CLASS 5A BASEBALL CAPSULES
 

  
BISHOP CARROLL
 
Coach: Charlie Ebright
 
Record: 19-8 (No. 5 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Hays, 6-1; beat Goddard, 5-2.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (4: 20-8), 1:15 p.m. Tuesday at Blue Valley West
 
Key Players: KJ McGill, jr., P; Judd Blasi, sr., 2B; Jonah Mull, jr., SS/P; Hunter Axline, jr., 3B/P; Jaden Hunter, jr., C; Bodie Lubbers, jr., 1B; Harrion King, jr., CF.
 
Worth noting: Golden Eagles return to state after getting upset in regional finals last spring. … Trip to state is 19th for the program since 2000 and Carroll has claimed three state championships – 2023, 2012 and 2005. … Program also has four runner-up finishes, the last coming in 2022. … Ebright picked up his 500th career victory in the regional championship and has a 500-120 record overall in 26 years as coach at Carroll. … Golden Eagles won the Greater Wichita Athletic League title with a 15-1 league mark, the lone league loss coming to fellow 5A qualifier and arch rival Kapaun Mt. Carmel, with whom they split. … Another two losses came to Class 6A No. 1 seed Maize. … McGill is 6-3 with a 3.26 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 49.1 innings while walking just 17. … Axline is 3-1 with a 0.48 ERA and 38 strikeouts and Mull is 3-2 with a 2.17 ERA as Carroll has a team ERA of 1.90. … Blasi is hitting .370 with 34 RBI, 36 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. … Mull has 33 RBI and 3 home runs, hitting .347. … Hunter is hitting .391 with 22 RBI. … Lubbers (.355), King (.329) and Axline (.313) also are hitting over .300 with Axline having 24 RBI and Lubbers 27 RBI.
 

 
DE SOTO
 
Coach: Joel Thaemert
 
Record: 23-5 (No. 2 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Harmon, 17-0; beat Blue Valley Southwest, 2-1.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. St. James Academy (7: 18-10), 11 a.m. Tuesday at Baker University, Baldwin City
 
Key Players: Bo Wiegmann, sr., 1B; Kian Hopkins, sr., SS; Jack Cole, sr., CF/P; Isaac Thompson, so., 3B; Jaxon Purkey, sr., DH; Nico Martinez, jr., 2B; Tanner Krier, sr., LF; Tucker Lee, jr., RF; Jackson Whiddon, sr., C; Hudson Boyer, jr., P; Will Jones, sr., P; Jacob Norman, sr., P; Keigan Lindsay, sr., P; Atley Edenfield, sr., P; Chase McDonald, sr., P; Jacob Mall, sr., P.
 
Worth noting: De Soto returns to state after two-year absence and finished as Class 5A state runner-up in last tournament appearance in 2023. … Wildcats have one state title in program history, that coming in Class 4A in 2014. … Trip to state is seventh overall for the program, six of those coming under Thaemert, who won his 300th game at De Soto in the regional final, a 2-1 win over power Blue Valley Southwest. … Wildcats started season 8-5 but have won 15 straight games. … Wildcats shared the United Kansas Conference title with fellow 5A qualifier Shawnee Heights, each going 12-4 in league play. … Norman has been stellar in mostly a relief role, turning in a team-best 6-1 record with 3 saves and a 2.21 ERA. … Boyer is 4-2 with a 1.67 ERA. … Lindsay and Edenfield each also have 3 saves with Lindsay also 3-0 with a 1.94 ERA as Thaemert leans heavily on his bullpen. … Wiegmann leads team with a .446 average and also has a team-high 29 RBI. … Seven other starters are hitting .300 or better and six have double-digit RBI totals with Martinez driving in 17 and Hopkins 16. … Cole is 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA. … De Soto is hitting .328 as a team, its highest mark in 10 years, and is hitting .341 with runners in scoring position. … Team ERA is 2.38 and the Wildcats have made just 21 errors in 28 games. … Wildcats allowing just 2.5 runs per game while scoring 7 per game.
 

 
GREAT BEND
 
Coach: Michael Stettinger
 
Record: 17-10 (No. 8 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Andover Central, 2-1; beat Andover, 3-0.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Salina Central (1: 26-2), 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at Dean Evans Stadium, Salina
 
Key Players: Daxton Minton, sr., U/P; Koehn Ribordy, sr., OF/P; Jaxon Wondra, jr., P/U; Trenton Kern, sr., U; Rafael Chavez, jr., U/P.
 
Worth noting: Panthers finished as Class 5A state runners-up last year, ending a 25-6 season with a 7-4 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in the state championship game. … That marked third runner-up finish for the program with Panthers also taking second in 2003 and 2004. … Great Bend has three state championships in program history, the first coming in 1955 and the other two coming in 1995 and 1998. … Panthers graduated seven seniors off last year’s runner-up team and also played this season without returning All-Stater Ian Premer, who graduated early to enroll at Notre Dame for football. … Panthers were Western Athletic Conference champions with a 9-3 league mark, their first league title in the last 10 years. … Wondra and Chavez combined to throw a no-hitter in the regional championship win over Andover. … Wondra is 7-2 overall with a 2.24 ERA and 59 strikeouts. … Chavez is 3-2 with 2 saves and 33 strikeouts. … Minton is 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA and 57 strikeouts. … Ribordy has 2 saves and is 3-2. … Minton is also hitting .420 with 28 runs scored and 17 stolen bases. … Wondra is hitting .378 with 26 RBI. … Kern has 2 home runs, 19 RBI and is hitting .342. … Ribordy has 18 RBI and Chavez has 11.
 

 
KAPAUN MT. CARMEL
 
Coach: Mike Pelfrey
 
Record: 22-7 (No. 3 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Arkansas City, 4-3; beat Maize South, 7-4.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Shawnee Heights (6: 19-9), 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Trusler Sports Complex, Emporia
 
Key Players: Gabe Adams, sr., P; Cal Purvis, sr., 1B; Wyatt Sullenger, sr., P/3B/DH; Preston Hamilton, sr., 2B; Charlie Meyer, sr, SS/3B; Declan McDonald, sr., P; Max Worrell, jr., C; Gage Nye, jr., OF; Ethan Burr, jr., OF; Chase Pelfrey, so., OF/SS/P.
 
Worth noting: Crusaders ending a state drought of 14 years with first state tournament appearance since 2012. … Kapaun has one state title in program history, coming way back in 1963. … The Crusaders also took second in 2008 and third in 2009. … Pelfrey is a former Wichita State All-American in his third year as head coach of the program. … Sullenger leads team with a .417 average and also leads team in hits (38), home runs (6), RBI (36) and runs scored (39). … Purvis has 5 home runs. … Four Crusaders are hitting better than .325 and they have 14 home runs as a team and are hitting .335 as a team. … Crusaders also have great speed on the basepaths with 111 stolen bases. … Adams is staff ace with a 5-2 mark and 1.94 ERA. … McDonald is 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA. … Sullenger is 4-2 with a 2.62 ERA. … Several players were key members of Kapaun’s Class 4A state championship football team in the fall.
 

 
SALINA CENTRAL
 
Coach: Mark Vaughn
 
Record: 26-2 (No. 1 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Newton, 10-3; beat Seaman, 2-0.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Great Bend (17-10), 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at Dean Evans Stadium, Salina
 
Key Players: Grayton Gross, sr., OF/P; Bodie Rodriguez, sr., OF/P; Oscar Perez, sr., C; Parker Graves, sr., 1B/3B; Keaton Smith, sr., OF; Chance Hogan, sr., 2B/P; Eli Kreighbaum, so., IF/P; Griffin Hall, jr., SS; Aidan Hammond, jr., DH/1B.
 
Worth noting: State berth is second in three years for the Mustangs, who were the Cinderalla story of the 2024 state tournament when they began regional play as the No. 16 seed in 5A West and not only qualified for state but finished third despite having a losing record. … Vaughn took over as head coach last year, replacing longtime coach Dee Kolzow. … Mustangs were the No. 8 seed at state that year and now are the No. 1 overall seed this season. … Mustangs captured the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail II League title for the first time ever this season, going 12-2 in league play. … Only losses this season came to Andover Central (5-4) and Andover (4-0). … The 26 wins are a program record. … Gross is 6-0 with a 0.47 ERA and also is hitting .483 with 4 home runs and 33 RBI. … Rodriguez is 7-1 with a 0.65 ERA and has 21 RBI and a .304 average. … Smith is hitting .431 from the leadoff spot and has scored 28 runs. … Hogan is 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA. … Kreighbaum is hitting .347 with 26 RBI and Perez is hitting .345 with 28 RBI. … Graves (.321) and Hammond (.319) are also hitting over .300.
 

 
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS
 
Coach: Jason Brown
 
Record: 19-9 (No. 6 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Highland Park, 12-0; beat Lansing, 3-2.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Kapaun Mt. Carmel (3: 22-7), 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Trusler Sports Complex, Emporia
 
Key Players: Brody Cooper, jr., P; Cambren Floberg, jr., P/SS; Cayden Lindsay, sr., OF/P; Gabe Escobar, so., U; Jackson Hayes, sr., IF; Michael Lilly, sr., OF/P; Nowlan Hurla, jr., IF.
 
Worth noting: Brown has led T-Birds to state tournament each of his first two seasons as head coach after replacing longtime coach Ryan Schmidt. … Heights has lost in the quarterfinals each of the past two seasons, falling 7-6 to Hays last year. … Heights has four state titles in program history --- 1994, 1999, 2001 and 2011 – and took second in 2016. … T-Birds shared United Kansas Conference title with fellow 5A qualifier De Soto, sweeping two games with the Wildcats early in the season. … League title was second straight. … T-Birds had split with Lansing during regular season before knocking off the No. 3-seeded Lions in the regional finals. … Cooper has been named the UKC pitcher of the year and went 8-1 with a 1.91 ERA, striking out 70 this season and 165 in his career. … Lindsay is hitting .450 and has struck out just three times all season. … Hurla is hitting .395 and has scored 22 runs. … Floberg is hitting .386 while Hayes is hitting .357 and Escobar .356. … Escobar has 32 runs scored and 21 stolen bases. … Hayes had 26 RBI and Lilly has 18 RBI and 22 runs scored. … Heights has a team batting average of .320 and a team ERA of 3.27, holding opponents to a .225 batting average.
 

 
ST. JAMES ACADEMY
 
Coach: Michael Consiglio
 
Record: 18-10 (No. 7 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Basehor-Linwood, 3-2; beat Piper 2-1.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. De Soto (2: 23-5), 11 a.m. Tuesday at Baker University, Baldwin City
 
Key Players: John Hornback, jr., SS; Andy Devers, sr., OF; Billy Burns, sr., OF; Max Thornhill, sr., 1B; John West, jr., P; Cory Kirchner, jr., P.
 
Worth noting: Thunder making just fifth trip to state in program history with the last coming in 2021. … Thunder captured back-to-back Class 4A state championships in 2011 and 2012 and also took third in 2019. … Thunder were just 16-35 in Consiglio’s first two years as head coach before enjoying a big turnaround this season. … Thunder have thrived in tight contests this year, going 7-3 in one-run games and 3-0 in extra-inning contests. … Both regional games were one-run wins with Kirchner throwing a complete game against Basehor-Linwood and Burns hitting a game-tying triple in the bottom of the sixth. … West threw a complete game with 6 strikeouts in the regional final upset of Piper with Thornhill driving in both runs. … Thunder are hitting .317 as a team and have a team ERA of 3.05. … Hornback leads team with .409 average and has 22 RBI and 19 runs scored. … Devers is hitting .382 and Burns .361. … Burns has scored 31 runs and has 13 stolen bases. … Thornhill has 19 RBI. … West has a 2.64 ERA and 46 strikeouts and Kirchner has a 3.13 ERA and 37 strikeouts.
 

 
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
 
Coach: Rick Sabath
 
Record: 20-8 (No. 4 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Washington, 15-0; beat Leavenworth, 2-1.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Bishop Carroll (5: 19-8), 1:15 p.m. Tuesday at Blue Valley West
 
Key Players: Lincoln Boyle, sr., OF/P; Will Ray, sr., OF/P; James Forgy, sr., C/P; Brady Stewart, sr., OF/IF; Nic Sabers, sr., IF/P; Sterling Thornton, sr., P; Henry Goodwin, sr., IF; Micah Smith, sr., 1B/P; Owen Kitts, sr., IF/OF/C; Jackson McDonald, so., IF/OF.
 
Worth noting: Aquinas has captured the past two Class 5A state championships, beating Great Bend 7-4 in last year’s championship game to cap a 27-4 season. … State title was fifth for the program with others coming in 2007, 2014 and 2016. … Saints also finished second in 2017 and 2019. … Sabath is 70-19 in his third year as head coach of the Saints after previously leading Blue Valley Southwest to a state championship in 2015. … Trip to state is fifth in a row for the Saints. … Saints are hitting .328 as a team led by Stewart (.414), Kitts (.413) and McDonald (.394). … Boyle has a team-high 5 home runs and McDonald has 3. … Goodwin leads team in RBI with 27. … Ray is 5-0 with a 2.14 ERA. … Sabers is 6-1 with a 3.10 ERA. … Forgy has 37 strikeouts and 3 saves and Thornton also has 3 saves. … Five of Saints’ losses have come to out-of-state programs and another came to defending 6A state champion Free State.