SEAN BOSTON
Hutch Post
The McPherson and Inman softball teams will each play for their first-ever state championships after winning semifinal matchups earlier Friday afternoon.
McPherson advanced to the Class 4A title game in Salina, while Inman secured a spot in the Class 2-1A final in Pratt. Both championship games are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
Class 4A — McPherson 7, Clearwater 0
SALINA, Kan. — No. 1 McPherson punched it's ticket into the Class 4A state title game with a dominant 7-0 shutout of No. 4 Clearwater on Friday at Salina South High School.
The Bullpups are now 30-0 after the victory, while the Indians fall to 25-5.
Addison Chapman tossed a complete-game three-hitter, striking out eight and walking just one.
Addie Herrera put the Bullpups on the board in the first inning with an RBI double. McPherson added another run in the second when Chapman helped her own cause with a run-scoring single down the left-field line.
Herrera finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs to lead McPherson at the plate. Chapman, Kynedi Huggard and Haely Hagemann also collected two hits each.
Clearwater’s Trista Welty took the loss, allowing seven runs, six earned, on 11 hits over six innings. Makena Hampton went 2-for-3 to lead the Indians offensively.
The Bullpups will go for their first-ever state title in program history at 5 p.m. this evening when they play the winner of Eudora/Fort Scott.
Clearwater - 000 000 0 - 0 3 1
McPherson - 210 031 x - 7 11 0
W: Chapman. L: Welty.
Class 2-1A — Inman 2, Leon-Bluestem 1
PRATT, Kan. — Inman punched its ticket to the Class 2-1A state softball championship in dramatic fashion Friday, walking off Bluestem 2-1 in the bottom of the 10th inning at the Green Sports Complex.
This is the second extra inning walk-off victory for the Teutons in the last 24 hours.
The game was tied at 1 when a Bluestem error allowed the winning run to score, sending the Teutons to their first-ever state title game.
Both teams showcased dominant pitching. Inman’s Lyla Levin went the distance, striking out nine and walking none while allowing one run on eight hits across 10 innings. Bluestem’s Pilar Cox was equally impressive, fanning 16 over nine innings and surrendering just two runs, one earned, on seven hits and three walks.
Bluestem took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Jewel Carlton delivered an RBI single. Inman answered in the fourth, as Levin singled up the middle to drive in the tying run.
Levin, Maddi Parsons and Taylor Froese each tallied two hits for Inman, with Levin also recording an RBI and a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Inman swiped four bases in the win.
Lilly Husman led Bluestem with a 3-for-5 performance from the leadoff spot, while Carlton went 2-for-4 with the team’s lone RBI.
The Teutons will play in the title game at 5 p.m. against No. 5 Oskaloosa.
Leon-Bluestem - 100 000 000 0 - 1 8 2
Inman - 000 100 000 1 - 2 7 2
W: Levin. L: Cox.