By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
One inning doesn't decide a softball game, but No. 2 seed Mission Valley's four-run third inning put No. 7 Rossville in a hole the Bulldawgs couldn't recover from in Monday's 5-0 Class 2A quarterfinal loss at the Envista Softball Complex at Lake Shawnee.
Rossville's softball coaches talk to the Bulldawgs after Monday's 5-0 Class 2A-1A state quarterfinal loss to Mission Valley at the Envista Softball Complex. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Mission Valley and Rossville were locked in a scoreless deadlock through two and a half innings before the Vikings, now 28-2, used five hits, including a two-run double from senior Madisyn Kraus and RBI singles from sophomore Keagan Kraus and senior Kaityn Coursen, to take command 4-0 in the bottom of the third.
The Vikings added a single run in the fourth on an RBI single from Abagail Sims and pitcher M. Kraus did the rest, limiting Rossville (22-8) to a single hit while striking out 10 Bulldawgs.
"They put the ball in play and hit the ball well and we just didn't hit it very well today,'' Rossville coach John Nitsch said. "Hats off to them. Madi Kraus pitched a whale of a game and they made some good defensive plays behind her.''
Sophomore Claire Whitmore had Rossville's lone hit in the game while the Bulldawgs stranded four baserunners.
Sophomore Falyn Clurman went the distance in the pitching circle for Rossville in Monday's 5-0 Class 2A-1A state quarterfinal loss to Mission Valley. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Aside from the fourth-inning Mission Valley uprising, Bulldawg sophomore Falyn Clurman was very solid in the circle overall, limiting the Vikings to a run and five hits over the other five innings.
Mission Valley advanced to a 1 p.m. Thursday state semifinal at Arrocha Ballpark in Lawrence to face the winner of Monday's quarterfinal between Thomas More Prep-Marian and Uniontown.
Rossville graduates Maggie Sanders, Brook Springer, Lilly Mitchell and Shalee Hubbell, but Nitsch is confident about what the future holds for the Bulldawgs.
"I'm proud of them and what we've accomplished this year,'' Nitsch said. "I hate to lose this senior class and their good leadership, but we've got some good young players coming back and I think we'll be back again.''
CLASS 2A-1A STATE SOFTBALL
MISSION VALLEY 5, ROSSVILLE 0
Rossville (22-8) 000 000 0 -- 0 1 0
Mission Valley (28-2) 004 100 x -- 5 10 0
Clurman and Mitchell. M. Kraus and Bryan. W -- M. Kraus. L -- Clurman. 2B -- Mission Valley: L. Kraus 2, M. Kraus, Bryan.
