SEMIFINAL 1:
CENTRAL 8
EMPORIA 0

After excellent regular seasons, Salina Central and Salina South found themselves on a collision course, meeting Tuesday in the Class 5A regional softball championship.

But first, both teams had to take care of business in their regional semifinals.

Central began the day facing Emporia.

Playing in her first ever postseason game, freshman Sophia Johnson took the circle. After some traffic in the first inning, Johnson was lights out, at one point retiring 10 straight hitters. She pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only two hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings.

Central tallied 15 hits against Emporia, led by junior Ellie Riekhof who went 4-4 with three doubles and three RBIs.

SEMIFINAL 2:
SOUTH 16
NEWTON 1

Facing each other for the third time in a week, South and Newton were more than familiar after splitting a doubleheader on the 13th.

Through three innings on Tuesday, South was able to build a 5-1 lead despite only having one hit. Newton’s pitching struggled with command and their defense also let them down dropping a fly ball and pop up.

The 4th inning looked more like the South softball team we’re used to seeing.

An eight hit, 11 run inning allowed South to win via run rule. A 3-run triple from senior Macy Yost was the finishing blow and officially booked South a date with Central in the regional championship.

REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL:
CENTRAL 15
SOUTH 8

At Salina South High School the stands were packed with excitement and anticipation as fans witnessed the latest edition of a game played between crosstown rivals, this time with tremendous stakes.

A trip to the state playoffs on the line. South looking for its second trip in three years, while Central hoped for its first trip in over two decades.

Two seniors started the championship game in the circle. Macy Yost for the Cougars and Valerie VanZant for the Mustangs.

Ellie Riekhof remained red hot from their semifinal win and gave VanZant an early cushion with a 3-run home run in the 1st inning.

VanZant then helped her own cause in the 2nd inning, blasting a 2-run homer to make it 5-1 Mustangs.

After two innings, the Mustangs had sent all their hitters to the plate twice and hit twice as many home runs as they had all regular season.

In total, both teams scored in six of the seven innings. The difference was the Mustang runs came in bunches, scoring three runs in four separate innings.

South’s fireworks came off the bat of Macy Yost who homered to start the 4th and 7th innings in the final game of her high school career.

The Cougars kept fighting and managed to load the bases in the bottom of the 7th with two outs.

And in a game that featured 23 runs on 26 hits, a diving catch in center field by junior Bailey Bruce ended the game and made it official for Salina Central.

The Mustangs spilled out of the dugout, onto the field and began the celebration.

While upset with the result, Salina South had yet another terrific softball season and will no doubt be back next year.

Salina Central now looks forward to next week and a long awaited trip to Wichita.