sure we protect her future and what her plans are for after high school. Just finding that balance has been key. 

“She’s a gamer. She’s going to come out and battle through and she’s been so solid for us on the mound and at the plate.”

Hays has scored 70 runs over its last five games in sweeps against TMP and Liberal.

Sophomore Riley Dreher is hitting a team-high .596 and leads the team in runs driven in with 28 and home runs with 3. Dreher has also provided starting pitching depth, throwing 23 innings and going 4-1. 

“Riley can get in there and give us great innings,” Gillan said. “Our defense generally plays really well behind Riley. We’re confident putting either girl out there on the mound for us, and Aubree and Riley both are tremendous on defense in the field at their secondary positions. We’re lucky to have such a versatile staff.”

Dezarae Schmidt is hitting .482 and has scored 27 runs.

“She worked really hard in the offseason,” Gillan said of Schmidt. “You don’t find too many kids that are putting in the kind of hours that she does. She’s just got good instincts at the plate. She’s super coachable and always looking to make adjustments to her swings, always fine-tuning. She just does a good job of getting to contact.”

Thomas has also had a big year at the plate, hitting .463. Other players hitting .400 or better are Elle Dreiling (.462), Lakyn Zimmerman (.400) and Morgen Berry (.400), while Ashlyn Zimmer is hitting .366. 

“I came in and was really fortunate to have a ton of really great ballplayers, supportive families and a phenomenal coaching staff,” Gillan said. “It just seemed like all the pieces were there, I just kind of had to fit them all together. The kids have just been lights out. 

“I can tell you that in six years of not coaching, it felt like a lot of things evolved and changed in the game, which is super exciting. You want to see the game grow and change, and it has. I think I have a different perspective of it after having that break. Hopefully I bring a little bit more calm to the field than I used to. But I literally could not have been handed off a better program than I was. The girls are hard workers and good ballplayers.”

Hays will wrap up the regular season with non-conference games against Andover Central, Salina South, Manhattan and Newton. 

SOFTBALL 

– Garden City extended its winning streak to eight after beating Dodge City 10-1 on Thursday. 

– Haskell County (Sublette/Satanta) won the Hi-Plains League title for the third straight season. Haskell County moved to 17-1 overall after sweeping Stanton County on Friday. 

– Holcomb swept Lakin on Thursday to move to 15-1 on the season. Emma Cornelsen went 6 for 9 in the Lakin wins while Korryn Johnson tossed two shutouts. Johnson, a junior, went over 500 career strikeouts earlier this season. 

– Bucklin’s Halie Feikert is hitting .717 on the season with 12 home runs and 47 RBI. Feikert also has nine doubles and four triples. She went 7 of 9 at the plate against Ness City on Tuesday.

– Three TMP-Marian players have tied program records this season. Sophomore Brooke Koenigsman has tied the record for triples in a season with 7, Nicole Schumacher has matched the record for doubles in a game with 3, while Hannah Garcia has equaled the record for singles in a game with four. 

BASEBALL 

– Great Bend’s Carson Umphres is hitting .500. He has driven in 21 runs and has seven doubles and five triples. 

– Russell baseball is enjoying a huge breakout year, posting a 19-1 record. The Broncos took their first loss against Larned/La Crosse on Tuesday but bounced back to win the nightcap then swept Southeast of Saline on Thursday. 

– Goodland’s Cole Linton is 4-0 on the mound with a 1.26 ERA. 

– Colby’s Shane Puckett is hitting .517 with 17 runs driven in. 

– Elkhart baseball is 16-1 on the season. The Wildcats took its first loss of the season on Monday against Liberal but bounced back on Thursday with an 8-7 win over Ulysses.