CLASS 5A SOFTBALL CAPSULES
 

 
BASEHOR-LINWOOD
 
Coach: Susan Mayberry
 
Record: 25-2 (No. 2 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Schlagle, 22-0; beat Shawnee Heights, 2-0.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Maize South (7: 21-7), 3 p.m. Tuesday at Baker University, Baldwin City
 
Key Players: Lexie Saultz, fr.; Avery Bechard, jr.; Kailey Steineger, jr., P; Trinity Deters, jr.; Addison Murphy, sr.; Lindsey Kuzmic, so., P; Ella Loun, sr.; Samantha Shultz, sr.; Lucy Rose, sr.; Avery Spellman, sr., P.
 
Worth noting: Bobcats return to state after one-year absence, getting upset in regional finals last year by United Kansas Conference rival Shawnee Heights 3-2. … Bobcats had qualified the previous four years, finishing as state runner-up in 2021 and 2022. … Trip to state is 12th overall since 1998. … Bobcats captured the Class 4A state championship in 2010, the program’s lone state title. … Bobcats were UKC champions for fifth straight year this season going 15-1 in league play with lone loss coming 4-3 to Shawnee Heights in season opener. … Basehor won 23 straight games after that loss before falling 7-0 to 6A qualifier Gardner Edgerton in regular-season finale. … Winning streak included 7-4, 4-1 sweep of defending 5A champion and qualifier St. Thomas Aquinas. … Saultz leads team with .479 average while Bechard (.462), Steineger (.438), Deters (.432), Murphy (.414) and Kuzmic (.410) are all hitting over .400 as regulars. … Bobcats are hitting .407 as a team. … Bobcats have hit 27 home runs as a team with Saultz having 7, Deters 6, Loun 5 and Shultz 4. … Saultz also leads team with 39 RBI while Deters has 32, Loun 26 and Shultz and Steineger 25 each. … Loun has scored 41 runs and Deters has 35 and Shultz 34. … Shultz also has 12 stolen bases while Spellman has 11. … Kuzmic is 13-1 with a 1.84 ERA and 102 strikeouts. … Steineger is 11-0 with a 2.66 ERA and 40 strikeouts.
 

 
BISHOP CARROLL
 
Coach: Steve Harshberger
 
Record: 25-3 (No. 3 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Andover Central, 6-2; beat Seaman 5-0.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Spring Hill (6: 23-5), 5 p.m. Tuesday at Trusler Sports Complex, Emporia
 
Key Players: Allyson Orth, sr., P/3B; Paige Stroot, so., SS; Kiersten Jones, sr., C/1B; Keira Stripling, jr., P; Emerson May, sr., 1B; Siena Enz, so., OF.
 
Worth noting: Carroll has reached state tourney every year since 2006. … After capturing the program’s 15th state championship in 2024, Golden Eagles were knocked off in quarterfinals last year by Spring Hill, 5-2. … Harshbarger has been head coach for four of those state titles. … Carroll was undefeated Greater Wichita Athletic League champions for second straight year, winning every league game via run-rule. … Golden Eagles also swept 4A qualifier Wamego and fellow 5A qualifier Eisenhower. … Only losses came to undefeated 6A qualifier Derby (twice) and Goddard, the latter a 1-0 extra-inning loss. … Five seniors have been starters since freshman year. … After not pitching early in the season because of an injury, Orth, an Army commit for volleyball, has come back strong going 9-1 with 64 strikeouts in 37 innings and hasn’t allowed an earned run this season. … She’s also hitting .533 with 27 RBI and 39 runs scored. … Stripling, a Utah commit, is 12-1 with a 2.09 ERA and 83 strikeouts and is hitting .571 with 3 home runs, 24 RBI, 44 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. … Stroot is hitting .519 with 9 home runs, 49 RBI and 45 runs scored. … Jones is hitting .480 with 31 RBI while May is hitting .468 with 28 RBI and Enz is hitting .468 with 22 RBI, 31 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.
 

 
EISENHOWER
 
Coach: Amanda Montgomery
 
Record: 14-13 (No. 8 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Salina Central, 8-1; beat Goddard, 6-3.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Great Bend (1: 25-1), 3 p.m. Tuesday at Salina South
 
Key Players: No information submitted by coach.
 
Worth noting: Tigers return to state for first time since 2023 when they finished as Class 5A state runnerup to Valley Center, finishing 19-6 that season. ... Tigers also finished third in both 2021 and 2022 and fourth in 2012. ... State trip is sixth overall for the program. … Tigers entered postseason as No. 14 seed in the 5A west bracket, but began regionals with upset of No. 3 seed Salina Central and then took out No. 6 seed and district rival Goddard.
 

 
GREAT BEND
 
Coach: Shawn Behr
 
Record: 25-1
 
Regional results: beat Topeka West, 11-1; beat Valley Center, 13-3.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Eisenhower (8: 14-13), 3 p.m. Tuesday at Salina South
 
Key Players: Kya Behr, jr., SS; Katherine Mazouch, sr., OF; Callie Umphres, so., DH; Denver Ringo, sr., 3B; Alyssa McCauley, sr., 1B; Camdyn Post, jr., OF; Kamryn Koelsch, sr., C; Braelyn Turner, sr., P; Chayla Prendergast, jr., P; Baze Hogan, fr., 2B.
 
Worth noting: Panthers return to state for second time in three years with 2024 trip ending with quarterfinal loss to Spring Hill. … Trip to state is 11th overall with best showings fourth-place finishes in 1997 and 1998. … Panthers were undefeated Western Athletic Conference champions for the second straight year and are 24-0 in league play over the last two seasons. … Only loss this year came to 6A unbeaten Derby, a 3-1 loss. … Behr in first year as head coach of program, but has coached the juniors and seniors in summer ball since they were 9-10 years old. … Panthers swept two games with defending 4A champion and qualifier McPherson and also beat fellow 5A qualifier Maize South. … Panthers are hitting .410 as a team led by Behr’s .531 average. … She has 8 home runs and 28 RBI. … Mazouch is hitting .506 with 6 home runs and 35 RBI. … Both have scored 42 runs. … Umphres is hitting .444 with 21 RBI. … McCauley has 34 RBI and Ringo has 27 and Post 23. … Ringo is hitting .432 and McCauley .412. … Panthers have 28 home runs as a team and have only struck out 69 times in 825 plate appearances. … Turner is 13-0 with a 3.13 ERA and 47 strikeouts while Prendergast is 11-1 with a 1.34 ERA and 93 strikeouts.
 

 
MAIZE SOUTH
 
Coach: Cody Stucky
 
Record: 21-7 (No. 7 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Hays, 11-1; beat Arkansas City, 7-5.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Basehor-Linwood (2: 25-2), 3 p.m. Tuesday at Baker University, Baldwin City
 
Key Players: Kinley Davis, sr., OF; Kiley Thornquist, sr., SS; Payton Southard, so., OF; Savannah Gering, fr., 2B; Taylor Hansen, fr., 3B; Grace Hargrove, fr., P/1B.
 
Worth noting: Mavericks went into last year’s state tournament as one of just two undefeated teams in the state, but were knocked off in the semifinals by Spring Hill, 4-2 in extra innings, after winning 17-inning marathon against Seaman in quarterfinals 3-2. … Mavericks finished third after finishing fourth at state in 2024. … Mavericks graduated stellar senior class from last year and start five freshmen on the infield. … Regional win over Arkansas City avenged a sweep to the Bulldogs in two close games in early May. … Mavericks were 9-3 in Ark Valley Chisholm Trail I play, getting swept by 6A unbeaten Derby and splitting with 6A qualifier Maize. … Mavericks also lost to fellow 5A qualifier Great Bend but opened season with sweep of fellow 5A qualifier Eisenhower, including a wild 22-13 victory. … Gering is hitting .468 with 43 runs scored, 35 RBI and 17 stolen bases. … Hansen is hitting .446 with 43 runs scored and 27 RBI. … Southard has 40 RBI, 42 runs scored and is hitting .427. … Thornquist is hitting .418 with 32 runs scored and 32 RBI and 27 stolen bases. … Davis has 31 stolen bases, 41 runs scored and is hitting .402. … Hargrove is 10-5 with 46 strikeouts. …Stucky became winningest coach in program history and Thornquist and Davis are winningest players in program history. … Mavericks have scored 299 runs and stolen 119 bases as a team while hitting .375.
 

 
PITTSBURG
 
Coach: Chanc Gomez
 
Record: 22-4 (No. 5 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Washington, 24-0; beat St. James Academy, 6-4.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (4: 23-3), 5 p.m. Tuesday at Baker University, Baldwin City
 
Key Players: Brette Pasteur, sr., 3B; Breck Slaughter, sr., P; Kenleigh Warford, so., 2B; Brecken Campbell, fr., U; Laney Trisler, so., SS; Micah Gomez, fr., OF.
 
Worth noting: Purple Dragons making fourth trip to state in program history and third in four seasons and have qualified in both of Gomez’s two years as head coach. … Pittsburg finished fourth at state last year, losing 10-0 to eventual state champion St. Thomas Aquinas in the semifinals and to Maize South in the third-place game. … Semifinal appearance was first-ever for the program. … Pittsburg won the Southeast Kansas Conference title for the second straight year. … Two of four losses came to Har-Ber, a Class 6A state tournament finalist in Arkansas, and Farmington, a 5A state finalist in Arkansas. … Only losses to a Kansas team came to 4A qualifier Fort Scott and Baxter Springs. … Slaughter has been dominant in the circle, striking out 163 and posting a 1.85 ERA. … She’s also hitting .444. … Pasteur leads team with .506 average and has 11 home runs, 51 RBI and 37 runs scored. … Warford is hitting .479 with 31 RBI and 15 stolen bases. … Trisler is hitting .455 with 27 RBI, 25 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. … Campbell and Gomez have been impact freshmen with Campbell hitting .466 with 7 home runs, 33 RBI, 44 runs scored and 25 stolen bases and Gomez hitting .430 with 24 RBI and 25 runs scored.
 

 
SPRING HILL
 
Coach: Corey Katzer
 
Record: 23-5 (No. 6 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Piper, 12-2; beat Lansing, 4-1.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Bishop Carroll (3: 25-3), 5 p.m. Tuesday at Trusler Sports Complex, Emporia
 
Key Players: Jayden Kistner, sr., P; Olivia Fraley, sr., 2B; Capri Olsen, jr., SS; Haley Clark, jr., 1B; KK Pierson, jr., CF; Skylar Shepard, fr., P/3B.
 
Worth noting: Broncos fell just short of capturing its first state championship since 2017, losing 8-7 to St. Thomas Aquinas in the state championship game. … Broncos have qualified for state six straight years. … Trip to state is 14^th overall for the program and the Broncos have won state titles in 1986, 2004, 2016 and 2017 – the last three of those in Class 4A and the first when all classes were combined as one. … Broncos were Frontier League champions, going 10-1 in league play. … Broncos went 4-0 at the Sunflower Softball Festival, all four wins coming against 6A programs. … Two of five losses came to fellow 5A qualifier and defending state champion St. Thomas Aquinas. … Win over Lansing in regional finals was third over Lions this season. … Kistner threw 3 no-hitters this season, the last of those in the regional championship win over Lansing. … She also went over 200 career strikeouts and is 12-2 with a 0.91 ERA and 113 strikeouts this season. … At the plate, she’s hitting .377 with 2 home runs and 23 RBI. … Fraley has a .468 average and has 7 home runs and 33 RBI and 42 runs scored. … Olsen leads team with .505 average and has scored 46 runs. … Clark is hitting .434 with 25 RBI and 33 runs scored. … Pierson has 33 RBI while Shepard has 4 home runs and 31 RBI – three of her home runs coming in one game against Louisburg. … She threw the regional opener and gave up one hit and no earned runs, striking out 10.
 

 
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
 
Coach: Keith Hughes
 
Record: 23-3 (No. 4 seed)
 
Regional results: beat Harmon, 17-0; beat De Soto, 17-2.
 
State tournament quarterfinal: vs. Pittsburg (5: 22-4), 5 p.m. Tuesday at Baker University, Baldwin City
 
Key Players: Alayna Vaeth, sr., P/OF; Addison Sabers, jr., 1B/3B; Clara Pinkham, jr., SS; Lauren Huenfeld, so., OF/P; Peylan Ellsworth, so., IF/P; Sage Glodowski, sr., IF.
 
Worth noting: After finishing as the Class 5A runner-up in 2024, Aquinas captured the state championship last year. … Saints capped a 27-2 season with an 8-7 win over Spring Hill in the state championship game. … State title was the first for the program since 2008 and Saints also were state champions in 1997. … Trip to state is fourth under Hughes, who is in sixth year directing the program. … State appearance is 20th overall in program history. … Saints were undefeated Eastern Kansas League champions for the third straight year and league title was fourth straight with just one league loss during that stretch. … Only losses this season have come to 6A qualifier and defending champion Olathe West and two to fellow 5A qualifier Basehor-Linwood. … Saints swept fellow 5A qualifier Spring Hill. … Sabers is hitting .671 while Pinkham has a .566 average and Huenfeld has a .556 average. … Vaeth (.441), Ellsworth (.486) and Glodowski (.432) are also over .400 hitting. … Vaeth also has a 2.70 ERA in taking on a larger pitching role this season.