FINAL:
PITTSBURGH 5
CENTRAL 3
Thursday’s Class 5A state tournament quarterfinal was the biggest game Salina Central softball had played in a very long time.
With a 21-7 record, the Mustangs earned the 7-seed and were matched up with 2-seed Pittsburgh. The dragons record was as intimidating as their mascot, and road a 14-game winning streak into Thursday’s game.
A 17-inning game between Maize South and Topeka-Seaman delayed their start time by almost three hours, as much anticipation grew throughout a long day at Wilkins Stadium in Wichita.
Once the game started, both teams showed no nerves and the trend of Central’s underclassmen staying poised in pressure situations remained true.
Freshman Sophia Johnson got the start in the circle, against a Pittsburgh lineup averaging over 12 runs per game.
Johnson was riding high, having pitched a complete game shutout to advance Central to its regional championship nine days earlier. For three innings, Pittsburgh failed to score or even get multiple runners on base against Johnson.
The Mustangs also took the first three innings to figure out Pittsburgh junior Breck Slaughter, who had pitched a perfect game in her last start to win the regional championship.
Central cashed in the first run of the game in the 4th inning after an RBI groundout by Harper Turpin scoring Ellie Riekhof.
The Dragons then hit back-to-back doubles in their half of the 4th to tie the game at 1-1.
Central then turned a leadoff single by Sophia Johnson into its second run, driven in by Charlotte Gordon to take a 2-1 lead.
The 5th inning saw Sophia Johnson pitch with real traffic for the entire inning with four straight Pittsburgh batters reaching with one out. The Dragons scored two runs in the inning to take their first lead at 3-2.
Central’s return serve came in the top of the 6th as Riekhof, Turpin and Berndt strung together three straight hits to tie the game again at 3-3.
Innings 4-6 provided truly great theater between two teams embracing the moment in their biggest game of the season.
Unfortunately, mistakes in the bottom of the 6th proved to be the undoing for the Mustangs. Back-to-back throwing errors gifted the two deciding runs to Pittsburgh.
Making it to state is always special, but in the case of this year’s Salina Central softball team, they hope it symbolizes the start to an era of competing at the highest level consistently.
With eight underclassmen as key pieces to this year’s team, it’s hard to find a team in Class 5A with a brighter future.
The Mustangs can use their experience this postseason as a foundation, and Thursday specifically will serve as the ultimate motivation to be back and go even further.
