CLASS 4A SOFTBALL CAPSULES
 
At Salina South High School
 

 
CHAPMAN
 
CHAPMAN
 
Coach: Kyle Cook
 
Record: 23-3
 
Regional results: beat Concordia, 6-2; beat Andale/Garden Plain, 5-3.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Fort Scott (6: 23-5), 5 p.m. Thursday
 
Key Players: Madalynn Harold, sr., P/OF; Jai Rogers, so., IF; Olivia Harold, fr., P/IF; Taylor Gustafson, sr., CF; Kaci Heller, sr., C.
 
Worth noting: Irish making first state appearance since taking third in Class 4A Division II in 2016. … Irish won just one game in 2021. … Trip to state is sixth overall and Chapman also finished third at state in 2015. … Irish shared North Central Kansas League title with fellow 4A qualifier Wamego, splitting with the Red Raiders in the regular-season finale. … Irish also swept fellow 4A qualifier Rock Creek. … League title was first for the program. … Only other losses came to Southeast of Saline and Abilene. … Wins are most ever for the program. … Madalynn Harold is 15-2 with a 1.28 ERA and has struck out 165 and walked just 25 in 103 innings. … Sister Olivia is 8-1 with 71 strikeouts in 57 innings. … Madalynn is also hitting .467 with 5 home runs and 37 RBI. … Rogers is hitting .612 and has 5 homers and 26 RBI. … Chapman is hitting .427 as a team with 17 home runs. … Ten players are hitting .300 or better with six over .400. … Harold has 37 career wins and over 500 career strikeouts.
 

 
CIRCLE
 
Coach: Jason Schropp
 
Record: 20-8
 
Regional results: beat Augusta, 14-10; beat Hoisington/Central Plains, 16-1.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. McPherson (1: 28-0), 11 a.m. Thursday
 
Key Players: Harlee Fowler, sr., SS; Lauren Swilley, jr., C/1B; Whitney Wilber, jr., P/OF; Kendyl Acker, jr., C/1B; Logan James, so., 3B/P; Ava Tunnell, so., P/OF.
 
Worth noting: After making program’s first-ever state tournament appearance last year, T-Birds are back for a second straight year. … Circle is 44-15 since Schropp took over program last year. … Half of T-Birds’ losses this year came to fellow 4A qualifiers McPherson and Clearwater, twice each. … James leads team with .494 average with 3 home runs and 28 RBI. … Fowler is hitting .440 with 25 RBI. … Swilley had 5 homers and 25 RBI while hitting .455. … Acker’s 40 RBI broke the school record for a single season and she also has 5 home runs and a .398 average. … Wilbur is 11-3 with a 3.52 ERA and is hitting .430 with 3 homers and 26 RBI. … Tunnell is 8-4 and has 17 RBI.
 

 
CLEARWATER
 
Coach: Tyler Hampton
 
Record: 24-4
 
Regional results: beat Hugoton/Moscow, 15-0; beat Buhler, 13-3.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Wamego (5: 21-4), 1 p.m. Thursday
 
Key Players: Liv Miller, so., C; Kaylee Hampton, sr., SS; Trista Welty, jr., P; Makena Hampton, so., 3B; Taylor Nielson, jr., RF; Camryn Carlson, sr., 1B; Madi Clevenger, jr., CF; Kaylynn Konkel, jr., P.
 
Worth noting: Indians at state for the eighth time in program history and fourth straight year. … Last year’s trip ended with marathon 17-inning loss to eventual state champion Wamego, 2-1 with Welty working all 17 innings in the game. … Clearwater gets rematch with Wamego in this year’s quarterfinals. … Indians were undefeated Ark Valley Chisholm Trail IV League champions. … Only losses came to 5A qualifier Seaman, Winfield, Andover Central and Buhler. … Top state finish for the program is a runner-up showing in 2014 while Indians also finished third in 199 and fourth in 2022 and 2023. … Clearwater swept fellow 4A qualifier Circle and 3A qualifier Trinity Academy. … Indians set school record for wins, topping old mark by two. … Indians have 25 home runs as a team and have scored 246 runs. … Welty broke the single-season strikeout record with 161 this season. … She’s 16-1 with a 0.84 ERA and also is hitting .364. … Miller’s 10 home runs is a school record by one and she’s hitting .526 with 51 RBI. … Kaylee Hampton is hitting .489 with 34 RBI and 44 runs scored, while Makena Hampton is hitting .484 with 7 home runs and 39 RBI. … Nielson is hitting .463 with 41 runs scored. … Konkel is 7-2 with a 3.31 ERA. … Carlson and Clevenger are both hitting over .300 with more than 20 runs scores and 29 hits each.
 

 
EUDORA
 
Coach: Bill Finucane
 
Record: 25-1
 
Regional results: beat Parsons, 16-0; beat Chanute, 13-0.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Rock Creek (7: 19-7), 3 p.m. Thursday
 
Key Players: Samantha Claire, sr., P; Reese Pattison, sr., C; Katie Courter, sr., SS; Jaiden Burris, sr., 3B; Alexia Born, sr., CF.
 
Worth noting: Cardinals have qualified for state seven times in the last 11 seasons and have finished top three the past three trips. … Eudora won the Class 4A state title in 2022 before placing third each of the past two seasons. … Cardinals were undefeated Frontier League champions this season. … Lone loss came to 6A qualifier Olathe North and Cardinals have wins over 6A qualifier Topeka High and 5A qualifiers Seaman and Spring Hill. … Claire is a University of Kansas signee who is 17-1 with a 0.46 ERA with 231 strikeouts this season. … Pattison is a four-year starter at catcher and is hitting .493. … Courter leads the team with a .517 average. … Burris is right behind with a .487 averaged and Born is hitting .407 with 39 RBI.
 

 
FORT SCOTT
 
Coach: Danny Renfro
 
Record: 23-5
 
Regional results: beat Labette County, 13-0; beat Hayden, 6-4.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Chapman (3: 23-3), 5 p.m. Thursday
 
Key Players: Allie Brown, sr., SS; Raylee Cowan, jr., 2B; Abbie Gorman, jr., CF.
 
Worth noting: Tigers making third straight trip to state, but haven’t made it past the quarterfinals in the previous two appearances. … All five losses this season have been in one-run games, including two to 3A defending champion and top seed Frontenac (2-1, 6-5) and twice to Pittsburg (10-9, 3-2). … Other loss came to Columbus, 3-2. … Tigers swept 2-1A qualifier St. Mary’s Colgan. … Only two seniors on roster. … Brown is hitting .574 with 7 home runs and 36 RBI. … She’s signed with Pittsburg State. … Cowan is hitting .523 with 3 home runs and 38 RBI. … Gorman is hitting .372 with 27 RBI.
 

 
MCPHERSON
 
Coach: Darryl Hoelting
 
Record: 28-0
 
Regional results: beat Clay Center/Wakefield, 14-4; beat Mulvane, 9-2.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Circle (8: 20-8), 11 a.m. Thursday
 
Key Players: Addison Chapman, sr., P; Addie Herrera, sr., P; Haely Hagemann, sr., C.
 
Worth noting: Bullpups are one of two undefeated teams left in the state along with 5A No. 1 seed Maize South. … Bullpups return to state after one-year absence and finished second to Wamego at 2023 state tournament for best finish in program history. … Trip to state is just third overall. … Hoelting in first year as head coach of program and has rich coaching history, capturing five state titles and four runner-up finishes as head coach of both Salina South and Sacred Heart. … Hoelting led South to 11 state tournaments and Sacred Heart to a 68-game winning streak. … Bullpups beat two-time defending state champion Wamego 3-2 in an 18-inning game in the regular season. … Win was one of just two by a run and one of two by less than five runs. … McPherson was undefeated Ark Valley Chisholm Trail III League champion. … Chapman is 13-0 with a 0.55 ERA while Herrera is 11-0 with a 1.37 ERA. … Hagemann is hitting .536 and leads the team with 42 RBI.
 

 
ROCK CREEK
 
Coach: Jeri Brummett
 
Record: 19-7
 
Regional results: beat El Dorado, 7-6; beat Tonganoxie, 10-6.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Eudora (2: 25-1), 3 p.m. Thursday
 
Key Players: Brynna Zoeller, jr., P; Campbell Cassel, sr., P; Ida Kasselman, so., 3B; Reese Grady, jr., 2B; Haylee Smith, sr., SS; Tailyn Kadavy, sr., 1B; Teagan Zenger, sr., LF; Brooklyn Dye, jr., CF; Mayci Clark, sr., RF.
 
Worth noting: Mustangs making fifth straight trip to state and 11th overall in program history. … Best program finishes were runner-up showings in 2012 and 2015. … Mustangs have fallen in the quarterfinals each of the last four trips, losing to this year’s quarterfinal foe, Eudora, 2-1 last year. … Brummett got her 300th win last year and has led the program for 26 years. … Mustangs knocked off Wamego early in the season, beating Red Raider ace Peyton Hardenberger. … Mustangs trailed in both regional games before pulling out victories. … Mustangs one of three North Central Kansas League teams in 4A field along with co-champs Chapman and Wamego. … Team played all season without standout pitcher Acelyn Rottinghaus, who tore her ACL in basketball and is team manager this year. … Zoeller has carried main load in the circle this year and is 12-3 with a 1.27 ERA and 91 strikeouts and just five walks.. … She’s also hitting .362 with 2 home runs, one a big three-run shot in regionals. … Kasselman leads team with .472 average and has 3 home runs. … Grady is hitting .422 and four others are hitting better than .300. … Cassel is 6-3 with a 1.85 ERA and 64 strikeouts. … Six of seven losses by two runs or less with four of those by one run and two in extra innings. … Four of seven losses came to state qualifying teams, 4A Wamego and Chapman (twice) and 3A Burlington.
 

 
WAMEGO
 
Coach: Luke Meyer
 
Record: 21-4
 
Regional results: beat Independence, 12-4; beat Baldwin, 4-3.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Clearwater (4: 24-4), 1 p.m. Thursday
 
Key Players: Peyton Hardenburger, sr., P/1B; Alana McCarthy, so., SS; Landri Adams, so., P/1B; Averie Hall, fr., OF; Rylee Stanley, fr., C.
 
Worth noting: Red Raiders are two-time defending state champions, beating Andale/Garden Plain 5-0 in last year’s championship game and McPherson in the 2023 title game. … Wamego also won state title in 2021 and took third in 2022. … Trip to state is sixth overall for the Red Raiders and fifth straight. … Wamego shared North Central Kansas League title with fellow 4A qualifier Chapman, splitting with the Irish. … Wamego also split with 4A qualifier Rock Creek. … Other losses came to 4A qualifier McPherson in an 18-inning game and 3A qualifier Silver Lake in extra innings. … Hardenberger is one of state’s all-time great pitchers, setting record for career no-hitters and career ERA. … She has 850 strikeouts and this season has 4 no-hitters, 198 strikeouts and a 0.24 ERA while hitting .440 with 13 RBI. … She suffered a knee injury in the regular season finale and missed the regional, her status for state is unknown. … McCarthy is hitting .540 with 9 home runs and 40 RBI. … Adams has been a solid No. 2 pitcher with a 2.74 ERA and surpassed 200 career strikeouts. … She’s also is hitting .356 with 3 home runs and 19 RBI. … Hall is hitting .390 and Stanley is hitting .326 with 3 home runs and 20 RBI.