WICHITA — The focus for the Gardner-Edgerton softball team this season was unfinished business.  

Consider their quest finished as Gardner-Edgerton defeated Campus 4-1 on Saturday at Wichita State’s Wilkins Softball Complex to win the Class 6A championship. 

It is the Blazers’ first title. 

“They started off the season saying they were unfinished, that this is where they were going to be and this is what we’re going to do – and we did it,” said Gardner-Edgerton coach Joanne Calvin, in her 16th season. “The last couple years, we lost that last game super close in regionals.  

“We knew we had the talent, and so we’re here. And we did it.” 

For senior center fielder Kaedence Becker, the title meant everything. 

“Three seasons ended where we didn’t have the chance to compete for a title,” Becker said. “It hurts a lot. We had three losses, two of them to Olathe West.  

“It was tough, but we made it this year. We focused on one game at a time, then when we came to state, it was one inning at a time, one pitch at a time.” 

 

But qualifying for state wasn’t the end goal. 

“We knew we weren’t done,” Becker said. “So we didn’t focus too much on ‘hey, we got here.’ It was ‘hey, we have more left.’” 

With sophomore Kenley Sutton on the mound, Gardner-Edgerton (27-2) is never done. She had 13 strikeouts in the game, striking out the final two batters of the game.  

“(She was) lights out,” Calvin said. “She fought hard. She stayed hydrated. She got on top of the counts. She was just hitting her spots and working hard. She did a great job in this heat of not throwing a lot of pitches.” 

Those 13 strikeouts are what Sutton, who said all her pitches were working, expects from herself. 

“Focus is a big thing that me and my pitching coach talk about a lot,” Sutton said. “Being able to dial in and do what you need to do is what I’m really good at.” 

 

A huge moment came, though, in the second inning with Becker at the plate. Sutton had led off the inning by reaching first after getting hit by a pitch. 

Two batters later, Becker lined a shot to right. Campus’ Emerleigh Cooper tried to make the diving catch, but was just short.  

Becker turned that into a two-run inside-the-park home run for the 2-0 lead. 

“That made me settle down and just relax and put my focus toward what I need to do,” Sutton said. 

The inside-the-park home run was a bit deflating for Campus, too. 

“I do feel like it did suck the energy out a little,” Campus coach Emily Prichard said. “We’ve just battled all year. But we’ve been down and we’ve come back, and I knew we could do it.” 

But the hole got deeper for Campus as Sutton helped herself with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the third to score teammate Charlee Latteman for the 3-0 lead. 

 

Then it was Gardner-Edgerton junior Addi Gasser’s turn. She entered the game in the third after her teammate left due to the heat.  

In the fifth inning, Gasser hit a one-out home run to put Gardner-Edgerton up 4-0. 

“She was a baserunner for us this season,” Calvin said about Gasser. “But every one of them is always ready. 

Gasser added: “I’m always ready to go no matter what. I know that I don’t really have a place right now, but when I get in, I know I need to do my job and get it done.” 

Campus wasn’t quite through. 

 

The Colts (18-13) were on a nine-game winning streak that included beating top-seeded and unbeaten Derby in the quarterfinals.  

“Like I said, I never count this team out,” Prichard said. “They can do anything, so I knew going into the seventh – our bottom of the lineup hadn’t been hitting this game, but I knew they’d come through and put us in position.” 

Campus third baseman Brooklyn Burling, the seven-hole hitter, opened the seventh with a double to right, then left fielder Jocelyn Daily singled to right. Courtesy runner Presley Rey scored from third on a wild pitch, and the Colts were hype. 

Sutton, though, set down the final three batters in order, including the final two with strikeouts. 

“We didn’t do as well as we wanted to start the season, but we fought til the end and we got hot at the right time,” Prichard said. “Those girls worked hard day in and day out. They had so much fun being here and playing the underdog role.” 

 

That the game came down to Sutton wasn’t a surprise. 

“Kenley’s been great all year,” Becker said. “We knew she could hit her spots and stay calm. We knew she was good at staying calm under pressure. We knew we could count on her not getting stressed.”