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Rural soccer earns 11th straight Class 6A top-three finish
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural girls soccer earned its 11th straight top-three state finish Saturday in Wichita, rolling to an 8-0 win over Gardner City in the third-place game.
Washburn Rural girls soccer celebrates its third-place Class 6A state finish Saturday. [Washburn Rural soccer]
Washburn Rural girls soccer beat Garden City 8-0 Saturday to post its 11th straight top-three Class 6A finish. [Washburn Rural Athletics]
Rural, which finished the season 14-7 ended the game early by way of the eight-goal spread rule.
The Junior Blues got goals from eight different players -- seniors Peyton Merrick and Dayne Shriver, juniors Emery Hall, Amaya Herl, Khloe Hillmer and Brooklyn Rutherford, sophomore Natalia Carey and freshman Amelia Nerius.
Shriver also had two assists for the Junior Blues, who also got assists from juniors Ellie Vogel and Kinsley Freeman and freshman Lauren Omitt.
Junior Abbie Wanamaker and freshman Preslee Goehring combined for the shutout in goal for Rural.
Saints complete three-peat with 4-0 win over T-Birds
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Shawnee Heights came up short in its bid for the T-Birds' first Class 5A state baseball championship in 15 years Saturday at Eck Stadium, with St. Thomas Aquinas taking a 4-0 victory to capture its third straight title.
Shawnee Heights senior Cambren Floberg throws a pitch in Saturday's Class 5A state championship game against St. Thomas Aquinas. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
But Brown had nothing but praise for his team, which completed a 21-10 campaign.
"Like I told the guys, it just wasn't our day,'' Shawnee Heights coach Jason Brown said. "We hit some balls hard. We just couldn't find holes, and they did, and I mean that's the way baseball works sometimes.
"But win or lose it doesn't matter, this is a special class. It's been a long time since Shawnee Heights has been in this game and I'm so proud of them.''
Aquinas (23-8) scored the only run it would need in the bottom of the first on three hits, including an RBI single from junior Thomas Costello.
The Saints then opened up a 3-0 lead with a pair of runs in the fourth and tacked on an insurance run in the sixth.
Aquinas senior Lincoln Boyle didn't allow a Shawnee Heights hit until the fourth inning and recorded seven strikeouts before turning things over to senior James Forgy in the fifth to finish out the game.
Shawnee Heights managed just two hits off the Saints' duo, with T-Bird senior Cayden Lindsay doubling in the sixth after senior Jackson Hayes picked up Heights' first hit in the fourth.
Shawnee Heights senior Michael Lilly makes contact in Saturday's Class 5A state championship game against St. Thomas Aquinas. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/TSN]
Two batters after Lindsay's double Heights senior Michael Lilly hit a shot to deep left field, but Aquinas senior William Ray made an oustanding catch while crashing into the wall.
"They made some good plays and it's one of those things,'' Brown said. "If he hits that ball five feet to the left or whatever, it's a basehit. Same thing with some linedrives we hit today.
"We hit it 10 feet to the right or left those are gap hit and it just wasn't our day. We were just a little unlucky today but they played hard.''
T-Bird senior Cambren Floberg was solid on the mound before Lindsay came on in relief in the sixth.
"Flo was really good on the mound today and our defense, like always, it's been solid all season long,'' Brown said. "That's one thing we've always counted on and we were good today.''
CLASS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 4, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 0
Shawnee Heights (21-10) 000 000 0 -- 0 2 1
Aquinas (23-8) 010 201 x -- 4 8 1
Floberg and Purvis. Boyle, Forgy (5) and Bernhardt, Kitts. W -- Boyle. L -- Floberg. 2B -- Shawnee Heights: Lindsay. Aquinas: Boyle.
Dramatic final out ends Washburn Rural baseball's 74-year state title drought
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
With Washburn Rural baseball on the verge of ending a 74-year-old title drought on Saturday in the Class 6A championsip game at Wichita State's Eck Stadium, Junior Blues senior catcher Aidan Newbery came through with a play that lived up to the moment.
Washburn Rural celebrates its first state baseball title in 74 years with a dogpile at Eck Stadium after Saturday's 4-3 win over Free State. [Photo by Selena Favela/TSN]
With the Junior Blues nursing a 4-3 lead with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and Free State's potential game-tying run at third base, Rural senior relief pitcher Isaac Ansley's pitch temporarily got away from Newbery and Firebird senior Eli Berns darted towards home in attempt to knot the score.
Washburn Rural senior catcher Aidan Newbery tags out the runner at the plate to clinch Washburn Rural's Class 6A state baseball championship Saturday in Wichita. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
The umpire calls the play at the plate to end Washburn Rural's 4-3 win over Free State in the Class 6A state championship game. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural senior catcher Aidan Newbery and pitcher Issac Ainsley celebrate the ending of Saturday's 4-3 win over Free State in the Class 6A championship game. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
But Newbery made the play of the day, corraling the ball as it rolled away and diving back towards home plate to apply the tag on Bern, ending the game and giving the Junior Blues the state title they had coveted for so, so long.
"I saw the ball right next to me and I knew I just needed to run as hard as I could and how it happened, no matter what,'' Newbery said. "All I did was just hold onto it as hard as I could and then just make a play. I figured I was closer (than Ansley) and I knew I wanted it so I just took it. Words can't desribe how amazing this is.''
"I thought it was going to be close, but when you think of these games and you dream about them, that's not the play that you think it ends on for sure,'' Washburn Rural coach Jay Mastin said.
Washburn Rural, which finished its season 22-8, took control of the championship game in the very first inning, scoring three runs on two hits, a walk and a Firebird error to go in front 3-0.
Newbery had the big blow in the inning, blasting a two-run double, before Washburn Rural junior Dominic Nimz plated the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly.
Free State (26-5) got on the board in the bottom of the first on a run-scoring single from junior Ferris Dinkel but Washburn Rural made it a 4-1 game in the fourth, with an RBI single from senior Austin Ditch scoring junior Trenton Gray, who opened the inning with a walk.
